Systems and methods involving air seals are provided. In this regard, a representative air seal for a gas turbine engine comprises a layer of ceramic exhibiting patterned surface features, wherein a substrate supporting the layer of ceramic lacks the patterned surface features.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure generally relates to gas turbine engines.
2. Description of the Related Art
Air seals are formed between various components of gas turbine engines, such as between rotating turbine blades and the inner surface of a turbine casing. In this regard, some air seals are provided as an abradable air seal that incorporates an abradable material affixed to the inner surface of the casing. The abradable material is contacted and thus abraded by the rotating blade tips of the turbine blades during operation.
Other air seals are provided as wear resistant seals. Wear resistant seals also employ materials affixed to the inner surface of the casing. Such materials, however, are selected for oxidation resistance and/or thermal protection, for example.
Selection of materials for forming such an air seal typically involves a compromise between resistance to wear by erosion, abradability by blade tips, spallation resistance and environment durability. Notably, materials with higher abradability tend to suffer from excess erosion, while less abradable materials tend to be susceptible to spallation.

Systems and methods involving abradable air seals


A method and system is disclosed for interactively controlling user access to a plurality of user interface elements contained in a graphical user interface of a computer program. An access control profile means is associated with each user of the computer program. An access control profile means is associated with each user interface element in the computer program. An authorized administrator can select an access control profile means for each user interface element. Each access control profile means includes an option to assign user access privileges to view the data contained in the user interface element, activate a function contained in the user interface element, and an option to assign user access privileges to edit the data contained in the user interface element. The authorized administrator can interactively assign these access privileges to each and every user interface element contained in the program, therefore controlling the manner and method in which each user interface element is displayed to a variety of users depending upon the user's particular level of access privilege and use of the computer program, thus giving greater control of the computer program's features and data to the administrator while increasing ease of use to the users and administrators of the computer program.

This invention relates generally to techniques and methods for controlling access to data and commands in a graphical user interface system having a collection of different user interface elements. Each user interface element may contain sensitive data or functional characteristic that can only be accessed by authorized users.
A computer program communicates with the user by displaying commands and data on a display screen and accepts inputs from the user in the form of a mouse action, a keyboard press, or a touch screen action. The way each display screen is organized depends on the application. When a computer program contains sensitive data, or can access sensitive data, is used by more than one user, there is a need to limit access to the sensitive information. Information security has been addressed at the operating system, network, and protocol levels in the current art. Almost all computer operating systems provide means to control access to a file or a computer program for running the file; but it is up to the computer program to determine which commands or user interface elements on each display screen is accessible to which user. For example, a point of sale (POS) retail sales computer program is used by one or more cashiers and store managers to manage sales and inventory. The storeowner may allow cashiers to access only the sale prices and to hide all cost and profit information from cashiers; while store managers can have access to all information.
Most computer programs control access to information by limiting access to specific functional menus in the program. For example, Peachtree Office Accounting computer software restricts access, depending on user access level, to specific program areas (modules), which in turn restricts access to those display windows assigned to the restricted program areas. Instead of limiting access to specific user interface elements in each display window, this method disables access to the entire display window. This technique requires the non-restricted user interface elements contained in the restricted display window to be accessed by the user in a duplicate window that now only contains user interface elements that are accessible to the user based on the user's access level. Thus, the software programmer must create a duplicate window for each level of user access, gradually increasing the number of non-restricted user interface elements for every increased level of access. Therefore the current art requires additional programming and operation complexity that results in an increased cost to the user to achieve a secure user interface for multiple users of the same system or program.
Because of the duplicate window or different window method used by the current art, users of the system are required to learn new user interface displays, menus, and elements when they are granted a higher or different level of security access on the program or system. An example of this is when a cashier may be promoted to an assistant management position and subsequently has her security level increased to reflect her new responsibilities. Using the current art technique, the new assistant manager will have to learn a new set of program commands, menu items and window display layouts to perform her new duties. As a result, the new assistant manager has an increased learning curve for her new responsibilities and thus requires more time to become effective in her job and profitable for her employer.
An electronic cash register system has been developed which includes an administration system for enabling access on a clerk-by-clerk basis. In such a system, the clerk who handles the electronic cash register is first identified by the register before initiating the actual registration operation and totaling operation. Each clerk is assigned a unique identification number and inputs that number into the register, where the number has been previously stored, to access the cash register functions. The cash register may be programmed to allow different clerks access to different functions of the register. Such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,223 "CASH REGISTER CONTROL SYSTEM FOR AUTHORIZATION OF SELECTED OPERATOR FUNCTIONS," issued on Feb. 11, 1986 to Yoshimoto (Osaka, JP). The invention requires a key switch to access the register and to program the register using keyboard combinations to manipulate hardwired circuits and switches contained in the register to control operator functions. It does not address access control of user interface elements in computer programs.
Notwithstanding the known information referred to above, a need still exists to provide an effective method for controlling access to individual user interface elements on each display screen in a computer program. This invention fulfills that need.

System and method for controlling access to user interface elements


Plasma generators and methods of generating plasma are disclosed. Electrodes in a reaction zone are energized by a high voltage power source that is electrically insulated from the electrodes. A first conductor array, preferably a coil, is electrically coupled to the power source and electrically insulated from the electrodes. A second conductor array, preferably a coaxial coil nested within the first conductor array, is electrically coupled to the electrodes. Electromagnetic induction between the first conductor array and the second conductor array is used to energize the electrodes and generate a plasma in the reaction zone. One or more microwaves are further directed at the plasma to form microwave plasma, either in parallel or in series. Such plasmas are used to reform a hydrocarbon feedstock into low C hydrocarbons, carbon, or hydrogen. Plasma generators combining induction plasma with serial microwave plasmas are further contemplated.

The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
All publications herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
It is increasingly becoming more desirable to process or reform fluids, gases, are contents thereof using plasmas. For example, plasmas can be applied to hydrocarbon feedstocks to advantageously generate lighter hydrocarbons, carbon, or hydrogen. Such systems can use one or more plasmas, or multiple types of plasmas. These high energy systems are unfavorable susceptible to electric feedback or interference which can damage parts of the system or one or more power sources. It does not appear that economical, robust, or commercially practical solutions exist to prevent such damaging feedback or interference.
Thus, there remains a need for a system and method that improves the durability or performance of plasma devices for reforming fluids or gases.

Systems and methods of plasma generation with microwaves


An apparatus for identifying a tool joint connection is disclosed comprising a scanning system configured to scan an exterior of a drill string, at least one distance measuring sensor mounted to a movable platform and a computer connected to the scanning system and the at least one distance measuring sensor, wherein the computer is configured to receive data from a scanning of the exterior of the drill string and compare the data from the scanning to a reference to determine a presence of the tool joint connection.

Drilling for hydrocarbons in the energy industry requires many specialized tools to allow for production of the hydrocarbons sought. The specialized tools allow for drilling to proceed at a rapid pace. The rapid pace is necessary as the costs of production for wells can be exceedingly expensive during the drilling process.
Drilling efficiency is most commonly determined by the rate of penetration (ROP) of the drill string into the geological stratum. Industry efforts to increase the ROP to levels never achieved have been continuing. In certain economic conditions, for example, if the price of a hypothetical barrel of oil is low, some reserves may not be able to be economically recovered if the ROP is below a given threshold. To open up more potential hydrocarbon fields to exploration or to drill in established fields where the economics are uncertain, increased ROP can allow field owners to develop the field at competitive costs allowing greater profits for drillers and field managers.
As technology increases, there is a desire to automate certain functions of the drilling process in order to remove inefficiencies. Ideally, if the entire drilling process can be automated, then many inefficiencies may be removed and an optimum economic output can be achieved. Such automated drilling functions, however, are not achievable with present day technology. Workers are used to performing many tasks that need to be achieved because robotic assemblies cannot be designed to address all of the different scenarios that drill rig operators encounter on a daily basis.
One of the most basic tasks that workers perform on drilling rigs is creating an ever longer length of pipe, with a drill bit at the end, to remove material from the bottom of a wellbore. As the drilling progress proceeds, more pipe is added to the overall length of pipe, called a drill string. Each successive length of pipe that is added to the drill string must be securely fastened to the existing drill string such that the pipe does not "back off" or become loose in the drill string. As a result, "making up" or establishing the connection between a drill pipe and the entire drill string is extremely important to the overall drilling process.
Hydraulic tools, called tongs, can torque the tool joint to a specific torque level established by the well engineer, but to date, the establishment of this tool joint is performed by visual identification of the ends of the pipe. The establishment of the tool joint, in fact, is governed by the geometry of the pipe, including the overall pipe diameter, the pipe thickness, the drilling angle, the pipe material and other factors. The receiving end at the end of the drill string, called the box, accepts a drill pipe end, called a pin. Each of the box and the pin have corresponding connective arrangements, such as a given number of threads per inch for the tool joint. The number of threads per inch, and the torque of the tool joint, establishes the strength of the connection.
As can be readily seen, the environment that the drill rig encounters can be very challenging. Drill rigs must be able to withstand extremes in temperature and conditions to recover the hydrocarbons. The environments can range from sand and granular environments to mud, clay and silt environments. These environments each play important roles in the drilling functions. Environments are often encountered that cake mud, silt or clay over the surface of the drill string. This coating effect can hide the established tool joint or can impede the establishment of the tool joint during the torque process.
There is a need, therefore, to increase the speed at which the drilling process can proceed to increase the economy of the drilling process.
There is a further need to eliminate inefficiencies in the drilling process to allow marginal fields to be economically recovered.
There is a still further need to provide an arrangement to find a tool joint and a method to address a tool joint in various climates and environments, in a safe and effective manner.


A method to increase the production of oil from an oil reservoir is described. The method includes injecting a magnetic or magnetostrictive material through an oil well into the oil reservoir, vibrating the material with the aid of an alternating electric field and removing oil from the oil well.

The present invention is related to a method to increase the oil production from an oil reservoir.
Recovery of oil from oil reservoirs under electrical stimulation has been described for instance in NO 161.697 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,594 as well as U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,508 corresponding to NO. appl. 922581.
The above patents is related to an enhanced oil recovery method currently known as the Eureka Enhanced Oil Recovery (EEOR) principle which is an enhanced oil recovery method specially designed for land-based oil fields. The principle is based on electrical and sonic stimulation of the oil-bearing strata in such a manner that the oil flow is increased.
This is done by introducing special vibrations into the strata. These vibrations will be as identical to the natural frequency of the rock matrix and/or the fluids as possible.
The vibrations give rise to several effects in the fluids and remaining gases in the strata. They decrease the cohesive and adhesive bonding, as well as a substantial part of the capillary forces, thereby allowing the hydrocarbons to flow more easily in the formation.
The vibrations that propagate into the reservoir as elastic waves will change the contact angle between the rock formation and the fluids, thereby reducing the hydraulic coefficient of friction. This allows a freer flow towards the wells where the velocity increases and creates a greater pressure drop around the well. The elastic waves give rise to an oscillating force in the strata, which results in different accelerations because of the different densities in the fluids. The fluids will xe2x80x9crubxe2x80x9d against each other because of the different accelerations to create frictional heat, which in turn reduces the surface tension on the fluids.
The vibrations also release trapped gas that contributes to a substantial gas lift of the oil. Furthermore, the oscillating force creates an oscillating sound pressure that contributes to the oil flow.
Heat is supplied to the reservoir to maintain and, at the same time, increase the pressure in the oil field when its natural pressure has been reduced. The heat is supplied both as frictional heat, from the vibrations, and also as alternating current into the wells. The electrical transmission capabilities always present in an oil field allow the alternating current to flow between wells to make the reservoir function in a manner similar to an electrode furnace because of resistance heating.
The heating causes a partial evaporation of the water and the lightest fractions of the hydrocarbons and remaining gases in the oil. Furthermore, the alternating current causes the ions in the fluids to oscillate and thereby creates capillary waves on the fluid interfaces and thus reduces the surface tensions, a phenomenon we have named xe2x80x9cThe in situ Electrified Surfactant Effect (IESE).
The heat created from the electrical stimulation and from the vibrations reduces the viscosity of the fluids.
The oil flow acts as a cooling medium that allows a greater energy density from the vibrator and the electricity supplied to the oil-producing wells.
A number of possibilities exist for the use of electricity to heat oil-bearing formations. These methods can be classified according to the dominant mechanism of thermal dissipation in the process. The line frequency plays a decisive role in how the electrical (and electromagnetic) energy is converted to heat. Dielectric heating prevails in the high-frequency range from radio frequencies to microwave frequencies. The dipoles formed by the molecules tend to align themselves with the electrical field. The alternation of this field induces a rotation movement of the dipoles with a velocity proportional to the alternation frequency. The molecular movement can be intense enough to produce considerable heat. A popular application of this process is in microwave ovens. Another possibility is inducing heating where the alternating electric current flows through a set of conductors, inducing a magnetic field in the medium. The variations of the magnetic fields, in turn, induce a secondary current whose circulation in the medium creates heat. This work is confined to the resistive heating process, which is the major mechanism when DC or low-frequency (up to 300 Hz) alternating current is used.
The electrical heating of a reservoir formation was used to enhance oil production as early as 1969, when an experiment in Little Tom, Tex., was successful. The production of four wells had increased from 1 bbl/d (0.16 m3/d) to an impressive average of 20 bbl/d (3.18 m3/d) for the experiment, which included wellbore fracturing. The method subsequently attracted the attention of an increasing number of investigators and engineers, and their field tests were reported within a few years. The first academic work on resistive heating was by El-Feky in 1977. He reported on the development and testing of a numerical model that was based on implicit-pressure, explicit-saturation formulation over a two-dimensional rectangular grid. Experimental data came from a laboratory model consisting of a five-spot water flood. The electrical concept was later coupled to water-injection processes to derive the so-called reservoir-selective-heating method.
Until 1986, the few existing reservoir simulators for the electrical enhanced process relied on explicit treatments to determine saturation, voltage, temperature, and pressure. Killough and Gonzales presented a fully explicit three-dimensional multicomponent model in 1986 that was capable of handling water vaporization. The authors focused on the idea of flood patterns for the heating water. In 1988, Watttenbarger and McDougal used a two-dimensional simulator to investigate the major parameters affecting the production response to electrical heating. They considered the steady-state regime to obtain a simple method for estimating the production rate.
Thomas Gordon Bell describes electroosmosis by electrolinking two or more oil wells In U.S. Pat. No. 2,799,641. William C. Pritchet describes a method and the apparatus for heating a subterranean formation by electrical conduction in U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,319. The method describes the use of alternating or direct current to preheat the formation.
Lloyd R. Kern describes the use of electricity to xe2x80x9cmeltxe2x80x9d hydrates (a typical methane hydrate have the chemical formulation CH4H2O) formed in typical arctic shallow formations.
E. R. Abernathy discusses the use of electromagnetic heating of the area near an oil well. [REF Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology, July-September 1976, Montreal]
A. Herbert Harvey, M.D. Arnold and Samy A. El-Feky report a study of the usability of an electric current in the selective heating of a portion of an oil reservoir that is normally bypassed by injected fluid. [REF Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology, July-September 1979, Montreal]
A. Herbert Harvey and M.D. Arnold describe a radial model for estimating heat distribution in selective electric reservoir heating. [REF Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology, October-December, 1980, Montreal]
Erich Sarapuu describes a method in underground electrolinking by an impulse voltage to make cracks in the formation in U.S. Pat. No. 3,169,577.
The contribution of the different liquids to the pressure buildup depends on the original pressure, temperature and liquid/gas relationship in the reservoir. In a reservoir with low gas content, pressure and temperature, the main contribution to the increased pressure comes from evaporation of water and lighter crude fractions, and from thermal expansion of the gas.
The temperature and pressure increase occur not only in the vicinity of the well, but also between the wells, depending on the paths of the electrical potential between the well.
The energy input for each well depends on the oil flow and the set temperature in the bottom zone. This means that for a particular electrode (casing) temperature, which depends on the equipment, the power input depends on the cooling effect of the oil produced. The greater the oil production, the greater the energy input possible because the increased heat at the well area is drained away by the oil produced. If no oil is produced, the heat flow into the formation from the well would take place by heat conduction only.
The invention is drawn to a method for increasing the oil production from an oil reservoir. A magnetic or magnetostrictive material is injected into the end oil reservoir and then the material is vibrated with the aid of an alternative electric field. Oil is then drawn from the same oil reservoir from the same well in which the magnetic or magnetostrictive material was injected. The vibrations created in the injected material can be changed by changing the frequency of the applied electric current passed into the reservoir.

Method to increase the oil production from an oil reservoir


A method for creating an animal model of traumatic optic nerve injury, including fully exposing an internal segment of an optic canal as well as adjacent anterior skull base, posterior ethmoid sinus and lateral sphenoid sinus walls through an ethmoid sinus-sphenoid sinus operation pathway under an endoscope, and impacting different sites of the internal segment of the optic canal with controllable impact force to cause optic nerve injury so as to prepare a controllable and quantifiable TONI bionic elastic injury animal model reflecting contusion to an internal segment of an optic canal in a human TONI clinical injury state. With less intracranial combined injury to the animal, the survival rate is high. Different sites of the optic canal are impacted with quantifiable elastic force for the quantitative and qualitative purposes with respect to the injured parts and the injury degree.

The optic nerve is deep and concealed between the eyeball and the brain as passing through the outer wall of the sphenoid sinus. Due to the particularity, complexity and individual differences of anatomical structures, the research on the mechanism of traumatic optic nerve injury (TONI) has been stuck in the hypothesis of "force conduction", that is, after external force acts on the craniofacial part, especially on the tempus at the outer upper part of the superciliary arch, the blunt force is transmitted to the inner rear part along the sphenoid ridge till reaching the root of the sphenoid winglet outside the optic canal, and finally is converged at weak bones such as the top wall of the sphenoid sinus and/or the outer wall of the ethmoid sinus to form "impact" which causes deformation, fracture and translocation of the weak bones around the optic canal, and thereby results in axonal injury of the optic nerve. Nevertheless, specific mechanisms, such as how the external force acts, how the internal tissue structure of the optic nerve responds after the action, and how the optic nerve responds to this stress change, are currently inconclusive. Therefore, preparing a controllable, quantitative and bionic TONI animal model is especially important for exploring TONI pathophysiological mechanism, seeking an effective method for promoting regeneration and repair of optic nerve, and popularizing and applying the method.
Although various optic nerve injury animal models have been established, they are all incapable of representing the real clinical impaired state of TONI, which hinders the research on the pathogenesis and therapeutic strategies of TONI. At present, the following optic nerve injury animal models are prepared mostly: (1) optic nerve transection injury models, wherein all or part of the optic nerve is directly cut off at the intraorbital segment or before the optic chiasm, resulting in complete interruption of axons of all or part of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs); (2) optic nerve clamping compression injury models, wherein, after the intraorbital segment of the optic nerve is exposed, vessel forceps and the like are used for direct clamping or compression; (3) optic nerve traction injury models, wherein, after the intraorbital segment of the optic nerve is exposed, the optic nerve is overstretched in a direction parallel or perpendicular to the optic canal to cause diffuse optic nerve axonal injury; and (4) optic nerve impact injury models. The modeling methods are divided into closed and open methods: (1) A closed method is to fix the head of an animal with a helmet and impact the head of the animal with an acceleration impactor to cause TONI. Such model is relatively consistent with the clinical TONI, but because of the heterogeneity of the animal skull, humerus and optic canal anatomy, as well as differences in location, magnitude and direction of the external force during the closed injury and the like, the success rate of preparation is extremely low, and animals often die of severe craniocerebral injury. (2) An open method is to cut the periorbital skin and soft tissues to expose an optic nerve hole, and to impact the orbital bone near the optic nerve hole with external force to cause optic nerve injury. The externally impacted part of this method is mainly bones on the inner wall of the optic canal at the tip of the orbit, but bones here are very thin, so it is difficult to injury the optic nerve through "force conduction". Even if there is "force conduction", since the optic canal moves in a different direction at the anterior skull base, the open models are also different from the clinical TONI based on analyses on the conduction medium, nature, direction, magnitude and the like of force.
An ideal TONI animal model should satisfy the following characteristics: (1) As approximate as possible to the clinical state of human TONI. The conventional methods of cutting, clamping compression, over-stretching, and impacting on the intraorbital side wall or in front of the optic nerve hole are all different from the clinical state of TONI in respects of location of the force, characteristics of the external force, location and extent of the optic nerve injury and the like. TONI is complicated by closed craniocerebral injury, and is an injury mainly resulted from "deformation" of the skull due to elasticity as the blunt force acting on the tempus at the outer upper part of the superciliary arch is conducted through the temporal bone, and the main injury site is the internal segment of the optic canal, not the intraorbital segment. Therefore, it is necessary to simulate such a clinical state during preparation, which is to adopt external impact force to injure the internal segment of the optic canal. (2) The model should have high injury rate, accurate locating, good controllability, accurate quantitative grading, good stability, good repeatability and low trauma to animals, should avoid or reduce craniocerebral injury as much as possible, and should be low in animal mortality. (3) The optic nerve anatomy of the selected experimental animal is as similar as possible to humans, has certain practical value and is easy to standardize. Rats, rabbits, monkeys, cats and the like used in the prior art are far from humans. Dogs, pigs, sheep and the like, which are well developed in nasal sinus and anterior skull base and have anatomical structures similar to humans, may qualify as ideal experimental animals.

Method for creating an animal model having traumatic optical nerve injury

The Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University


A tape cassette has a pair of cassette shell members, a pair of reel hubs, and a hub brake member. The cassette shell members are coupled to each other with a tape-like recording medium housed therein. The cassette shell members have an opening defined therein with the tape-like recording medium exposed outwardly through the opening. The cassette shell members are made of a material composed of a synthetic resin and a silicon polymer mixed therewith. The hubs are rotatably disposed in the cassette shell members coupled to each other, and the tape-like recording medium are wound on the reel hubs. The hub brake member is disposed in slidable contact with an inner surface of one of the cassette shell members. The hub brake member is movable between a position in which the hub brake member engages the reel hubs to lock the reel hubs against rotation and a position in which the hub brake member disengages from the reel hubs to release the reel hubs for rotation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tape cassette, and more particularly to a tape cassette comprising a pair of shells made of a synthetic resin material.
2. Description of the Related Art
One general type of tape cassette is an audio tape cassette comprising a magnetic tape wound around a pair of reel hubs and housed in a cassette shell, the magnetic tape having a portion guided by guide rollers and exposed in a front opening defined in the cassette shell. Some cassette tape players that have been available in recent years are of the high-density recording and reproducing type. A cassette tape player of the high-density recording and reproducing type is capable of recording information at high density and with high precision on the magnetic tape in a tape cassette that is loaded in the cassette tape player. If dust particles, fatty deposits, etc. are attached to the magnetic tape, then desired information cannot properly be recorded on and reproduced from the magnetic tape. To prevent such unwanted foreign matter from attaching to the magnetic tape, the tape cassette usually has a lid for covering the exposed portion of the magnetic tape thereby to protect the magnetic tape when not in use.
The tape cassette houses, in addition to tape guide members such as guide rollers for guiding the magnetic tape, a hub brake member for braking the reel hubs to prevent the magnetic tape from being unduly slackened, keep the reel hubs from wobbling, and protect the magnetic tape against damage.
When the tape cassette is loaded into the cassette tape player, the lid is opened, and the hub brake member is slid out of braking engagement with the reel hubs. Hub drive shafts are engaged with the respective reel hubs, and then driven to rotate the reel hubs for thereby transporting the magnetic tape. As the magnetic tape travels, the guide rollers are rotated.
While the magnetic tape is thus moving, desired information is recorded on or reproduced from the magnetic tape by a magnetic head that is held slidably against the magnetic tape.
Tape cassettes of the above structure, particularly miniature tape cassettes, comprising cassette shells and mechanical parts such as hub brake members housed therein, are required to be shaped precisely and be of small thickness. To meet these requirements, they are usually made of polycarbonate resins characterized by precision moldability.
If the cassette shells and mechanical parts are molded of the same synthetic resin, then they tend to adhere to or stick to each other due to the same surface hardness when they slide relative to each other. As a result, the mechanical parts become highly sluggish, and fail to satisfy operational force ratings which they are required to meet for reliable operation.
In miniature tape cassettes, such an adhesion phenomenon occurs particularly between cassette shells and hub brake members that are held in sliding contact with inner surfaces of the cassette shells. One makeshift solution at present is to apply a lubricant liquid such as a dilute solution of silicon to the inner surfaces of the cassette shells which are contacted by the hub brake members.
However, applying a lubricant liquid such as a dilute solution of silicon to individual cassette shells results in an increase in the number of tape cassette assembling steps and in the cost of assembling tape cassettes. In addition, since it is highly likely for a lubricant liquid to be applied in different ways, e.g., in different concentrations, use of the lubricant liquid is responsible deterioration in quality.


Methods and systems are provided for executing a statement to make changes to data in a relational database while preventing the statement from failing due to the transaction log file becoming filled up. An AUTO COMMIT n option is provided for statements such as SQL statements in order to execute n data elements at a time. Each group of n data elements is committed after having been successfully executed in order to avoid filling up the transaction log file and causing the statement to fail.

1. Field
The present invention relates to databases, and more specifically to software, systems, and methods for improving the editing of databases.
2. Background
Databases are used to manipulate, store and report data. There are several different types of database structures, including flat databases and relational databases. A flat database has data organized in a single, two-dimensional array of data elements called a table. The Sports Team Table 110 of FIG. 1, taken by itself without 120 or 130, may be thought of as an example of a flat file table. Tables are organized in columns and rows. Each column of a table typically contains data elements of a similar data-type or value. For example, Sports Team Table 110 includes a Team ID column 111, a Team Name column 113, and a column 115 for the number of members per team. The data elements in each of the various rows may not be of similar types of values but are generally related to one another in some manner. Row 117 of table 110 contains data elements pertaining to the Girl's Swimming team.
FIG. 1 is a relational database 100 which includes tables 110, 120 and 130. Relational databases tend to be much more robust and versatile than flat databases. Relational databases store data in two or more interrelated tables in accordance with a schema defining the various interrelationships between the multiple tables of the relational database. For example, the relational database depicted in FIG. 1 includes table 110 with information about sports teams, table 120 with information about the members of a particular team, and table 130 with information about the events for a particular member of a team. The tables in a relational database may be interrelated in parent-child relationships. Table 110 is a parent of table 120. Table 120 is a child of table 110, but is a parent of table 130.
Relational databases generally have two main categories of instructions, Data Manipulation Language (DML) instructions and Data Definition Language (DDL) instructions. The DML instructions are used for manipulating, adding or deleting the data stored in relational database. DML instructions do not affect the database structure itself Some of the most common DML commands include the SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE commands for respectively extracting, adding, modifying and deleting data. The DDL commands, on the other hand, are used to alter the database objects containing data—that is, the database structure. The DDL commands do not directly affect the data. The database objects affected by DDL commands include the tables, indexes and relationships of the database structure, but not the data itself.
A single DML command executed in a large relational database may iterate through many thousands of records, often placing great demands on the system's computational resources. When thousands of records are inserted, updated or deleted by a conventional application, the transaction log file may become filled up, causing the statement to fail. When the CASCADE DELETE rule is specified the deletion of a record from a parent table cascades to the children of the parent, so the problem tends to be worse when trying to delete records from a parent table with many children records. For an application to handle a DML command affecting thousands of records, special steps must sometimes be taken to manage the INSERT, DELETE or UPDATE statement to all of the tables involved. Programmers working with conventional database applications have found a work-around for this problem. Programmers can avoid the problems which occur when the transaction log file fills up by drafting customized SQL code to retrieve the primary key values for the records to be updated or deleted, and storing them in the application's memory. The custom SQL code can then loop through the memory issuing the update or delete statement on the data records, one record at a time, and performs commit after every N records. In this way, the programmer's custom SQL code can avoid having the transaction log fill up. However, this work-around is somewhat inefficient inasmuch as it requires the use of customized code to prevent the transaction log overflow problem. What is needed is an improved way of executing DML commands in large relational databases to avoid straining the computational resources of the computer system.

AUTO COMMIT n option in a relational database

International Business Machines Corportion


An information processing apparatus includes a communication unit and a controller. The communication unit is configured to be capable of switching between a first mode for communicating with a different device by a first wireless communication system and a second mode for communicating with the different device by a second wireless communication system. The controller is configured to control the communication unit to select a radio-frequency range used in the first mode as a radio-frequency range used in the second mode, in a case where a communication system for communicating with the different device is switched from the first wireless communication system to the second wireless communication system.

The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus capable of wirelessly communicating with a different device, and an information processing method and a program for the information processing apparatus.
Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) is widely used as a standard of a wireless LAN (Local Area Network). Among devices supporting the Wi-Fi, there are devices that support both of communication systems of a Wi-Fi Infrastructure mode for communicating with a different device through an access point and a Wi-Fi Direct mode for directly communicating with a different device not through an access point.
Some devices that support both of the modes as described above have limits, that is, are incapable of executing both of the modes at the same time. Such devices perform communication by switching between the modes, depending on a communication mode of an application executed by those devices.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2010-11397 discloses a technique in which a wireless communication terminal and an access point switch between a plurality of communication systems and between channels used therefor.

Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program


A client-server network management system includes: a plurality of managed computer network elements, a managed element server that executes on a first computer; and at least one managed element server client that typically executes on a second computer. The managed element server and managed element server client are computer processes that execute from memory of their respective computers. The client-server network management system is really two applications in one: a visual element manager builder and a manager. The manager provides the run-time environment in which element managers are executed to monitor and manage computer network behavior such as network throughput, collision rate, and number of duplicate IP packets, to name a few. The manager portion of managed element server is independent of any graphic user interface. The logic and structure of the manager of managed element server is cleanly separated from the graphic user interfaces. The visual element manager builder is a visual development environment in which device vendors or network managers may create standardized element management applications, called element managers. A user can build an element manager without writing a any computer code. In addition, a user can edit an element manager without writing any computer code. A graphic user interface of this invention, that is displayed by the client, includes a visual image of a computer network element being managed. As a user looks at the visual display in the graphic user interface, the user is provided the same visual information as if the user where physically present at the location of the managed computer network element. Thus, at a glance, a user can obtain considerable information about the status of the computer network element as represented by the visual display.

Reference to Appendices A to D
Microfiche Appendices A to D, consisting of 6 sheets and 279 frames, are a part of the present disclosure and each is incorporated herein by, reference in its entirety. A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to generally to computer network management, and in particular to managing heterogeneous computer network elements.
2. Description of Related Art
Over the years, the organization of computer systems has changed dramatically. The concept of a large computer center with a single large computer to which all users bring their work is obsolete. The single large computer has been replaced by a large number of separate but interconnected computers that form a computer network.
There are many types of computer networks including Local Area Networks (LANs), Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs), Wide Area Networks (WANs), Wireless Networks, and Internetworks. An internetwork is a collection of interconnected networks and is sometimes called an internet. The Internet is a specific worldwide internet. The widespread popularity of the Internet has resulted in yet other types of computer networks such as intranets and extranets.
A computer network includes both hardware and software. Typically, a network architecture is defined in terms a set of layers and protocols that define the communication between hardware and software in a computer as well as the communication between computers on the network. One widely used network architecture is the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Reference Model. TCP/IP is well-documented and is known to those of skill in the art.
As computer networks have become more common, a number of new devices were introduced to facilitate communications between network computers including local and remote bridges, multiprotocol routers, distributed hubs, and switching hubs. Similarly, the number and diversity of computer platforms, both hardware and software, connected to a network increased. Typically, as each new product was introduced, a new user interface was introduced to those that managed the computer network. Each new user interface has its own terminology, commands, and navigational metaphor.
Hence, in the past few years, as computer network complexity has grown exponentially, computer network management challenges have grown similarly. The networks are too complex and too critical for any single person to manage alone. Even simple networks are typically managed by more than one network administrator.
To assist in the management of TCP/IP computer networks, a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) was implemented. However, today, SNMP is used in proprietary network environments including Netware IPX/SPX, DECnet, AppleTalk, and SNA environments.
SNMP is an industry standard for managing heterogeneous TCP/IP-based computer network elements from a single management application. SNMP defines the protocols and message formats which are used to communicate between the management application and the computer network element. With SNMP, a network manager can configure computer network elements and monitor computer network performance and status. SNMP, version 1 is defined by several standards documents that include:
RFC 1155, "Structure and Identification of Management Information for TCP/IP-based Internets," May, 1990; PA1 RFC 1157, "A Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)," May 1990. PA1 RFC 1212, "Concise MIB Definitions," March, 1991; and PA1 RFC 1213, "Management Information Base for Network PA1 The network management protocol is an application protocol by which the variables of an agent's MIB may be inspected or altered. Communication among protocol entities is accomplished by the exchange of messages, each of which is entirely and independently represented within a single UDP datagram using the basic encoding rules of ASN.1. A message consists of a version identifier, a SNMP community name, and a protocol data unit (PDU). A protocol entity receives messages at UDP port 161 on the host with which it is associated for all messages except for those which report traps (i.e., all messages except those which contain the Trap-PDU). Messages which report traps should be received on port 162 for further processing. An implementation of this protocol need not accept messages whose length exceeds 484 octets. However, it is recommended that implementations support larger datagrams whenever feasible.
Management of TCP/IP-based Internets: MIB-II," March 1991. Each of the above documents is incorporated herein by reference to demonstrate the level of skill in the art for SNMP. As used in the standards document, RFC stands for Request For Comment.
A computer network 100 (FIG. 1), that is managed using SNMP, includes, for example, a management station 110, a workstation 120, a bridge 130, a router 140, and a printer 150. Network 100 also could include, for example, personal computers, repeaters, and hubs. SNMP is a client-server based application protocol. Management station 110 executes a SNMP manager application 115 that communicates with SNMP agent processes 121, 131, 141, and 151.
Specifically, SNMP manager 115 communicates with client processes, i.e., agent process 121 on workstation 120, agent process 131 on bridge 130, agent process 141 on router 140, and agent process 151 on printer 150 using SNMP. An agent computer process must be programmed for each of the computer network elements, and the actions that are to be taken must be specifically programmed for each computer network element.
Each of agent processes 121, 131, 141, and 151 monitors and controls the operation of the computer network element containing the agent process, i.e., elements 120, 130, 140, and 150 respectively, by maintaining a data base of objects 122, 132, 142, and 152, respectively, called the Management Information Base (MIB). The MIB reflects the status of the managed computer network element. Each of the agent processes 121, 131, 141, and 151 responds to network management requests from SNMP manager 115. An agent process can also send unsolicited messages, called trap events, to SNMP manager 115 to apprise manager 115 of network events. Manager 115 maintains statistics that define the operation of network 100 in MIB 112.
The SNMP standards define proxy agents that may be used to access management information from a remote device. A common usage of proxy agents is to translate protocols when the remote device does not support SNMP.
SNMP uses well-established standards to define the format, content, and database structure of management information objects that are stored by the agent process and passed between SNMP manager 115 and the agent. These objects are carried in packets called protocol data units (PDUs) and contain operating parameters, statistics, and control information for the element and its components. The objects (variables) comprise the MIB. The current version of the MIB definition as defined by the standards body is MIB-II. Any SNMP management process can access MIB-II data.
The MIB may be extended beyond the standard set of objects to include objects specific to the agent by incorporating a private vendor-specific enterprise MIB. MIB objects are grouped according to functionality and are categorized in a tree-like data structure. The tree is comprised of a root, branches, and leaf nodes The leaf nodes represent MIB object instances and can be located by traversing the tree as deeply as possible. To simplify the traversal process, each branch at the same level in the tree is assigned a lexicographically ordered number. Thus, each node in the tree is representable by a sequence of period-separated numbers, where each number is associated with a branch level. The sequence of numbers is known as the object identifier (OID). FIG. 2 illustrates a portion of the MIB-II tree and how object identifiers are assigned. From FIG. 2, one can determine that the object identifier for the system group is 126.96.36.199.2.1.1.
RFC 1157, "A Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)" describes the operation of SNMP by stating:
Compliance with SNMP, version one standard (See RFC 1157, page 16) requires that all implementations of SNMP support five PDUs, i.e., GetRequest-PDU, GetNextRequest-PDU, GetResponse-PDU, SetRequest-PDU, and Trap-PDU. The five PDUs are described in detail in TABLE 1.
TABLE 1 __________________________________________________________________________ Standard PDU's __________________________________________________________________________ GetRequest Issued by the management station to the agent to retrieve information from the MIB GetResponse Issued by the agent after receiving a GetRequest-PDU, GetNextRequest-PDU, or SetRequest-PDU to send MIB object values or responses to the management station GetNextRequest Issued by the management station to traverse the agent's MIB tree by moving sequentially from one object value(instance) to the next without knowing the precise name of the object SetRequest Issued by the management station to modify and store information within the agent's MIB Trap An asynchronous (unsolicited) message issued by the agent to the management station to report a significant event. __________________________________________________________________________
By using these operators, a SNMP manager application can communicate with managed nodes to identify the nodes, and to determine statistical information, such as network traffic flow through a given computer network, for the network.
SNMP trap events allow the SNMP agent to initiate communication with management applications when a significant (serious) network event takes place. The significant trap events are defined in RFC 1157. By default, all SNMP agents generate Trap-PDUs for the events shown in TABLE 2.
TABLE 2 ______________________________________ Events Resulting in Traps ______________________________________ Cold Start An agent initialization or re-initialization which may affect the values of objects has occurred Warm Start An agent re-initialization which does not affect the value of any object has occurred Link Down The agent has discovered a failure in one of the communication links of its configuration Link Up A communications link in the agent's configuration has just become activated Authentication The agent has received a protocol message that Failure was not properly authenticated with the correct community name (this trap may be suppressed upon request) Neighbor Loss The agent has discovered that a neighbor is down Enterprise The agent has experienced a vendor-specific event ______________________________________
In contrast to trap events, polling events are proactive requests made by management station 110 to elicit information from the agent. A common network management technique called "trap directed polling" is for the management station to wait for a trap event and then poll for more information regarding that event. This method minimizes the impact on managed elements and network bandwidth. However, since traps are sent unreliably, some degree of polling is still required as a backup precaution.
Access to an agent is controlled by a community name. Every agent is configured to recognize one or more community names, and to provide the appropriate level of access to SNMP managers based on the community name that the managers include in their messages.
The community relationship between agents and managers defined by the community name is used to administer the MIB and to provide the agent information on where to send a trap. There are three levels of access to MIB objects: read-only (object value can be read but not modified), read-write (object value can be read or modified), and write-only (object value can be modified but not read). The level of access which the agent allows for its MIB objects is determined by comparing the community name provided in the SNMP message with that defined by the agent. If the two names match, access is given. A separate community name is defined for read and write accesses. The most common community names are public (access given to all management stations) and private (no access allowed). Community names are not considered passwords because community names cannot make any guarantees regarding the command (message) with respect to its origin, its integrity, its delivery, or its privacy. More information regarding community names is contained in RFC 1157.
While SNMP was designed to simplify network management, this has not be the case. To make SNMP successful, every device vendor must provide tools to monitor and troubleshoot their devices, or alternatively get some other company that supplies a management system to include support for their particular device. In general, the communication of vendor specific MIB objects among heterogeneous elements is problematic.
The challenge is clear. How can a group of network managers efficiently manage a constantly changing and growing network which is composed of a wide array of heterogeneous elements, that are produced by different vendors, and that support many different platform types? Any solution must be simple, flexible, robust, secure, collaborative, and most importantly has to work.

Platform independent computer network management client


A pallet includes an upper deck and columns extending downwardly. A portion of the upper deck protrudes outwardly relative to an outer surface of the columns. Anti-shingling protrusions are formed on the outer surface of the column below the deck in order to prevent shingling of the pallet with another pallet.

The present invention relates generally to pallets. Pallets are often used to store and transport goods. The pallets maintain the goods at a distance above the floor such that they can be readily lifted and moved by a fork of a lift truck. Some pallets have stringers or double decks forming openings, which receive the forks of the lift truck. Other pallets are nestable within one another to facilitate storage and transport when empty. Both types of pallets include an upper deck supported by columns extending downwardly from the upper deck.
In some pallets, a portion of the upper deck protrudes outwardly relative to an outermost surface of the column. As a result, adjacent pallets may experience "shingling," in which the protruding part of the upper deck of one pallet catches on top of an adjacent pallet, such that the upper pallet is suspended off of the floor. This makes the stack of goods on the pallet uneven and potentially unstable.


The invention provides an engine for obtaining kinetic rotational energy from the explosive decomposition of individual cartridges of an energetic material. The cartridges are individually ignited as needed, producing a bolus of hot, expanding gas, the energy of which is captured by a piston moving in a circular track. Each cartridge ignition produces a single circuit of the piston around the track. A gearing mechanism transfers the angular momentum of the piston to a flywheel. The engine may be coupled to an electrical generator to form a portable, on-demand electric generator system.

There have been attempts in the past to produce so-called "gunpowder engines", which seek to harness the energy released by ignition of gunpowder or other explosive powders, and convert it to useful mechanical motion. In one design, the so-called "Huygens' engine", a piston is driven by atmospheric pressure acting against a vacuum, the vacuum being produced by venting from a cylinder the hot gases produced by a gunpowder explosion. Other prior attempts have been based on the principle of driving a piston with the explosive force of the ignition, in direct analogy to internal combustion engines. Such devices are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,981,277, 4,059,077, 4,359,970 and 7,784,435. These engines have not been successfully developed, principally due to the difficulty of metering the explosive powder into the combustion cylinder.
Civilians, businesses, first responders, militaries and governments are increasingly dependent on portable, reliable sources of electrical energy, for direct use and to recharge battery systems in portable devices. The need has been expressed in the global marketplace for man-portable emergency energy generators with the ability to supply power on demand. "Power On Demand" means that power is generated or released only as required by attached loads, so that the power reserves and fuel of the device are not wasted by operating when no load is present. Almost all current generator technologies function via continuous operation and waste fuel when there is no load to use the power generated. Thus, the fuel and the power it generates are wasted. It is a simple fact of most power generation technologies that power generated, but not used or stored, is power lost.
There are currently a number of high-capacity batteries on the market, some of which are misleadingly promoted as generators. These devices require an exterior power source to recharge their batteries. Some are designed to be recharged via attachable solar cells, but their power outputs and capabilities are limited by weather, recharge time and power flow.
A Power On Demand (POD) technology should preferably use a non-fossil fuel that by its nature is not subject to geo-political shortages, and is not dependent on a lengthy and potentially fragile supply chain. The ideal fuel will be safe to use and transport, have a shelf life measured in years or decades, and be packaged in small, rugged, modular units for easy logistics.
Another highly desirable feature of a POD generator is the ability to be used indoors with little or no ventilation. This, with the exception of batteries deceptively marketed as generators, has never been accomplished. All combustion-based generators produce highly toxic carbon monoxide (CO) as a byproduct of their burning of gas or diesel fuels, and many people are killed each year due to the use of fossil-fueled generators indoors.
The uses for POD generator technology as described above include residential and business power back-up during brown-outs and black-outs, on-the-go or in-the-field power for consumers and industry, natural disaster responses, lack of reliable power in undeveloped countries, military combat zones, and in general any situation involving a short- or long-term power outage. Buyers, accordingly, may be individual home and business owners, corporations that conduct field operations, and government agencies and militaries.
Numerous patents address portable power generation and electrical power storage systems. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,009,350 and 7,205,732 (issued to the present inventor) mention the possible use of explosive energy to energize springs that serve as an energy storage system.
A POD generator requires a portable, storable source of energy, which can be drawn upon when the generator's output is needed. Gasoline and diesel fuels are the most common sources for portable generators, but liquid hydrocarbon fuels are subject to degradation over time by autoxidation processes, and generally should not be stored for more than 12 months. Solid energetic materials, on the other hand, are far more stable; indeed black powder dating from the American Civil War has been shown to be effective after more than a century of storage. Energetic materials are a class of material with high amount of stored chemical energy that can be rapidly released on demand, including but not limited to black powder, smokeless powder, nitrocellulose, nitroguanidine, and the like. It would be desirable to harness a solid, storage-stable energetic material for POD generation in emergencies, and the present invention is intended to provide an effective mechanism for doing so.


A distributed object management system includes: a completion information management portion which stores a relay state of the object server and which manages information of the object which should be transmitted again when the transmission to the object server is resumed; and a relay control portion which requests other object server to temporally exclude the object server that has transmitted the suspension request from a copying operation of the object and which, if the resume request is received from the object server that has transmitted the suspension request, requests said other object server to include the object server that has transmitted the resume request in the copying operation of the object again.

A copying operation is necessary in a large volume object transmission operation of, for example, a hosting service to improve reliability and access response. For example, a client terminal or an object server which receives a write request from the client terminal transmits the write request to other multiple object servers in parallel.
FIG. 25 is an outline drawing showing a device constitution of a distributed object system 700.
The distributed object system 700 is a system in which objects transmitted from a client terminal 710 is copied by object servers 720a-720c.
In the distributed object system 700, a network band is shared by the object servers 720a-720c, and therefore, the network band can be a bottleneck with regard to a speed of writing the objects into object databases by the object servers 720a-720c.
FIG. 26 is an outline drawing showing other device constitution including a distributed object system 800.
In the distributed object system 800 shown in FIG. 26, object servers 810a-810c are constituted so as to sequentially transmit/relay an object, and a pipelining operation is applied to each of object servers 810a-810c in that a parallel operation is conducted including a reading operation of an object transmitted via a network, a writing operation of the object into a database and a transmission operation to the following object server. In such a manner, the distributed object system 800 shares a network band between multiple object servers and prevents the formation of a bottleneck.
FIG. 27 is an outline drawing showing a device constitution of a distributed object system 900 other than the above.
As a technique of the art, Dolly+ shown in FIG. 27 is introduced. In a pipelining operation of Dolly+ in which an object is copied between multiple object servers, FIG. 27 shows an operation and constitution in that an object server which has a problem is removed from targets of the copying operation.

Distributed object management system, distributed object management server, distributed object management method and computer program of the same


A fragment processor includes a fragment shader distributor, a fragment shader collector, and a plurality of fragment shader pipelines. Each fragment shader pipeline executes a fragment shader program on a segment of fragments. The plurality of fragment shader pipelines operate in parallel, executing the same or different fragment shader programs. The fragment shader distributor receives a stream of fragments from a rasterization unit and dispatches a portion of the stream of fragments to a selected fragment shader pipeline until the capacity of the selected fragment shader pipeline is reached. The fragment shader distributor then selects another fragment shader pipeline. The capacity of each of the fragment shader pipelines is limited by several different resources. As the fragment shader distributor dispatches fragments, it tracks the remaining available resources of the selected fragment shader pipeline. A fragment shader collector retrieves processed fragments from the plurality of fragment shader pipelines.

The present invention relates to the field of computer graphics. Many computer graphic images are created by mathematically modeling the interaction of light with a three dimensional scene from a given viewpoint. This process, called rendering, generates a two-dimensional image of the scene from the given viewpoint, and is analogous to taking a photograph of a real-world scene.
As the demand for computer graphics, and in particular for real-time computer graphics, has increased, computer systems with graphics processing subsystems adapted to accelerate the rendering process have become widespread. In these computer systems, the rendering process is divided between a computer's general purpose central processing unit (CPU) and the graphics processing subsystem. Typically, the CPU performs high level operations, such as determining the position, motion, and collision of objects in a given scene. From these high level operations, the CPU generates a set of rendering commands and data defining the desired rendered image or images. For example, rendering commands and data can define scene geometry, lighting, shading, texturing, motion, and/or camera parameters for a scene. The graphics processing subsystem creates one or more rendered images from the set of rendering commands and data.
Graphics processing subsystems typically use a stream-processing model, in which input elements are read and operated on by successively by a chain of stream processing units. The output of one stream processing unit is the input to the next stream processing unit in the chain. Typically, data flows only one way, "downstream," through the chain of stream processing units. Examples of stream processing units include vertex processors, which process two- or three-dimensional vertices, rasterizer processors, which process geometric primitives defined by sets of two- or three-dimensional vertices into sets of pixels or sub-pixels, referred to as fragments, and fragment processors, which process fragments to determine their color and other attributes.
Many graphics processing subsystems are highly programmable, enabling implementation of, among other things, complicated lighting and shading algorithms. In order to exploit this programmability, applications can include one or more graphics processing subsystem programs, which are executed by the graphics processing subsystem in parallel with a main program executed by the CPU. Although not confined to merely implementing shading and lighting algorithms, these graphics processing subsystem programs are often referred to as shading programs or shaders.
Each programmable stream processing unit can be adapted to execute its own separate shading program in parallel with shading programs executing on other stream processing units. Implementations of complicated algorithms often depend on separate shading programs tailored to each stream processing unit working together to achieve the desired result. In these implementations, outputs of shading programs for initial stream processing units in a chain may be linked with the inputs of shading programs for subsequent stream processing units in the chain.
The programmable fragment processor is often the bottleneck in improving rendering performance. Typically, the programmable fragment processor must execute its shading program once for each fragment rendered. With fragment shading programs including hundreds or thousands of instructions and each rendered image generated by millions of fragments, the computational requirements of the fragment processor are enormous.
It is therefore desirable to a graphics processing to have a programmable fragment processor having improved performance. It is further desirable that the programmable fragment processor be easily and efficiently scalable to meet different cost and performance targets.

Increased scalability in the fragment shading pipeline


Disclosed is a method of reducing crosslinking in gelatin capsules wherein an amino acid and a carboxylic acid are incorporated into the capsule fill, as well as filled gelatin capsules that utilize the disclosed method. The inventive method is especially useful for pharmaceutical formulations which include hydrochlorothiazide, triamterene, gemfibrozil, chloramphenicol, etodolac, piroxicam, nifedipine, tetracycline, diphenhydramine, hydroflumethiazide and rifampin, or a combination thereof as active ingredient.

The use of filled gelatin capsules as delivery devices is well-known in many art fields, especially the pharmaceutical sciences. In pharmaceutical applications, filled gelatin capsules are especially suitable as a means to orally administer a pharmaceutical product to a subject.
It is known that the presence of certain ingredients in the filling promote crosslinking in the gelatin shell with the passage of time and/or under stress conditions. When crosslinking occurs, the gelatin shell becomes less soluble in aqueous media, especially acidic aqueous media. Crosslinking causes retardation of the disintegration of the capsule shell, and thus retardation of the dissolution of the capsule contents, relative to identical capsules which have not been subjected to the passage of time or stress conditions. Thus, when a filled gelatin capsule contains an ingredient which promotes crosslinking in the gelatin shell, it is a challenge to prepare a formulation which does not show retarded disintegration and/or dissolution when the filled capsule is subjected to the passage of time and/or stress conditions.
It is likely that crosslinking has a much greater impact on the results of in vitro dissolution testing than on the in vivo bioavailability of drugs formulated in gelatin capsules. However, since in vitro dissolution testing is commonly employed as a method of measuring the stability of drug products, it is important to utilize a capsule fill which minimizes crosslinking in the capsule shell and thus minimizes the impact of time and/or stress conditions on the dissolution profile of the filled gelatin capsule, especially during accelerated stability studies wherein the capsules are subjected to high temperature and relative humidity.
The present invention relates to the discovery that the effects of crosslinking in a gelatin capsule which contains a material that promotes crosslinking are reduced or eliminated by incorporating an effective crosslinking-reducing amount of a combination of at least one amino acid and at least one carboxylic acid in the capsule fill. Both the amino acid and the carboxylic acid are required to obtain the beneficial effects of the present invention.


A laminate material formed of an elastomeric polymer sheet and a nonwoven fabric sheet. The sheets are passed through a niproll assembly during lamination, one of the niprolls having a series of embossing points protruding therefrom, and the other niproll being substantially flat. The embossing points press selective areas of the preferably molten polymer sheet into the fabric sheet, encapsulating the fabric fibers and bonding thereto. The resulting material has points of bonding where penetration has occurred and areas of nonpenetration, providing adherence of the two sheets while permitting independent movement of the fibers and elastic properties. Preferably, a release agent is added to the elastomeric polymer to reduce the possibility of the elastomer layer sticking to the nonwoven layer when the laminate is wound onto a supply roll.

Layers of fabric material are frequently laminated or otherwise joined together to produce fabrics having desirable characteristics not fully exhibited by the layers individually. Such is the case with fabrics made of elastomeric polymers, which by themselves exhibit desirable stretch and springback properties, but are not pleasant to touch or be next to the skin for extended periods of time. Thus, techniques have been developed to make stretchable laminates with soft nonwoven fabrics, e.g., stretch bonded laminate and necked spunbond laminate technology. The present commercial processes to make these laminates places the soft facings on both top and bottom faces of the elastomeric sheet.
Bonding of two dissimilar materials requires that the two materials be adhered to one another in some manner. Where the two materials exhibit natural adhesive or attractive characteristics, bonding does not require significant specific treatment. An example of two such materials is polypropylene spunbond and KRATON.RTM. G2755 elastomer, available from Shell Chemical Company, Houston, Tex., as described hereinbelow. However, where the materials do not exhibit such attraction to each other, the molten elastomeric layer may be mechanically forced into the nonwoven material fabric structure, encapsulating the fibers, to create the bonding. Such penetration is typically achieved by passing the two layers to be laminated, usually while the elastomeric layer is still molten, through a niproll assembly comprised of two substantially flat rolls, whereby the niprolls apply even pressure across the surface of the two layers to bond the surfaces together. Bonding is achieved by the niproll pressure forcing the molten elastomeric material deep into the nonwoven fiber matrix, encapsulating the fibers. The interply attachment, as measured by the peel strength of a necked bonded laminate ("NBL"), has been found to increase as the elastomeric film polymer penetrates into the nonwoven layer. Unfortunately, the elastic properties deteriorate as this penetration is increased because fiber independence to move freely is reduced by the infusion of the encapsulating elastomer. If the nip gap is increased, elastic properties improve, but interply attachment decreases because there is less elastomer penetration into the nonwoven material and peel test performance suffers. Thus, a niproll assembly having two substantially flat rolls, while useful for many processes, can produce laminates having less than optimum qualities. What is needed is a process using a niproll assembly that would produce a laminate having sufficient bonding area while maintaining fiber independence so as to maintain desirable elasticity and peel properties. Additionally, it would be desirable to have a process and a laminate formed therefrom that would maintain the elastic properties while resulting in a soft material and laminate integrity.
It has also been frequently found useful to add a tackifier to the elastomer to increase bonding by making the elastomer stick to the nonwoven layer so penetration and encapsulation are not required. A single spunbond faced necked bonded laminate or stretch bonded laminate could be made with this tackified elastomer but the exposed elastomer face could stick to the nonwoven layer on the next wrap when it is wound into a roll and then the roll could not be unwound. It would be desirable to have an clastomer composition that would facilitate bonding, but would not cause the laminate layers to stick together during "in-roll" conditions. Also, total attachment between spunbond and tackified elastomer would reduce elasticity properties.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a laminated fabric having desirable elastic integrity and feel characteristics.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a laminated fabric whereby at least two layers of the laminate are point embossed together to provide selected areas of bonding and selected areas of free fiber movement.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a laminated fabric that can be wound on a take up roll yet have reduced sticking between roll windings.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

Elastic laminated fabric material and method of making same


A system and method for imaging a subject includes a clock that generates a clock signal and a radiation source that directs photons through the subject in response to the clock signal. A detector system is included that detects the photons and a memory module records a time of detection of the photons by the detector system with respect to the clock signal. The system includes a processor that calculates a time of flight (TOF) of the photons from the radiation source to the detector system and compares the TOF to a reference TOF to determine a delay in the TOF attributable to the photons passing trough the subject.

The present invention relates generally to a system and method for generating high-quality x-ray images using relatively small radiation doses. In particular, the present invention includes a system and method for generating x-ray images by utilizing time-of-flight information to derive contrast information. This time-of-flight information is derived by measuring the refractive index (i.e., ratio of x-ray velocity through matter as compared to velocity through a vacuum) of x-rays through a body, which can then be used to reconstruct an image of the body.
X-ray imaging is a common and powerful technique for non-invasive evaluation of a patient. Traditional x-ray images are generated by correlating the amount of attenuation experienced by x-rays passing through a subject to the type of material through which the x-ray passed. In particular, x-rays are stopped in tissues by way of energy transfers from the x-ray photons that occur roughly in proportion to the amount of material through which the x-ray passes. Consequently, the amount of attenuation experienced by an x-ray beam passing through a body forms a "signal" that is then used to generate an x-ray image. Hence, the "signal" used to generate an x-ray image is actually the lack or absence of energy or photons detected when an x-ray beam is passed through a patient.
The use of the lack of photons detected as the "signal" from which an image is generated presents a number of inherent problems. In particular, the number of photons illuminating a body varies randomly about a mean value. In this regard, more information can often be acquired using a higher dose of radiation (i.e. stronger x-ray beam) because a greater dynamic range of information is available. That is, it is desirable to have a very high number of photons (e.g., a million) "illuminating" a selected location in the body (e.g., 1 mm2) corresponding to each pixel in an image to ensure that there is a certain fractional reduction in the number of photons. Simply, image spatial and contrast resolution increase depends on the number of detected x-ray photons per image pixel.
However, high doses of radiation are typically undesirable due to the x-ray's potential to damage the body. In particular, there is a direct relationship between the number of x-ray photons interacting with tissue and the increased risk of radiation-induced tissue damage and cancer development. In traditional x-ray imaging systems that rely upon attenuation-based x-ray imaging, a dilemma is created between the need for increased contrast achieved using elevated radiation doses and the potential for damage that such doses can yield.
In an effort to overcome this problem, contrast agents are often introduced to better delineate certain anatomic features. However, these contrast agents also carry some risks.
Furthermore, enhancement of traditional x-ray imaging is limited to incremental reduction of radiation exposure. As a result, various systems and methods have been employed for increasing contrast resolution while minimizing x-ray dose. For example, one method modulates x-ray tube current (mA) as a function of beam angle with respect to the patient. Other systems have employed monochromatic radiation, rather than bremstrahlung radiation. Furthermore, some systems have attempted K-edge subtraction imaging and/or used photon counting (as opposed to traditional energy integrating) detector systems.
Unfortunately, these attempts for reducing radiation exposure in traditional x-ray imaging systems have been only somewhat successful. For example, modulating x-ray tube current as a function of beam angle relative to the patient, while first proposed in the mid 1980s, still has not been found to be compelling. Similarly, while monochromatic x-ray systems can reduce the effective dose at the chest by 18.7% and the dose to the head by 1.2%, at the same time, the dose delivered to the lumbar spine is increased by 38.3%, as is the dose delivered to intra-abdominal organs by 35-47%. Also, systems employing K-edge subtraction imaging and/or photon counting detectors have also been shown to decrease x-ray exposure needed to achieve a certain x-ray image quality. A major problem here is that tuneable monochromatic x-ray sources are still not routinely available for clinical use.
Recent developments, for example, in synchrotron x-ray-based imaging, have indicated that utilizing the differences in refractive index of x-rays (i.e., indicators of variations in the velocity of x-ray as they travel through different substances), rather than attenuation, as the imaging "signal" may greatly decrease the x-ray dose needed to reconstruct clinically useful images. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the refractive index of x-rays (ρ) with 12-24 kilo-electron volts (keV) 10, 12 serve as a much stronger "signal" than attenuation (μ) with 12 keV x-rays 14 or 24 keV x-rays 16. This is particularly true for elements having a low atomic number, which are more biologically relevant to clinical analysis.
While clearly being theoretically advantageous, velocity-based imaging systems have not been widely realized due to various formidable hurdles to actual implementation. In particular, while previously demonstrated as operable by imaging small specimens, systems have not been successfully developed that are appropriate for humans or full body imaging.
For example, one approach to make a system suitable for imaging humans is to "scale up" the refraction and phase contrast imaging methods developed for small-specimen imaging in an attempt to make them suitable for whole body imaging. These approaches are faced, however, with the problem of "unraveling" the many changes in refraction (expressed as phase shifts) that occur as the photon passes through 30 cm or more of tissue. For example, at 17.5 keV, 50 micrometers (μm) of water causes a 180 degree phase shift. Hence, for a 30 centimeter (cm) human abdomen, 6000 phase shifts would be expected, which is computationally cumbersome, if not currently impossible, to "unravel".
A similar approach uses a Bonse Hart interferometer, which has been shown to successfully perform phase imaging of small specimens at relatively low keV. However, to implement this approach, a perfect silicon crystal is needed, which is difficult and costly to produce at the large scales necessary to image humans. Additionally, this method involves the use of Bragg diffraction to acquire a reference beam against which the beam transmitted through the object is compared. In this case, the optic path length of the reference beam should be stable to within 0.1 nanometer (nm), which presents another significant technological impediment to implementation. Therefore, phase-delay imaging, which utilizes the interference patterns resulting from coherent x-rays passing through different tissues, is suitable only for very small diameter specimens (e.g., 1 mm) and requires synchrotron radiation.
Other approaches involve the use of an x-ray Talbot interferometer or of an "analyzer" crystal that allows measurement of the angle of refraction of x-rays, which is used to generate an image with edge enhancement effects. In the former case, an object is imaged using coherent illumination passing through a phase grating. To perform the latter, a method commonly referred to as "Diffraction Enhanced Imaging" (DEI) is used to generate a transmission image with edge enhancement effect caused by the slight refraction of the x-rays in regions with rapid change of refractive index, such as occurs at the surface of collagen fibers and blood vessels.
However, each of these methods, as well as the others described above, rely on rather low energy x-ray photons (approximately 10-30 keV) having relatively long wave lengths because the low energy x-ray photons yield more obvious interference patterns and greater refraction deviation. The lower energy x-ray photons are not suitable for imaging larger human subjects because the majority of the photons are stopped by the long tissue path lengths. Thus, while these methods have been demonstrated as feasible on small specimens, they are not clinically viable for human patients.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a system and method for significantly reducing x-ray exposure while still producing an image of sufficient quality to be clinically useful. Moreover, it would be desirable to have a system and method for measuring variations in the transit times of x-ray photons as they traverse a relatively large body, such as a human body.

System and method for time-of-flight imaging

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research


Systems for cleaning a structure via a robot are described. The robot includes a body. The robot further includes a tool coupled to the body and configured to hold a structural maintenance tool. The robot includes a sensor coupled to the body. The robot includes a drive system configured to allow positioning of the body along the structure, including inverted positioning and vertical positioning. The robot further includes a communication interface coupled to the body. The robot includes a controller coupled to the body. The controller is in communication with the tool, the sensor, and the drive system. The controller is configured to receive an operating instruction through the communication interface. The controller is configured to autonomously position the body via the drive system and to perform a task with at least one of the tool and the sensor according to the operating instruction.

Large structures, such as buildings, bridges, and oil rigs, require regular maintenance and inspection. Typically, regular inspection and maintenance is performed by human crews. However, human crews have physical limits and may be expensive to employ. For example, reaching certain areas of the structures, such as the top trusses and underwater supports of a bridge, may be difficult and dangerous for human inspection and maintenance crews. Further, some areas of structures, including tight spaces, may be completely inaccessible by human inspection and maintenance crews. Still further, human inspection and maintenance crews are susceptible to inclement weather conditions, which may hamper and delay maintenance and inspection operations.

Structural assessment, maintenance, and repair apparatuses and methods


Decoding includes sensing a packet related to SSL handshake for connecting a SSL between a client and a server after a TCP session has been established between the client and the server in an SSL decoding device. If the packet for an SSL handshake is transmitted in a preset operating system, an SSL between the client and the SSL decoding device and an SSL between the SSL decoding device and the server is established. A TCP session between a virtual client corresponding to the client and a virtual server corresponding to the server is also established. A packet transmitted/received between the virtual client and the virtual server is transmitted when the TCP session is established. If a first SSL packet transferred from the client to the SSL decoding device is received, the SSL packet is decoded and transmitted to the security device and to the server.

In an organization such as a company, numerous information may leak out through the Internet and be attacked by external networks.
To prevent such data leakage and external attacks, a company may inspect packets transmitted from terminals in the company and packets received from outside sources, and block some potentially risky connections.
However, when a website a terminal desires to access uses secure socket layer (SSL) communication, contents of packets transmitted/received may be encoded and then transmitted, and thus it may not be possible to verify whether there are data leakage or attacks.
To prevent this, companies have been employing an existing method of blocking communication with external sites that use the SSL communication to maintain the security.
However, such a method of blocking the external sites that use the SSL communication may decrease the work efficiency of employees of companies. Thus, there is a desire for a method of inspecting a packet transmitted through the SSL communication even in a security device, without simply blocking external sites that use the SSL communication.

Method for decoding secure socket layer for security of packet transmitted in preset operating system


A beverage can end for seaming onto a can body may include a peripheral wall, a center panel, a tab attached to the center panel by a rivet (56), a tear panel (41b), a main reference line (RM), a transverse reference line (RT), and a score (31b). The score may include arcuate main score (31b) that defines a main portion of the tear panel (41b) and a score extension (32b) that defines a vent portion. The score may be configured such that actuation of the tab from its horizontal rest position to an intermediate position ruptures the main score portion (31b) to pivot the tear panel main portion (40b) about the hinge and further actuation of the tab by twisting from the intermediate position ruptures the score extension (32b).

Aluminum beverage cans are produced in vast quantities. Conventional beverage cans include a one-piece, drawn and ironed body and an end that is attached to a flange of the can body by a double seam. A can end, in its unseamed state, has a peripheral curl for seaming to the can body flange, a wall extending from the curl (that is, a chuck wall), an annular bead (that is, a countersink), or like structure extending from the wall and a center panel.
Conventional center panels have a score that defines a tear panel and a tab that is attached to the center panel by a rivet. The score has first and second ends that define a hinge about which the tear panel actuates. In the vast majority of commercial ends, the hinge is not centered relative to the score and tear panel, but rather is located to a side. The score extends from its first end in front of the rivet about a curved path to its second end. Conventional large opening ends (LOE) have an elongated opening, as shown in FIG. 1A (Prior Art).
Commercial ends of the type shown in FIG. 1A are opened only by lifting the heel of the tab to force the tab nose against the tear panel. The downward force initiates an initial venting, which is promoted by a check slot, and the downward force then displaces the tear panel and ruptures the remainder of the score to form an opening.
Pouring from conventional beverage cans creates unsteady state flow or "glugs," as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/857,145, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,354,453; 6,079,583; 5,555,992; 5,011,037; and 3,977,561 disclose can ends that have been purported to create a vent after opening. There is a need for improved can end configurations that promote venting after opening of the tear panel.

Can end having a main score and a score extension


A method of removing a downhole tool from a wellbore comprising contacting the tool with a heat source wherein the tool comprises at least one load-bearing component comprising a thermally degradable material. A method of reducing the structural integrity of a downhole tool comprising fabricating the load-bearing components of the tool from a thermally degradable material. A method of removing a downhole tool comprising mechanically milling and/or drilling the tool from a wellbore wherein the tool comprises at least one load bearing component comprising a phenolic resin wherein the phenolic resin comprises a rosole, a novalac or combinations thereof.

A wide variety of downhole tools may be used within a well bore in connection with producing hydrocarbons or reworking a well that extends into a hydrocarbon formation. Downhole tools such as frac plugs, bridge plugs, and packers, for example, may be used to seal a component against casing along the well bore wall or to isolate one pressure zone of the formation from another. Such downhole tools are well known in the art.
After the production or reworking operation is complete, these downhole tools must be removed from the well bore. Tool removal has conventionally been accomplished by complex retrieval operations, or by milling or drilling the tool out of the well bore mechanically. Thus, downhole tools are either retrievable or disposable. Disposable downhole tools have traditionally been formed of drillable metal materials such as cast iron, brass and aluminum. To reduce the milling or drilling time, the next generation of downhole tools comprises composites and other non-metallic materials, such as engineering grade plastics. Nevertheless, milling and drilling continues to be a time consuming and expensive operation. To eliminate the need for milling and drilling, other methods of removing disposable downhole tools have been developed, such as using explosives downhole to fragment the tool, and allowing the debris to fall down into the bottom of the well bore. This method, however, sometimes yields inconsistent results. Therefore, a need exists for disposable downhole tools that are reliably removable without being milled or drilled out, and for methods of removing such disposable downhole tools without tripping a significant quantity of equipment into the well bore.