The present invention provides adiponectin expression-inducing agents, and therapeutic agents using the same for obesity and obesity-related diseases such as cardiovascular diseases or metabolic diseases, as well as methods of searching for adiponectin expression-inducing agents.

Obesity is defined as an increase in the amount of adipose tissue, and is a high risk factor in the development of diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases such as coronary heart disease (Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2). However, molecular mechanisms that can explain the relationship between obesity and these diseases have not been elucidated. Adipose tissue itself functions as a tissue that carries out triglyceride (TG) storage and free fatty acid (FFA)/glycerol release depending on the changing energy requirements (Non-Patent Document 1). Adipose tissue is an important endocrine organ that secretes a large number of biologically active substances called "adipokines" such as FFA (Non-Patent Document 3), adipsin (Non-Patent Document 4), tumor necrosis factor α (Non-Patent Document 5), leptin (Non-Patent Document 6), plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (Non-Patent Document 7), and resistin (Non-Patent Document 8), and controls energy homeostasis in various ways.
Adiponectin or Acrp30 (Non-Patent Document 9 to 12) is an adipose tissue-derived hormone that has several biological functions. The level of plasma adiponectin is decreased in obesity and in insulin-resistance and type II diabetes (Non-Patent Document 13). Experiments using mice have confirmed that administration of adiponectin decreases the blood glucose level and improves insulin resistance (Non-Patent Documents 14 to 16). On the other hand, there are reports that when adiponectin is knocked out in mice, insulin resistance and morbid conditions of diabetes are observed (Non-Patent Documents 17 and 18).
The insulin sensitivity-inducing activity of adiponectin is presumed to be induced by increase in fatty acid oxidation through PPARα activation (Non-Patent Documents 19 and 20), or acutely via AMP kinase (Non-Patent Documents 21 and 22). In endothelial cells (human aortic endothelial cells: HAEC) and macrophages, adiponectin may have antiatherogenic properties which are similar to anti-inflammatory effects (Non-Patent Documents 23 and 24). It was shown that when adiponectin is highly expressed in apoE knockout mice, the expression of molecules related to inflammation decreases, and along with this, atherosclerosis is improved (Non-Patent Documents 19 and 25). Neointimal formation was increased in adiponectin knockout mice (Non-Patent Documents 17 and 26).
Recently, the cloning of cDNAs encoding adiponectin receptor (AdipoR) 1 and 2 was reported (Non-Patent Document 27 and Patent Document 1). AdipoR1 is expressed abundantly in skeletal muscle, whereas AdipoR2 is expressed mainly in the liver. AdipoR1 and R2 comprise seven transmembrane domains (Non-Patent Document 27), but they are presumed to be distinguishable from G protein-coupled receptors, both structurally and functionally (Non-Patent Documents 28 to 30). AdipoR1 and R2 function as receptors for globular and full-length adiponectin, and induce AMPK activation (Non-Patent Documents 21 and 22), PPARα ligand activation (Non-Patent Documents 19 and 20), and increased fatty acid oxidation and glucose uptake due to adiponectin (Non-Patent Document 27).    [Patent Document 1] WO2004/061108    [Non-Patent Document 1] Spiegelman, B. M. & Flier, J. S., Cell 87, 377-389 (1996).    [Non-Patent Document 2] Friedman, J. M., Nature 404, 632-634 (2000).    [Non-Patent Document 3] White, R. T. et al., J. Biol. Chem. 267, 9210-9213 (1992).    [Non-Patent Document 4] Hotamisligil, G. S. et. al., Science 259, 87-91, (1993).    [Non-Patent Document 5] Zhang, Y. et al., Nature 372, 425-432, (1994).    [Non-Patent Document 6] Shulman, G. I., J. Clin. Invest. 106, 171-176 (2000).    [Non-Patent Document 7] Shimomura, I. et al., Nat. Med. 2, 800-803 (1996).    [Non-Patent Document 8] Steppan, C. M. et al., Nature 409, 307-312 (2001).    [Non-Patent Document 9] Scherer, P. E. et al., J. Biol. Chem. 270, 26746-26749 (1995).    [Non-Patent Document 10] Hu, E., Liang, P. & Spiegelman, B. M., J. Biol. Chem. 271, 10697-10703 (1996).    [Non-Patent Document 11] Maeda, K. et al. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 221, 286-296 (1996).    [Non-Patent Document 12] Nakano, Y, et al., J. Biochem. (Tokyo) 120, 802-812 (1996).    [Non-Patent Document 13] Hotta, K. et al., Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol. 20, 1595-1599, 2000.    [Non-Patent Document 14] Fruebis, J. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 98, 2005-2010 (2001).    [Non-Patent Document 15] Yamauchi, T. et al., Nat. Med. 7, 941-946 (2001).    [Non-Patent Document 16] Berg, A. H. et al., Nat. Med. 7, 947-953 (2001).    [Non-Patent Document 17] Kubota, N. et al., J. Biol. Chem. 277, 25863-25866 (2002).    [Non-Patent Document 18] Maeda, N. et al., Nat. Med. 8, 731-737 (2002).    [Non-Patent Document 19] Kersten, S. et al., Nature 405, 421-424 (2000).    [Non-Patent Document 20] Yamauchi, T. et al., J. Biol. Chem. 278, 2461-2468 (2003).    [Non-Patent Document 21] Yamauchi, T. et al., Nat. Med. 8, 1288-1295 (2002).    [Non-Patent Document 22] Tomas, E. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 99, 16309-16313 (2002).    [Non-Patent Document 23] Ouchi, N. et al., Circulation 103, 1057-1063 (2001).    [Non-Patent Document 24] Yokota, T. et al., Blood 96, 1723-1732 (2000).    [Non-Patent Document 25] Okamoto, Y et al., Circulation 106, 2767-2770 (2002).    [Non-Patent Document 26] Matsuda, M. et al., J. Biol. Chem. 277, 37487-37491 (2002).    [Non-Patent Document 27] Yamauchi, T. et al., Nature 423, 762-769 (2003).    [Non-Patent Document 28] Wess, J., FASEB. J. 11, 346-354 (1997).    [Non-Patent Document 29] Yokomizo, T. et al., Nature 387, 620-624 (1997).    [Non-Patent Document 30] Scheer, A. et al., EMBO. J. 15, 3566-3578 (1996).

Adiponectin expression-inducing agents and uses thereof

Abstract: KLF9, which can bind to the 32-bp fragment of position −188 to position −157 from the adiponectin expression start site, was demonstrated to enhance adiponectin promoter activity. Therefore, the present invention uses KLF9 as an adiponectin expression-inducing agent, and suggests that KLF9 replenishment therapy is useful for preventing and/or treating obesity or obesity-related diseases including metabolic diseases such as insulin resistance and type II diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.


Methods and apparatus for detecting oxygen saturation levels in blood from within an auditory canal of a living being proximal to a tympanic membrane are disclosed. The auditory canal is lined with tissue and includes a proximal bend and a distal bend located between the proximal bend and the tympanic membrane. Oxygen levels are detected by emitting one or more wavelengths of light into a first position on the tissue of the auditory canal in a first region defined by the distal bend and the tympanic membrane. The wavelengths of light are then sensed at a second position on the tissue of the auditory canal in the first region. A blood oxygen saturation level and/or pulse rate is then calculated responsive to intensity information corresponding to the wavelengths of light detected at the second position.

An oximeter calculates blood oxygen saturation levels within a living being from the different rates at which oxygenated hemoglobin (oxyhemoglobin) and reduced hemoglobin (deoxyhemoglobin) within vascular tissue of the living being absorb light of different wavelengths. Typically, two wavelengths of light are used where one wavelength is much less sensitive to blood oxygen saturation levels than the other. The wavelength of light that is less sensitive to oxygen saturation levels serves as a constant against which the wavelength of light that is more sensitive to oxygen saturation levels is compared in order to calculate blood oxygen saturation levels.
The measurement of oxygen saturation levels ("oximetry") is a critical physiologic measurement for critical care patients. Presently, sensors for use with oximeters to measure oxygen saturation levels in vascular tissue are designed for placement on a finger, ear lobe, foot, or in an outer portion of the auditory canal. These sensors are subject to motion artifacts that may result in inaccurate measurements. Accordingly, improved oximetry methods and apparatus are needed that are not subject to this limitation. The present invention addresses this need among others.

Pulse oximetry methods and apparatus for use within an auditory canal


A production method of the present invention includes a step of obtaining an aluminum alloy melt having an alloy composition containing Fe: 0.2 to 0.35 mass %, Cu: 0.05 to 0.20 mass %, Mn: 0.3 to 0.6 mass %, Mg: 1.3 to 2.0 mass %, Zn: 4.6 to 5.1 mass %, and Zr: 0.1 mass % or more, a sum of Zr and Ti being 0.2 mass % or less, the composition satisfying a relation of ([Mg mass %]≧−0.5×[Zn mass %]+3.8) and a relation of ([Ti mass %]/[Zr mass %]≧0.2), and the balance being aluminum and inevitable impurities, and a step of obtaining an aluminum alloy ingot having a structure that has a DAS of 40 μm or less and an average crystal grain diameter of 8 μm or less by continuously casting the aluminum alloy melt at a casting rate satisfying ([maximum casting rate (mm/min)]≦−1.43×[casting diameter (mm)]+500), and a step of obtaining an aluminum alloy cast member by subjecting the aluminum alloy ingot to a homogenization treatment in which the ingot is held for 1 hour at a temperature of 450 to 600° C. By this production method, an aluminum alloy cast member free from anisotropy of plastic deformation is obtained.

It is known that, when two Al—Zn—Mg series alloy members are welded, the welded portion is re-solution heat treated by the welding heat and once softened, but the strength thereof will be regained by the subsequent natural aging. Therefore, for a member that needs to be welded and also have a high strength among structural elements, an Al—Zn—Mg series alloy has been generally used.
On the other hand, a technology for producing a structural member with an aluminum alloy forged product is well known. For example, as described in Patent Document 1 listed below, a forged product is produced by forging an Al—Zn—Mg series alloy extruded member as a forging material.
Generally, when forging an Al—Zn—Mg series alloy extruded member as a forging material, the plastic deformation performance of the extruded member (forging material) at the time of the forging differs between in the extrusion direction and in a direction perpendicular to the extrusion direction, causing anisotropy of plastic deformation.

Process for producing cast aluminum alloy member


The present invention relates to a method for rapid fabrication of molds and mold components. This method involves first the step of producing a digital CAD representation of the mold; using this digital representation to make a set of oversized core and cavity three dimensional models, patterns or replicas, by using solid modeling technologies; placing these models, patterns or replicas respectively into a mold base with die pockets to accept the patterns; powder injection molding fine metal powders around each version of the core and cavity of the part to produce a "green" molded article having the negative or female impression or the original core and cavity patterns; debinding these "green" articles to remove the binder; sintering the debound articles to produce the final tool steel or related alloy molds; and performing secondary operations to fit then into a master mold base as part of a complete molding tool. These molds or molding dies and mold components can be used as part of a rapid prototyping mold or as permanent mold that can be used produce parts made out of plastic, metal, ceramic or composite materials. The result will be a reduction both in time and cost as compared to the construction of a standard injection molding die using established methodologies of carbon electrode grinding, electric discharge machining (EDM) and other processes.

Prior Art
An injection molding or die casting tool for a part consists generally of two opposing die insert halves--fitted in a larger frame and representing the negative version of the part that is to be produced. These two halves are known respectively as the cavity, female or convex half-representing the outer surfaces of the part; and the core, male or standing half-representing the inner details of the part. When the two halves are closed in an injection molding process, plastic or related material is molded into the cavities formed by the two halves to produce the desired part shape.
The standard method for the fabrication of a molding tool begins with the splitting of a three dimensional CAD representation into the two above mentioned cavity and core halves, and using the computer database to create a positive or male version of the parts. The positive version of the part is normally machined or ground as a set of carbon or copper electrodes for each mold half, and these set of electrodes are then used to burn a negative or female representation of the parts into a block of steel, one for the cavity half of the tool, the other for the core.
These two tooling halves can then be mounted on a standard injection molding machine to mold the actual parts from plastic, metal, ceramic or composite material formulations. Hard tooling for injection molding such as described above, is also used to produce patterns for the investment casting process as well as several powder metallurgy processes.
This process of machining a positive version of the part out of carbon material or in some cases of actually directly machining the negative or mirror image of the part into each mold half is very time consuming and expensive. Adding to the time and cost of producing the tools, is the detail work needed to incorporate water lines for cooling the mold and the fabrication of ejector pins, ejector holes and slide and wear components. Depending on the complexity and size of a tool, fabrication time can take from six weeks for a simple tool to an average of twenty-four weeks for a larger more complex tool. One application of the instant invention is to provide an alternate means to manufacture permanent tooling beyond the established technologies of machining & grinding.
An alternate means of fabricating mold cavities without using machining or grinding, has been to build the features from several different mold components. This saves time with respect to fabricating one large carbon electrode, but does require a great deal of detail work. A second application of the instant invention is then to provide a means to produce these mold components by reducing the amount of detail work needed to use them.
Because the established tooling technologies require a great deal of time and expense, a series of rapid prototyping technologies have been developed with which design engineers can evaluate form and function. The main issue is that new product designs must often undergo changes to allow all the component parts to be integrated and to function adequately and to specifications. The only way this can be done is to actually produce and assemble the parts in order to obtain the database for possible improvements and design changes. This requires either the manufacture of single prototype parts or the fabrication of rapid prototype molds that can process a series of parts. The third application of the instant invention is to provide a means to produce rapid prototype tooling.
Single prototype parts can be produced by technologies such as stereolithography, where a computer guided laser converts a liquid of a specific composition into a solid three dimensional part. Other solid modeling technologies using fundamentally the same principle, but different forming mediums, include laminated object manufacturing(LOM)--that uses fine paper to form the object, selective laser sintering(SLS)of powders, precision metal spraying and others including CNC machining of various materials
The problem for single prototypes remains however, that while time is gained by skipping the construction of a hard tool; and cost reduced by obtaining parts for functional testing and evaluation, this testing is necessarily limited in scope. The prototype processes can produce only a limited number of parts, and increasing the quantities can outweigh the cost savings obtained by avoiding the construction of a hard tool. This fact highlights the importance of developing methods for the rapid fabrication of prototype tools. Many of these methods have been based on the fundamental single prototyping technologies.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,825 describes the use of stereolithography to directly produce blow molding tooling for rapid container prototyping. This method of direct tooling, so called because a pattern is not required in the building of a mold, can produce tools of high accuracy but limited durability, so the volume runs are short. One of the issues is that the choice of materials for the stereolithographic process, referred to as SLA(stereolithography apparatus), is limited, and these materials have to be able to withstand higher molding temperatures to accommodate a wider range of plastics for sampling. Another means of duplicating the construction of the cavity and die halves of a molding tool as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,435,959 and 5,580,507, involves using a prototype of the part itself inserted into a container so that the relevant features can then be engulfed by a resilient plastic material. The material is removed from that container, so that subsequently the sample itself can be separated from the resilient material leaving a cavity of that feature. The process is then repeated for the other feature to produce another mold half.
A variation of the above mentioned process uses an RTV (room temperature vulcanizing) silicone that is vacuum cast and subsequently cured around patterns generated from any of the solid modeling technologies such as SLA, SLS (selective laser sintering), LOM (laminated object manufacturing), CNC machining and others. These tools can run up to 40 prototype parts.
Variations of the above mentioned processes beginning with the 3-D CAD files, creating patterns from stereolithography or other materials and using these patterns to cast reinforced resins or plastic, are all categorized under the term "soft" tooling, due to the fact that the tooling wears out easily. "Soft" tools by definition then, can only be used as a means of rapid prototyping a limited number of parts. The short-life aspect of this tooling has been addressed by other developing technologies geared towards producing the desired "hard" tools made out of metal, and hence having more durability.
For example, a recent innovation, described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,448, takes the "soft" tooling produced by the any of the above mentioned solid modeling technologies, and selectively deposits layers of nickel around the inner mold surfaces. The nickel coated mold is then fitted into a base for the injection molding operation. This process does harden the tool to increase the tooling life, nonetheless, molding parameters must be controlled towards the lower end of the molding pressures to maintain the nickel deposited layers intact.
Another method of manufacture described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,781, takes the cavity and core patterns directly produced from stereolithography or a related solid modeling technology, and proceeds to thermal spray metal on the substrates. The next step involves the separation of the patterns from the metal substrates, leaving the cavity and core mold halves exposed. The strength of these thermally sprayed molds is a function of the thickness of the thermally sprayed metal, hence they tend to be fragile in nature.
Other methods addressed to the rapid fabrication of "hard" tools for prototype and production purposes, include the use of investment casting as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,190, where the investment cast shell serves as a means to form the functional cavity surfaces when the metal alloy is cast. In a variation on this, SLA patterns are being used for the direct casting of the injection tooling molds. The main issue with this fabrication method has been the inherent surface quality of the casting and the amount of work required to bring the cast mold or die halves to specifications for use in injection molding tools.
Methods of thermal spraying of metal have been developed to directly produce prototype parts and more recently to form "hard" molds, die and tools as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,922. The patterns in this case are support members constructed not only to form the desired shape of a cavity or a core, but also to promote optimum heat exchange properties for the thermal spray deposition process. The tools have the same issues of fragility as other thermal spray methods that use patterns from stereolithography as a base for the thermal spray deposition process.
Powder metallurgy has been applied towards the construction of molds and mold components due to the fact that powders can conform to the shape of any given pattern when they are flowed in. Variations in the application of the process can be identified by the way the powders are consolidated so they can maintain the desired shape. For the purposes of forming complex metal molds, the advantages of powder metallurgy lie not only in the forming of complex shapes facilitated by the flow of powders, but also by the fact that a great deal of material waste can be avoided by processing net shape or near net shape molds when compared to the other metal working processes.
A means of forming the die cavities through the use of conventional powder metallurgy is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,156. The practice of this invention involves flowing in refractory powders around a flexible rubber mold that has been previously conformed from a replicating master. To keep the powders in place, a binder is mixed with the powders and molded or compressed into shape, followed by a curing period to allow the binder to harden and hold the part shape. The next step is remove the cavity or core mold, and to burn off the binder in an oven once it has accomplished its purpose, thereby leaving a porous metal skeleton that can be closed off by infiltrating a low melting point metal such as copper. This method does provide "hard" tooling that will last longer than the "soft" tooling of the other rapid prototyping technologies, and introduces the use of powder metallurgy as a means to form the "hard" tooling.
A variation of this process as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,336, casts a ceramic compound over a pattern to form the cavity or core half. The procedure is to take the cavity impression on the ceramic casting and place in a tubular container so that loose metal powder can be poured into the container. Instead of binding the powders together with a binder as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,336, the whole tubular container is placed in an oven and a low melting metal such as copper is melted over the powder to bind the whole shape. The next step is to remove the original ceramic pattern to leave exposed the desired cavity or core mold half, which can then be assembled into a complete tool for injection molding.
Improvements have been commercially incorporated into this methodology by coating the fine metal powders by a proprietary polymer and selectively laser sintering the coated powders around a given pattern. In this case the laser serves to fuse the polymer and holds the shape of the part, thereby eliminating the need for any tubular shaped container to hold the powders together. This "green" part is subsequently impregnated with a low-melt binder system and heated in an oven before sintering at higher temperatures to provide a metal skeleton, that in the final steps is infiltrated with copper. This process is know as "Rapid tool-Long Run(LR)" and is practice by DTM Corporation in Austin, Tex.
The above mentioned approaches have addressed the issues of tool longevity by using powder metals to form "hard" metal dies. Though the resulting molds are more permanent in nature, there are two main issues which prevent these tools from being considered permanent hardened tools. The first is that the tools are difficult to polish due to the coarse nature of the base powders. This means that the surface finish on parts produced from these tools may not be adequate. The second issue is that the high copper content- necessary to close the porosity in the initial metal skeletons- reduces the attainable hardness of the composite to about Rockwell B75, which is softer that similar tools machined from aluminum. Tool life and wear resistance remains a major issue when compared to tools manufactured from conventional methods that can be hardened above Rockwell C60.
A recent application of powder metallurgy as a method for producing dies is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,824. It applies hot isostatic compacting to develop a fully dense mold and die block that does not need to be copper infiltrated to achieve full density. Hot isostatic compacting consists of using a rubber container which has the general shape desired, to hold the powders together while they are compacted into shape by high pressures. The process includes removing the rubber container once the mold can hold its shape, and then heating or sintering the "green" article in a furnace to consolidate the metal powders. Several alloys can be processed from this method that can attain harnesses equivalent to those of the wrought materials commonly applied in the toolmaking process. The main issue with using this process for the construction of molds and mold components, is that the method is inherently limited in the complexity of components that it can reproduce as well as issues having to do with dimensional accuracy, since compmolds and dies occurs in molds and dies occurs in a directional basis.
Each of the above mentioned inventions has improved the development process by reducing the elements of time and cost, yet each has issues that detract from its adoption as production and extended run tools.
Those technologies that use "soft" tooling achieve only a limited number of parts for evaluation. This is due to the fact that all plastic tools made of resilient materials such as nylon and reinforced fibers tend to wear away, so that reproducibility is compromised.
When improvements are accomplished by the rapid fabrication of metal molds, these then have issues relating to surface finish that may detract from form and function evaluations on certain parts applications. In addition to this dimensional tolerances of the resulting tools may vary because the copper infiltration process causes some expansion of the mold, or the method of compaction provides a directional bias, as in hot isostatic compacting. None of the present state of the art rapid die fabrication technologies have been able to produce molding dies from a hardenable tool steel, related metal alloy or hardened material that can approach the metallurgical, surface finish quality and complexity levels of the conventional die fabrication methods.

Method for fabrication of molds and mold components


A semiconductor device and fabricating method thereof are disclosed. The method includes forming a polysilicon layer on a semiconductor substrate including a high-voltage area and a low-voltage area, partially etching the polysilicon layer in the low-voltage area, forming an anti-reflective layer on the polysilicon layer to reduce a step difference between the high-voltage and low-voltage areas, forming a photoresist pattern in the high-voltage and low-voltage areas, and forming a high-voltage gate and a low-voltage gate by etching the polysilicon layer using the photoresist pattern as an etch mask.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a dual gate in a semiconductor device and fabricating method thereof.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, a technology for implementing a device having different transconductances on a chip simultaneously has been proposed. This technology is applied by implementing a low-voltage drive device and a high-voltage drive device.
In implementing a low-voltage drive device and a high-voltage drive device simultaneously, a dual gate oxidation process is applied in a manner that a gate forming process is generally performed twice to form a thick high-voltage gate poly and a thin low-voltage gate poly.
This gate forming method includes sequentially forming a low-voltage gate and a high-voltage gate by performing a high-voltage gate poly process, an etching process, and a low-voltage gate poly process in order.
Thus, in a gate forming method according to a related art, a high-voltage gate and a low-voltage gate are separately formed, whereby this process is relatively complicated. Moreover, a surface tension of water is generated along a wafer surface, and more particularly, along a pattern profile of a boundary between a low-voltage device area LV and a high-voltage device area HV, whereby a water mark can be formed thereof.
Therefore, this process may be less than ideal in aspects of mass production and cost.

Semiconductor device and fabricating method thereof


A transport protector for protecting an inkjet cartridge wherein the inkjet cartridge includes a cartridge body, an inkwell extending from the cartridge body and a nozzle on the inkwell. The protector including a protector body shaped to receive at least a portion of the inkjet cartridge and including a section to allow UV radiation to penetrate the protector body and cure a UV sensitive material on the inkjet cartridge.

The present invention is particularly applicable for use in connection with inkjet cartridges and, therefore, the invention will be described with particular reference to an inkjet cartridge. However, the invention has broader applications and may be used in connection with other products.
It is, of course, well known that a cover or protector can be used in connection with product packaging for protecting a delicate portion of a product. Further, it is also well known that the cover can be molded into a desired configuration tailored to cover and protect a desired portion of the product and to help maintain its position relative to the portion to be protected. These devices can be made from a number of different materials which provide shock absorbing qualities that protect the delicate portion of the product during the shipping and/or handling of the product. By utilizing a cover having protective qualities, a lower percentage of products are damaged during shipping and/or handling. This is especially important in relation to electronics which are easily damaged.
It is also known that the ink in an inkjet cartridge can leak or seep from the cartridge during shipping and/or handling of the cartridge. Therefore, it is advantageous to cover the nozzle until the cartridge is ready for use by the end user.
The problem arises in creating a protector that is inexpensive to produce and easy to position relative to the desired zone of protection wherein the end user can easily remove the cartridge from the packaging without damaging the cartridge.

Protector for an inkjet cartridge and method of using the same


The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for reducing the skill required of a paddler to right a capsized kayak without exiting it, and to thus avoid the dangers associated with exiting a kayak after capsize. In broad terms, the paddler is provided with a simple and rapid means of creating a buoyant force to one side of the capsized kayak, which can be used to produce a generous amount of torque for righting. More specifically, an inflatable flotation device is held in place on the deck of the kayak and is provided with a handle. Upon capsize the paddler grasps and pulls the handle, whereupon the flotation element is released from its securing container and automatically inflated from compressed gas cartridges. The paddler can then lean on the handle and attached flotation element to right the kayak without exiting it.

The kayak, originally designed by the Inuit of northern Canada as a fast and seaworthy hunting craft for the Arctic waters, has become a popular recreational boat. It currently takes one of two basic forms, either that of the white water kayak designed for running rivers, or the sea kayak. The former is generally shorter and of low volume for maneuverability. The latter is longer and of higher volume to provide greater directional stability and allow for the stowage of cargo. Sea kayaking has become a very popular recreational activity, as it is a pleasant way to enjoy the outdoors, and a convenient way to travel to remote campsites.
In kayaks of both types the paddler is sealed into the boat by a waterproof "skirt" worn around the waist and sealed around the lip of the cockpit in which the paddler sits. The skirt prevents water from entering the kayak even when the kayak is overturned. An overturned kayak may be righted by the paddler without removing the skirt by performing a skill-requiring maneuver called an "Eskimo roll" (or simply "roll"). To do a roll, the paddler applies sufficient torque using correct orientation and movement of the paddle to rotate the boat and his or her body to an upright position. If the paddler is unable to right the boat using the Eskimo roll, but a second boat is near, a rescue can be performed in which the second boat is brought close enough to the capsized boat so that the capsized paddler's waving hand can grasp its bow. The capsized paddler can use the support of the second boat's bow to rotate him- or herself to an upright position without exiting his/her boat. A paddler unable to right the kayak can free him- or herself from the boat (by releasing the skirt from the cockpit rim) and slip out of the cockpit while underwater.
Sea kayaks rarely capsize, and so sea kayakers are generally less experienced in performing an Eskimo roll than are white-water kayakers. However, if a sea kayaker fails to right the boat and it becomes necessary to release the skirt and exit the boat, he/she is confronted by a number of life-threatening dangers. The kayaker may become separated from the boat and/or paddle, possibly far from shore and possibly in rough seas. The temperature of the water will often be low enough to reduce the paddler's strength over a fairly short time, and make re-entry to the boat more difficult. This serious situation can lead to hypothermia and/or drowning, and fear or panic can further complicate the situation. Even if the paddler succeeds in re-entering the boat it will be filled with water, unstable, and liable to re-capsize before it can be emptied. Consequently the preferred response to a capsize is righting the boat without the paddler exiting the boat.
Prior art exists for the prevention of capsize. However, such devices necessarily alter handling and performance characteristics of the kayak and, should they fail to prevent capsize, they may hinder immediate righting of the kayak.
Various prior art aids to the paddler in the event of capsize exist, but these have concentrated on aiding re-entry after exiting the boat rather than righting the boat without exiting it. For example, one device provides a paddle float which is inflated and secured to one blade of the paddle. The other end of the paddle is then fastened to the boat deck behind the cockpit. The paddle then functions as an outrigger to stabilize the kayak as the paddler attempts re-entry. Another emergency aid simply consists of a large, orally inflatable bag upon which the paddler sits or leans to aid re-entry. It takes many minutes to inflate. Both of these devices have the disadvantage of subjecting the paddler to the dangers noted above which are associated with exiting the boat.
There is therefore a need for a method and/or device which, requiring little skill or practice, enables a paddler to right an overturned kayak without exiting the kayak. The righting of a kayak and paddler requires the generation of torque about the long axis of the kayak. The skill requirement in the Eskimo roll lies in minimizing the required torque, and in generating the resulting torque requirement from specific orientation and movement of a paddle blade. The fundamental idea of the present invention is to provide kayakers with a simple and rapid means of creating a buoyant force to one side of the kayak, which can be used to produce a generous amount of torque for righting.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method by which a paddler can accomplish results equivalent to those of the skill requiring maneuver, the Eskimo roll. It is another object of the invention to provide, for such a method, an apparatus which is quickly and easily deployable upon capsize and which provides a buoyant force that a kayaker can use to rotate the kayak and to raise his/her body back to an upright position, in the same way that he/she could use the bow of a rescue boat.


Provided is a vibration wave motor including: a vibration member having an elastic body joined with a electric-mechanical energy converter; and a moving member contacting the vibration member, the vibration member and the moving member being annularly formed, the vibration wave motor frictionally driving the moving member by a motion generated at a contacting portion with the moving member of the vibration member upon application of an AC signal to the electric-mechanical energy converter. The vibration wave motor includes a centrifugal fan provided at an outer peripheral portion and/or an inner peripheral portion of a circular ring formed of the vibration member and the moving member, and the centrifugal fan rotates integrally with the moving member.

In recent years, a vibration wave motor having characteristics such as low speed and large torque has been put to practical use as a driving motor for auto-focus of a photographing lens of a single-lens reflex camera, for example. Meanwhile, there is a demand for further miniaturization and high power of the motor. To achieve miniaturization and high power, countermeasures against heat generation and temperature rise of the vibration wave motor are important for the following reason. Some energy loss, i.e., a part not used as output energy among input energy to the vibration wave motor, is that converted into thermal energy. However, when the vibration wave motor is miniaturized and increased in power, the amount of generated energy loss per volume and per surface area increases. These deteriorate functions of constituent members of the vibration wave motor, and cause a temperature rise which affects its performance. For this reason, countermeasures against heat generation and temperature rise of the vibration wave motor are important.
To deal with such a problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H03-253270 discloses a vibration wave motor including a cooling fan that rotates integrally with a moving member. Additionally, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H09-065673 discloses a vibration actuator in which a radiator fin that rotates integrally with a moving member also serves as a cooling fan.


A method for providing absence information in a telecommunication system comprising several subscribers, wherein the absence information is produced and captured by a first subscriber terminal. The presence information is transmitted to a switching node and stored therein. The switching node transmits the absence information to a second subscriber terminal such that the absence information is continuously available. Known absence text and station guarding services are used to produce and store absence information.

In addition to the conventional telephony service features, modern forms of communication such as "Instant Messaging" and "Presence" are becoming increasingly important. In particular, the younger generation is already used to working with these forms of communication today, and it is to be assumed that they will also want to use these forms of communication in the working environment. This is supported by some firms, for example, which are moving toward this environment by using the IP convergence products.
In telecommunication systems, one subscriber learns of the absence of another as a result of the fact that the other subscriber does not accept the connection when a connection setup is attempted and, if an absence text has been defined, as a result of the fact that the calling subscriber receives this text message. If the called subscriber is already having a conversation at that time, this is signaled to the caller by means of the busy tone.
However, the caller only receives this information if said caller calls, i.e. dials the called party. The purpose of a "presence service" is to provide a subscriber with absence information or information about the availability of other subscribers directly, without the need to actually contact these other subscribers. This information can be, for example: Present, Away on vacation, Do not disturb, At lunch, etc.
Such presence services already exist for the internet data medium. The information is displayed to the subscriber in a subscriber list, i.e. a so-called buddy list. These buddy lists are a personal list of one or more personally selected subscribers whose presence status one wishes to track. In particular, they provide information about whether a selected person is currently "online", i.e. available.
Status information for every subscriber is already stored in many telecommunication systems or PBX systems today using the absence text and station guarding service features. This information is currently provided to the terminals when a call is made.
For example, a subscriber can have activated the standard absence text "Away on vacation until June. 20".
If a call to this subscriber is then made by another subscriber who is connected to the same telecommunication system, the text message is sent to the calling subscriber and displayed in the display of the caller.

Method for providing absence information


An infusion pump assembly (20) is provided which employs electrochemistry to selectively control the delivery rate of a dispensing fluid (21) from a dispensing reservoir (24) by selectively controlling the flow rate of a driving fluid (19) from a driving reservoir (23) to a receiving reservoir (33). A partition (25), separating the driving reservoir from the receiving fluid reservoir, includes at least one aperture (28) which permits flow communication therebetween. As the receiving reservoir increases or expands in size due to receipt of the driving fluid, a barrier member (32) communicates with the dispensing reservoir to expel the dispensing fluid therefrom. The infusion pump assembly includes a disposable infusion pump unit (36) and a separate and remote programming unit (37) operably coupled to a plug member (30), blocking the aperture, for control of the driving fluid flowing through the aperture. The remote electronic programming unit can be calibrated to administer the proper infusate flow rate by selectively controlling the corresponding flow rate of driving fluid. A method of controlled infusion of an infusate employing electrochemistry is also provided.

Fluid or medicament infusion programs are generally preferred to single or multiple injection programs in that the delivery rate of infusate can be controlled to a greater degree over a period of time. Typically, the infusate is topically administered directly onto the skin, wound site or eyes or is injected under the skin or directly into the vascular system or muscular tissue. In particular, continuous delivery parenteral drug therapy is most preferred because the controlled delivery of the medicament reduces toxic or other side effects associated with sharp pulses of the medicament, significantly improves the effectiveness of the therapy program, and increases patient comfort.
Broadly, an infusion device includes a container providing a reservoir of medicament or infusate coupled to a tube having a dispensing channel or the like. The tube includes a dispensing end which communicates directly with the recipient. Disposed in the fluid path between the dispensing end and the reservoir is a regulating device which controls the flow rate of the infusate through the channel.
The traditional and simplest infusion device for delivering sustained parenteral treatments is an intravenous drip apparatus which employs gravity to move the infusate from the reservoir through the channel and into the patient. The regulating device is often provided by a restrictor in the form of a roller clamp physically acting on an exterior surface of the tube which restricts the flow through the dispensing channel. One problem with these roller clamp restrictors, however, is that they are gravimetrically dependent on the hydrostatic pressure of the infusate formed at the roller clamp. Hence, the roller clamp cannot accurately regulate the dispensing flow because as the pressure head of the infusate decreases, the hydrostatic pressure decreases which proportionately reduces the flow rate of the infusate through the roller clamp.
To overcome this problem, electronic regulation devices were developed to replace the roller clamp restrictors. These electronic devices are capable of electronically sensing the flow rate through the channel and automatically adjusting the restriction area of flow through internal adjusters to maintain the desired infusion rate. While these devices have improved the accuracy of intravenous drip apparatus, they are burdensome and impractical since the dispensing reservoir must be positioned above the recipient at all times to create the proper pressure head at the electronic regulation device.
More advanced infusion systems have been developed which actively pump the infusate into the patient rather than relying on gravimetric infusion. Typically, a piston, plunger or the like is urged or advanced into a fixed volume dispensing reservoir containing the infusate which positively displaces the infusate and expels it from the reservoir. Examples of these infusion pumps include syringe pumps, reciprocating piston pumps and peristaltic pumps.
The driving forces displacing the piston or plunger are generally provided by spring elements, chemical systems or electric resources. The most common driving force, however, is that provided by an electric motor which is capable of controlling the infusate flow rate from the dispensing reservoir. Hence, the flow rate of the medicament or pharmaceutical agent suspended in the infusate can be customized to the particular needs of the patient more accurately than the intravenous drip apparatus.
While these above-mentioned intravenous drip apparatuses and infusion pumps are perfectly acceptable in a hospital environment, neither are ambulatory which severely restricts the activity of the recipient. Hence, considerable research has been devoted to the development of small disposable and portable infusion pumps of the positive displacement nature. Electronic powered delivery means or the like would provide a more selectable driving force to control the expulsion of the infusate from the dispensing reservoir but would not be suitable for a disposable product because of the inherent increased costs and weight. Therefore, these newly developed disposable infusion pumps generally utilize springs, vapor pressure or elastomeric balloons as a source of driving or displacement energy to expel the infusate from the dispensing reservoir. Due in part to the uncontrolled nature of these sources of driving energy, typically, a flow regulation internal restrictor is included in the fluid flow path between the infusion pump and the dispensing end. These restrictors are generally precision bore tubing elements or filter elements which impede the flow of the infusate through the fluid channel. Discrete value flow rate restrictors are available to incorporate in the fluid path to selectively establish infusate flow rate. Typical of these portable infusion pumps are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,201,207; 4,318,400; 4,386,929 and 4,597,758.
Presumably, these patented devices provide portability of the infusion pump and provide a range of discrete value restrictors to assure a proper selection of infusate flow rates. In practice, however, the flow rate cannot be precisely selected to suit the needs of a particular patient. Flow rate of the infusate is dependent on a number of factors such as the bore size of the restrictor and the fluid properties of the infusate. The bulk viscosity, for example, varies from fluid to fluid and is further dependent on the infusate's dispensing temperature. Moreover, infusates containing suspensions often cannot pass through the restrictors because the suspension particles become lodged in the bores or clog the filter elements. Accordingly, a wide range of discrete value restrictors as well as an astute knowledge of the infusate fluid properties must be made available to provide the desired flow rate for a particular infusate. Due to the economics and logistics, however, only the most common discrete value restrictors are produced and made widely available.
Osmotic infusion devices based on the Rose-Nelson pump principle have been developed which ar activated by imbibition of water (S. Rose and J. F. Nelson, "A Continuous long-Term Injector", Austral, J. exp Biol. 33, pp. 415-420 (1955)). A Rose-Nelson pump consists of three chambers: a salt chamber containing excess solid salt, an infusate chamber and a water chamber. The salt and water compartments are separated by a rigid semipermeable membrane permeable to water but impermeable to salt; the salt and infusate chambers are separated by a elastomeric diaphragm. As water is imbibed osmotically into the salt chamber, the salt chamber swells causing the elastomeric diaphragm to expand into the infusate chamber which forces the infusate therefrom through a delivery orifice. Examples of these osmotic infusion devices may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,604,417; 3,760,984; 3,845,770; 4,193,398; 4,474,575, 4,474,048; 4,552,561; and 4,838,862. Generally, the flow rate of the infusate of these devices is controlled by osmotic rate controllers which vary one or a combination of the: osmotic gradient, a function of the salt; and area of the semipermeable membrane as well as the membranes property characteristics.
However, similar to non-osmotic portable and disposable infusion pumps including discrete value internal restrictors, a variety of osmotic rate controllers must be available to suit the particular parenteral treatment needs of the patient. Again, because of economics and logistics, only the most common flow rates are provided for and made widely available.
Another form of drug dispensing is that provided by electrochemically driven drug dispensers. Generally, a first compartment is provided containing electrochemically active fluid molecules (in gas form). Disposed adjacent to the first compartment is a second compartment which is separated therefrom by an electrolytic membrane. An electrode contained in the first compartment acts as a catalyst in converting the fluid molecules in the first compartment to ions so that passage through the electrolytic membrane is permitted. An opposing electrode contained in the second compartment reconverts or recombines those ions back to fluid molecules in the second compartment. The net result is that fluid from the first compartment is recombined in the second compartment to fill the second compartment. The recombined fluid molecules create fluid pressure on an expandable diaphragm separating the second compartment from a drug containing chamber. In turn, the expanding diaphragm expels the drug from the chamber. Hence, the fluid pressure is determined by the magnitude of an electric current applied between the two opposing electrodes in conductive contact with the membrane and the diffusion rate through the membrane. Typical of these true electrochemically driven infusion devices may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,687,423 and 4,886,514.
While these devices may provide adequate dispensing of a drug under certain circumstances, some problems are inherent with these designs. In order to electrochemically convert the fluid molecule in the first compartment to an ion and then reconvert that ion back to a fluid molecule on the other side of the electrolytic membrane, a constant current must be applied between the electrodes. Hence, a power source is always required to provide this sustained current for the duration of the dispensing period. Moreover, since the fluid employed to drive the diaphragm is generally gaseous, it is highly susceptible to external environmental changes, such as temperature. Accordingly, the pressure exerted on the diaphragm may vary in these instances which ultimately change the rate of dispensing the drug. More recently, though still in its infancy, electrochemical controlled dispensing mechanisms for drug delivery have been developed. These infusion pumps, incorporating electrochemical mechanisms, generally include a layered composite of a microporous alumina membrane and a gold microporous electrode coated with an impermeable overlay barrier which spans and covers the micropores of the electrode. On one side of the composite is a dispensing reservoir of infusate in flow contact with the electrode and the barrier which prevents the infusate from flowing through the micropores and into a dispensing channel. Hence, by opening the barrier layer covering the electrode micropores, the infusate is permitted to pass through the layered composite and into the recipient via the dispensing channel (M. J. Tierney and C. R. Martin, "Electrorelease Systems Based on Microporous Membranes", J. Electrochem. Soc. Vol. 137, No. 12, pp 3789-3793 (1990)).
To open this barrier layer, two general techniques are currently employed. The first and more refined technique involves disruption or dissolution of the barrier layer by passing a current through the overlayer. This dissolvable material layer, preferably a thin metal foil, is oxidized galvanostatically and dissolved into the infusate solution, thereby opening the micropores for flow of the infusate therethrough. The second technique employed to "open" the micropores generally involves an overlayer of a polymeric based barrier material which spans the micropores and is impermeable to the infusate. In general, a gas is generated through electrolysis of the infusate on the electrode behind the polymer membrane which ruptures the polymer membrane, thereby uncovering the micropores. Because the electrochemistry is carried in the medicament or fluid, the infusate is contaminated. Unpredictable chemical reactions or electrochemical reactions could occur resulting in toxic products which would be infused into the recipient. The dispensed drug, for example, could be undesirable modified. Moreover, since the infusate must flow through the micropores of the membrane, the flow rate cannot accurately be controlled without careful consideration of the infusate fluid properties (i.e., bulk viscosity), the size of the micropores, and the area of disruption.
None of the foregoing references is believed to disclose the present invention as claimed and is not presumed to be prior art. The references are offered for the purpose of background information.

Electrochemical controlled dispensing assembly and method for selective and controlled delivery of a dispensing fluid


Described herein are photochromic glasses that are at least substantially free of rare earth elements. Methods of making and using the photochromic glasses are also described.

Many versions of photochromic glasses have been developed. Among all the attributes, the following are considered commercially important: low residual coloration in the clear state, color and transmission in the darkened state, ability to brighten reversibly (fading rate), and low thermal dependence, among others. In addition, some physical properties such as refractive index, coefficient of thermal expansion, Littleton temperature, and high temperature of crystallization are also desirable for manufacturing reasons.
French Patent Application 97/01164 describes improved photochromic glasses, for which composition range has been selected to optimize the above set of photochromic and physical attributes. These glasses are now commercially available, especially in countries where the weather is hot, offering attractive performances such as low thermal dependence and rapid fading. However, to obtain the required properties, these glasses include rare earth oxides (especially lanthanum oxide) to achieve a corrected refractive index without drastically impacting the photochromic properties.
Due to the recent huge increase of the cost of the raw materials and especially of those of the rare earth oxides, it is desirable to develop rare earth-free photochromic glasses presenting the same optical properties. In order to achieve this goal, rare earth oxides need to be replaced by other constituents.
It is to the provision of such technologies that the present disclosure is directed.


A device and method for merging pre-sequenced products includes at least a first and a second feeder mechanism. The first feeder mechanism feeds a stream of first pre-sequenced product and the second feeder mechanism feeds a stream of second pre-sequenced product. A reading device reads product information of each product of the stream of the first and second pre-sequenced product. A pausing device pauses one of the first stream of pre-sequenced product and the second stream of pre-sequenced product based on the information read from the reading device. The product from one or both of the stream of first and second pre-sequenced product having the same product information is organized into a sequentially merged order.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a merging device and, more particularly, to a delivery point merge and packaging device for merging separate streams of pre-sequenced products and a method of use.
2. Background Description
The sorting of mail is a very complex, time consuming task. In general, the sorting of mail is processed though many stages, including back end processes, which sort or sequence the mail in delivery order sequence. These processes can either be manual or automated, depending on the mail sorting facility, the type of mail to be sorted such as packages, flats, letter and the like. A host of other factors may also contribute to the automation of the mail sorting, from budgetary concerns to modernization initiatives to access to appropriate technologies to a host of other factors.
In general, however, most modern facilities have taken major steps toward automation by the implementation of a number of technologies. These technologies include, amongst others, letter sorters, parcel sorters, advanced tray conveyors, flat sorters and the like. As a result of these developments, postal facilities have become quite automated over the years, considerably reducing overhead costs.
But, in implementation, problems still exist. For example, currently, it is known to sequence letters using a mail sorter based on, for example, a two pass algorithm. Of course, other known systems can equally be used to sort letters, a host of them readily available and known to those of ordinary skill in the art. On the other hand, sequencing flats is typically performed manually using "cases". That is, flats are typically manually sequenced using cases having several hundred bins or shoots that are representative of delivery points for a route of a mail carrier. This can include, for example, 650 different delivery points. This process is very time consuming and labor intensive. For example, a person must manually read the address or delivery point for each flat and place it in the appropriate bin.
Now, to merge the pre-sequenced letters with the pre-sequenced flats can be troublesome and is usually performed using the same case for the flats in a manual process. In toto, the entire process can include three or more separate and distinct processes to merge the flats with the letters or other types of products. First, the letters are pre-sequenced using any well known method, such as the two pass algorithm. The flats are sequenced using the known manual processes. Once the flats are sequenced, the pre-sequenced letters are then manually placed within each of the respective shoots of the case, associated with the delivery point of the flat. After the letters and flats are sorted together in the case, the merged mail product is removed from the case while maintaining delivery sequence so that the merged mail products can then be further processed for delivery. This is a very time consuming, labor intensive and expensive procedure.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.

Delivery point merge and packaging device and method of use


Disclosed is a process for preparing a stable PROX reaction catalyst, comprising the steps of (a) preparing a catalyst platinum supported on alumina; (b) calcinating the catalyst from step (a) at 300˜600° C. for 2˜4 hours; (c) contacting the catalyst obtained from step (b) with hydrogen at 300° C.˜600° C. for 2˜4 hours to reduce the catalyst; and (d) dropping the temperature in the reduced catalyst from step (c) to less than 100° C. and then contacting the catalyst with a predetermined solvent and/or gas while elevating the temperature to 300° C.–600° C. The catalyst has Pt—Al arrangement, the content of Pt being 0.5˜7% by weight and has an overall shape of an oval.

A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts chemical energy produced by a reaction directly into electrical energy. For example, one type of fuel cell includes a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) that permits only protons to pass between an anode and a cathode of the fuel cell. At the anode, diatomic hydrogen (a fuel) is reacted to produce protons that pass through the PEM. The electrons produced by this reaction travel through a circuitry that is external to the fuel cell to form an electrical current. At the cathode, oxygen is reduced and reacts with the protons to form water.
A typical fuel cell has a terminal voltage of up to approximately one DC volt. For purposes of producing much larger voltages, several fuel cells may be assembled together to form an arrangement called a fuel cell stack.
A fuel cell system may include a fuel processor that converts a hydrocarbon (e.g. methane) into a fuel flow for the fuel cell stack. Exemplary fuel processor systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,207,122, 6,190,623 and 6,132,689, which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The two reactions which are generally used to convert a hydrocarbon fuel into hydrogen are shown in equation (1) and (2).½O2+CH4→2H2+CO  (1)H2O+CH4→3H2+CO  (2)
The reaction shown in equation (2) is generally referred to as stem reforming. Both reactions may be conducted at a temperature from about 600° C. to 1,100° C. in the presence of a catalyst such as platinum (Catalytic Reformer). CO produced by these reactions is generally present in amounts greater than 10,000 ppm. Because of the high temperature at which the fuel processor is operated, this CO generally does not affect the catalyst in the fuel processor. However, if this reformate is passed to the prior arts fuel cell system operating at a lower temperature (e.g., less than 100° C.), the CO may poison the catalyst in the fuel cell by binding itself to catalyst sites, inhibiting hydrogen in the cell from reacting. In such systems it is typically necessary to reduce the CO levels to less than 100 ppm to avoid damaging the fuel cell catalyst. For this reason the fuel processor may employ additional reactions and processes to reduce the CO that is produced. For example, two additional reactions that may be used to accomplish this objective are shown in equations (3) and (4). The reaction shown in equation (3) is generally referred to as a Shift Reaction, and the reaction shown in equation (4) is generally referred to as a Preferential Oxidation (PROX).CO+H2O→H2+CO2  (3)CO+½O2→CO2  (4)
Various catalysts and operating conditions are known for accomplishing the shift reaction. For example, the reaction may be conducted at a temperature from about 300–600° C. in the presence of supported platinum. Other catalysts and operating conditions are also known. Such systems operating in this temperature range are typically referred to as high temperature shift (HTS) systems. The shift reaction may also be conducted at lower temperatures such as 100–300° C. in the presence of other catalysts such as copper supported on transition metal oxides. Such systems operating in this temperature range are typically referred to as low temperature shift (LTS) systems. Other catalysts and operating conditions are also known. In a practical sense, typically the shift reaction may be used to lower CO levels to about 1,000–10,000 ppm, although in an equilibrium reaction it may be theoretically possible to drive CO levels even lower.
The PROX reaction may also be used to further reduce CO. The PROX reaction is generally conducted at temperatures lower than the shift reaction, such as at 100–200° C. The PROX reaction can also be conducted in the presence of an oxidation catalyst such as platinum or alternatively platinum supported on alumina (e.g., in the form of Al—O—Pt). The preparation of the latter catalyst comprises for example the steps of (a) washcoating a honeycomb with alumina (Al2O3) in the form of slurry, drying the washcoating and then impregnating the washcoating with platinum to produce a catalyst platinum supported on alumina and (b) calcinating the catalyst platinum supported on alumina obtained from step (a) at 300˜700° C. This catalyst shows much difference in the ability of reducing the concentration of carbon monoxide in the PROX reaction depending on the amount of platinum used and its preparation. Nevertheless, these catalysts could not stably reduced about 1˜6% of carbon monoxide under H2 to less than 50 ppm. Thus, in the PROX reaction, there is a continuing need for a PROX reaction catalyst in which a PROX reaction catalyst can stably reduce the concentration of carbon monoxide to produce a treated fuel gas stream comprising less than about 50 ppm carbon monoxide.

Preferential oxidation catalyst and process for preparing the same


The invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising a biodegradable and biocompatible microparticle composition comprising a 1,2-benzazole of the formula ##STR1## and the pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts thereof, within a polymeric matrix.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to microencapsulated 1,2-benzazoles and their use in the treatment of warm blooded animals suffering from mental illness More particularly, the present invention relates to microencapsulated 3-piperidinyl-substituted 1,2-benzisoxazoles and 1,2-benzisothiazoles and their use in the treatment of mental patients.
2. Description of the Related Art
Strupczewski et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,811 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,076, describe 3-piperidinyl-1,2-benzisoxazoles and 3-piperidinyl-1,2-benzisothiazoles having antipsychotic and analgesic properties.
Kennis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,804,663, disclose 3-piperidinyl-1,2-benzisothiazoles and 3-piperidinyl-1,2-benzisoxazoles and their pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts that have antipsychotic properties and are useful in the treatment of a variety of complaints in which serotonin release is of predominant importance. In particular, 3-[2-[4-(6-fluoro-1,2-benzisoxazol-3-yl)-1-piperidinyl)ethyl]-6,7,8,9-tetr ahydro-2-methyl-4H-pyrido[1,2-a]pyrimidin-4-one ("Risperidone") is disclosed.
Janssen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,952, 3-piperidinyl-1,2-benzisoxazoles having long-acting antipsychotic properties and which are useful in the treatment of warm-blooded animals suffering from psychotic diseases. In particular, 3-[2-[4-(6-fluoro-1,2-benzisoxazol-3-yl)-1-piperidinyl)ethyl]-6,7,8,9-tetr ahydro-9-hydroxy-2-methyl-4H-pyrido[1,2-a]pyrimidin-4-one ("9-hydroxy-Risperidone") is disclosed.
A number of methods are known by which compounds can be encapsulated in the form of microparticles. In many of these processes, the material to be encapsulated is dispersed in a solvent containing a wall forming material. At a single stage of the process, solvent is removed from the microparticles and thereafter the microparticle product is obtained.
An example of a conventional microencapsulation process and microparticles produced thereby is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,737,337, incorporated by reference herein, wherein a solution of a wall or shell forming polymeric material in a solvent is prepared. The solvent is only partially miscible in water. A solid or core material is dissolved or dispersed in the polymer-containing solution and, thereafter, the core-material-containing solution is dispersed in an aqueous liquid that is immiscible in the organic solvent in order to remove solvent from the microparticles.
Another example of a process in which solvent is removed from microparticles containing a substance is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,523,906. In this process a material to be encapsulated is emulsified in a solution of a polymeric material in a solvent that is immiscible in water and then the emulsion is emulsified in an aqueous solution containing a hydrophilic colloid Solvent removal from the microparticles is then accomplished by evaporation and the product is obtained.
In still another process as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,691,090 organic solvent is evaporated from a dispersion of microparticles in an aqueous medium, preferably under reduced pressure.
Similarly, the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,570 shows a method in which solvent from a dispersion of microparticles in a polyhydric alcohol medium is evaporated from the microparticles by the application of heat or by subjecting the microparticles to reduced pressure.
Another example of a solvent removal process is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,757.
Tice et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,330, describe the preparation of microparticles containing an active agent--which may, inter alia, be a psychotherapeutic agent--by a method comprising: (a) dissolving or dispersing an active agent in a solvent and dissolving a wall forming material in that solvent; (b) dispersing the solvent containing the active agent and wall forming material in a continuous-phase processing medium; (c) evaporating a portion of the solvent from the dispersion of step (b), thereby forming microparticles containing the active agent in the suspension; and (d) extracting the remainder of the solvent from the microparticles.
Tice et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,840, describe the preparation of microparticles containing an anti-inflammatory active agent by a method comprising: (a) dissolving or dispersing an anti-inflammatory agent in a solvent and dissolving a biocompatible and biodegradable wall forming material in that solvent; (b) dispersing the solvent containing the anti-inflammatory agent and wall forming material in a continuous-phase processing medium; (c) evaporating a portion of the solvent from the dispersion of step (b), thereby forming microparticles containing the anti-inflammatory agent in the suspension; and (d) extracting the remainder of the solvent from the microparticles.

Microencapsulated 3-piperidinyl-substituted 1,2-benzisoxazoles and 1,2-benzisothiazoles

Alkermes Controlled Therapeutics, Inc. II


An apparatus and method for a generator for generating power having a rotary union between a rotor and a stator, the rotary union comprising a first fluid passage having a converging nozzle and located within the stator having a first inlet and a first outlet, a second fluid passage having a diverging nozzle and located within the rotor and having a second inlet and a second outlet, the second inlet is aligned with the first outlet and at least one gap located between the rotor and stator.

Electric machines, such as generators, starters, turbine engines, and other motor assemblies include rotating and non-rotating parts. These motor assemblies typically include a housing in which rotating parts make up a rotor and non-rotating parts make up a stator. To keep rotating parts from overheating and breaking down, cooling fluid and lubricants are moved throughout fluid passages within the housing. Some of the fluid passages will pass between the non-rotating parts to the rotating parts. Transferring fluid between the rotating and non-rotating parts typically requires a complex sealing mechanism to prevent leaking from the fluid passages.

Electric machine with non-contact interface


A method for determining a weight per unit area and/or a chemical composition of a conveyed material sample. From the analysis of a portion of an incident ionizing radiation, in particular an X-radiation, scattered from a material sample, a detector signal corresponding to the gsm substance and/or the chemical composition of the material sample is generated and used for determining the weight per unit area and/or the chemical composition of the material sample. A device for determining a weight per unit area and/or a chemical composition of a material sample has a compact measurement head arranged unilaterally with respect to the material sample. This measurement head includes an X-radiation source and a detector arrangement integrated into the measurement head of at least one X-ray detector connected to a voltage supply and an evaluation unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for determining a weight per unit area and/or a chemical composition of a conveyed material sample, and to a device for carrying out the method.
2. Discussion of the Background
For determining a weight per unit area (e.g., grams per square meter; g/m2) and/or a chemical composition of material samples or material webs in conveyor and production plants partially operated at high speeds, absorption measurements are carried out according to the state of the art, using ionized radiation, in particular x-ray, gamma or particulate radiation. In this case, the webs or samples to be tested are passed through between a source of radiation and a detector arrangement placed opposite the source of radiation, and, in a transmission measurement, the intensity of the radiation absorption is determined. This radiation absorption depends on the weight per unit area of the webs and samples so that the mentioned characteristics of the webs and samples may be measured in a contact-free manner by means of this known method and corresponding devices.
A further possibility of measuring the weight per unit area of a material web or a sheet material consists in detecting scattered radiation. NDC Infrared Engineering and Adaptive Technologies, for example, are companies who use this method in their products by detecting back-scattered photons originating from a gamma radiation source, e.g. photons of the 59 keV line of the Am 241 isotope.
A systematic measurement error occurs in this method when the distance between the place where the particles of the incident ray are scattered and the location of the detector varies. Such a distance variation may occur due to a random fluttering movement of the material web, and also always occurs when the thickness of the measured product changes. In this case, purely geometric reasons cause the measurement signal to be influenced, and these reasons, if not corrected by additional independent measurements, will lead to an erroneous reproduction of the value of the weight per unit area. This systematic effect, however, may be limited when a large distance between the measured product and the detector is selected. But the distance may not be so large, for the purpose of maximizing the detection efficiency of the scattered radiation and lowering the associated statistical error of the detector with using, at the same time, the least possible intensity of the source of the incident ray. It is therefore important to correct the inaccuracies caused by distance variations in order to attain minimal measurement error at an economic cost.
In all known methods for measuring weights per unit area in which ionized radiation is used, the radiation originates from the decomposition of radioactive isotopes. In this case, the operating company is subjected to the radiation-protection regulation requiring the operating company to observe rest times even during a standstill of the plant, as well as being subject to elaborate safety measures.
The economic availability and the natural properties of radioactive nuclides and the ionized radiation thereof, e.g. half-life, type and energy distribution, strongly restrict the number of industrially usable preparations. In addition, using a single radionuclide may allow only a restricted functional range to be covered. Thus, the beta radiation of the frequently used nuclide Kr 85, for example, having an end-point energy of 687.4 keV, due to its absorption behaviour is well suited for determining weights per unit area of up to about 1000 g/m2. Higher weights per unit area may no longer be detected with it in a satisfactory manner and are preferably measured with the nuclide Sr 90, in which in the consecutive decomposition of Y 90, a beta radiation of a higher energy and hence of a higher penetration occurs having an end-point energy of 2280.1 keV.

Method for determining a gsm substance and/or a chemical composition of a conveyed material sample, and a device for this purpose


An interfacial dewetting and drainage optical platform (i-DDrOP) is provided which is an instrument that can quantify drainage and dewetting processes of in vitro model tear films covering contact lenses.

Insoluble lipids serve vital functions in our bodies and interact with biomedical devices, e.g. the tear film on a contact lens. Over a period of time, these naturally occurring lipids form interfacial coatings that modify the wettability characteristics of these foreign synthetic surfaces. There is a need in the art to develop methods and system that allow us to examine the deposition and consequences of tear film lipids on for example silicone hydrogel (SiHy) contact lenses.

i-DDrOP: Interfacial dewetting and drainage optical platform

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University


A system is provided for desulfurizing a hydrocarbon fuel containing a light amount of methanol and a slight amount of water. The desulfurization system uses a Y-type zeolite-based desulfurizing agent containing at least copper arranged upstream of the system and an X-type zeolite-based desulfurizing agent containing at least silver arranged downstream of the system and thus can maintain desulfurization effect for a long period of time.

The present invention relates to desulfurization systems for a hydrocarbon fuel containing a slight amount of methanol. The present invention also relates to fuel cell systems using a hydrocarbon fuel containing a slight amount of methanol as the raw fuel for the cell systems.
In a fuel cell system, in particular a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell system (PEFC) that has been drastically improved in recent years, it is essential in the process of producing hydrogen from a hydrocarbon raw fuel to remove sulfur compounds contained therein to an extremely low level in order to allow the following catalytic reaction processes such as reforming, water gas shift, and selective CO oxidation to proceed normally for long periods. Therefore, many of the fuel cell systems are provided with a desulfurization section for removing sulfur compounds contained in a raw fuel by adsorbing or hydrocracking. Eligible desulfurizing agents and catalysts include hydrodesulfurizing agents and sulfur adsorbents. Among these, zeolite-based desulfurizing agents supporting silver or copper by ion-exchange, which can remove sulfur compounds down to an extremely low level under mild conditions that are atmospheric pressure and relatively low temperatures close to room temperature are industrially useful and have been used widely in domestic fuel cell systems using a low boiling point hydrocarbon such as natural gas or LP gas (liquefied petroleum gas) as a raw fuel (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 5 and Non-Patent Document 1)    (1) Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-286753    (2) Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-305123    (3) Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-168648    (4) Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-277747    (5) Patent Document 5: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2-73887    (6) Non-Patent Document 1: "Nihonkagakukaishi", 1981, Vol. 12, pages 1945-1950
However, a slight amount of methanol may often be added in some of the hydrocarbon fuels as the need arises. For example, methanol may be added in an LP gas particularly in order to prevent entrained moisture from freezing during a winter season. It was found that the use of the methanol-added hydrocarbon fuels decreases the performances of the above-described zeolite desulfurizing agent. In the case of coexistence of methanol, the phenomenon of the decreased desulfurization performance is not preferable because the durability of a fuel cell system is impaired. Therefore, a desulfurizing agent has been demanded which has a higher desulfurization performance even though a fuel contains methanol.
Whereas, Patent Document 1 discloses that deposition of silver on a hydrophobic zeolite can obtain a higher desulfurization performance when moisture is mixed in a hydrocarbon fuel. However, the inventors of the present invention have found that the desulfurizing agent of Patent Document 1 exhibits only limited performances if it is used for a hydrocarbon fuel containing methanol.
Therefore, there has been a demand for the development of a desulfurizing agent that is not decreased in performances even if it is used under conditions where a fuel contains methanol and water.

Desulfurization system for hydrocarbon fuel


Methods are provided for the inhibition of metastasis of cancer cells expressing MUC4, metastatic pancreatic cancer cells.

Several publications and patent documents are referenced in this application by numerals in parentheses in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains. Full citations for these references are found at the end of the specification. The disclosure of each of these publications and documents is incorporated by reference herein.
Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PA) belongs to a group of neoplasms which exhibit a relatively high level of incidence and poor prognosis (1). In the United States, PA is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths and has the lowest 5-year survival rate of any cancer (2,3). In the year 2000, for example, an estimated 28,600 deaths will be ascribed to this type of cancer and approximately 28,600 new cases will be diagnosed.
PA has a median survival of 9–12 months and an overall 5-year survival rate of 3% for all stages. At the time of diagnosis, over four-fifths of patients with PA have clinically apparent metastatic disease. Among patients whose disease is considered to be resectable, 80% will die of recurrent tumor within 2 years. Accordingly, a need exists for early detection of pancreatic cancer and methods for treatment and/or prevention of the disease.

Compositions and methods for inhibiting pancreatic cancer metastasis

Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska