A solution is provided wherein the mobile device selects a multislot class based on the profile of the traffic to be utilized by the mobile device. This may be performed manually by a user, or may be performed automatically where an application or driver software automatically and dynamically determines the best multislot class for the applications being used. This can be accomplished, for example, by looking at the classification of the transport control protocol (TCP) port numbers used, by examining the data sent and received by the network, and/or looking up a profile for the user or device. If the user changes applications or some other event occurs on the mobile device that might cause a change in the profile of the traffic, the mobile device may terminate its current multislot class assignment and re-announce itself, allowing the system to transfer the mobile device to a new multislot class.

The mobile phone industry has ballooned into one of the most popular technological areas. The latest generation of mobile phone technology is known as the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), which employs packet switching to allow mobile phones and pocket communication terminals to connect directly to remote networks via the Internet, at much higher bandwidths than older systems. Unlike the older cellular circuit switched data services, GPRS is an "always on" service that does not require the use of a dial-up modem.
GPRS works by overlaying a packet switched data service on top of a circuit switched digital GSM telephone connection, which means that channel bandwidth is consumed only when users are actually sending or receiving data, rather than dedicating an entire channel to one use for a fixed period.
GPRS may work in conjunction with the Enhanced Data rates GSM Evolution (EDGE), which is a faster version of GSM. The EDGE standard is built upon the existing GSM standard, using the same time-division multiple access (TDMA) frame structure and existing cell arrangements.
Since the data transmissions in GPRS/EDGE networks are TDMA based on the number of active timeslots used for transmission or reception is a function of the "multislot class" of the device. The mobile terminal makes its multislot class known to the network during the registration process and it can be adjusted once the device is registered on the network. The multislot class defines the maximum number of slots assignable to downlink and uplink channels. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a typical multislot class configuration table as defined in the GPRS Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard.
The network totally controls the timeslot configuration assignment to the mobile devices and, as such, the mobile device has no control over this assignment (except when it advertises its multislot class).
There are situations, however, where the network infastructure performs an ineffective assignment of timeslots based on the end user application. Broadly speaking, a network can perform an asymmetric timeslot, such as 4 timeslots for the downlink and 1 timeslot for the uplink. One example of an ineffective assignment occurs if the infrastructure effectively treats the timeslot assignment as static even after the downlink traffic goes idle. Treating the assignment as static could mean that only 1 uplink timeslot is used even when there is no downlink traffic. This results in poor uplink throughout for the end user.
Another example of an ineffective assignment occurs in fairly symmetrical applications (e.g., VoIP). Here, on occasion, the network puts the mobile device into an asymmetric configuration even though the traffic is symmetrical. VoIP traffic typically requires more than 1 uplink timeslot to be effective, and thus placement in an asymmetrical configuration would reduce its effectiveness.
These problems are exacerbated because the mobile device operating system is often not very smart—it always asks for the highest class it can. For example, mobile devices will often ask for class 10, which provides for a maximum 4 downlink slots and 2 uplink slots, with a total number of slots not exceeding 5 (see FIG. 1). This decision is made without regard to the type of traffic to the run on the device. The network then compounds this problem by assigning what it thinks is the best allocation of slots within the parameters of the class. For class 10, this typically means assigning 4 downlink slots and only 1 uplink slots. However, in certain circumstances, it might be more beneficial if the mobile device ran in class 9, as then the network could only assign 3 downlink slots and thus would be forced to assign 2 uplink slots as opposed to just 1. These circumstances leave the system completely at the mercy of the network, which has little or no information about the application traffic profile requirement, and yet has to make decisions regarding the class it will assign the device and the configuration of downlink slots and uplink slots it will select within the class.
What is needed is a solution that allows for a more effective assignment of timeslots in a wireless network.

Configurable multislot class for wireless devices


A method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for controlling the call control, service control, and user interface functions of a legacy telephone system from a web application. The web application communicates with a legacy call server and controls the legacy call server. A web application also communicates with a legacy telephony device and controls the legacy telephony device. A communication channel may be provided between the web application and the legacy call server, and data transferred over the communication channel is translated to a form that each can understand. The data may be a call control command or a service control command. A communication channel may be provided between the web application and the legacy telephony device, and data transferred over the communication channel is translated to a form that each can understand. The data may be translated to a legacy telephony device data format, and to a web API data format. An abstraction may be used to represent a telephony device or a class of telephony devices having similar characteristics. Access to the telephony device may be arbitrated, and data from the telephony device may be routed. A service plugin may be provided as an interface to the web application. An execution environment may be provided to allows dynamic insertion of service plugins. The data being transferred may be mapped to a telephony device resource. The web application may be an interface to another telephony device, so that telephony devices can communicate peer to peer.

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to independently controlling the elements of a communications system and more particularly to methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture for web-based control of a communications system.
B. Description of the Related Art
A legacy telephone system typically includes a number of telephone sets coupled to a private branch exchange (PBX) by physical wiring. A call server resides in the PBX and handles many different call-related functions for the telephone sets. Call control functions, service control functions, and user interface functions are typically controlled by the call server. Although several of those call-related functions can be initiated by users of the telephone sets, many are generally inaccessible. More specifically, while the call server can be controlled by a limited number of commands available to a user, many additional commands can only be issued by system administrators using restricted access interfaces.
Call control functions, such as call connection, call disconnection, and connection of the members of a conference call, are typically performed by a call server in response to a command from a telephone set coupled to the telephone system. For example, such a command could be the act of dialing a telephone number. Service control functions, such as establishing a conference call, performing last number redial, and initiating a voice mail function can be performed by a call server in accordance with a "policy" applied to a user's telephone. A system administrator controls the policy, and thus controls which services are available to a user, by issuing commands to the call server through the restricted interface. Accordingly, users have a limited degree of control over the services available to them, which can typically be expanded only by contacting the telephone system administrator.
A need exists to expand the functionality of legacy telephone systems such that users thereof have greater control over their associated call server and telephone set. Thereby, users can access greater functionality without having to communicate requests to a telephone system administrator. Such a methodology increases the usefulness of legacy telephone systems by allowing them to be highly configurable by a user.

Method, apparatus and article of manufacture for web-based control of a unified multi-service communication system


Example systems may relate to component failure prediction. A non-transitory computer readable medium may contain instructions to analyze a plurality of features corresponding to a component of a system. The non-transitory computer readable medium may further contain instructions to determine which of the plurality of features to use to model a failure of the component. The non-transitory computer readable medium may contain instructions to generate a plurality of models to model the failure of the component and assemble the plurality of models into a single model for predicting component failure. The non-transitory computer readable medium may further contain instructions to extract data associated with a component failure predicted by the single model and correlate the data associated with the predicted component failure with the single model.

Electromechanical products may be made up of multiple components. When a component fails, it may be time-consuming to fix. Additionally, skilled labor may be required to determine the root cause of the failure. While many components are equipped with sensors to monitor the health of the component, the data obtained by the sensor may be unstructured and difficult to analyze.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A converter includes: a bridge diode; an X capacitor provided upstream of the bridge diode; a smoothing capacitor provided downstream of the bridge diode; an AC shutoff detection circuit which outputs an AC shutoff detection signal when input AC voltage is shut off; and a discharging circuit which is connected to a connection point at which the cathode of the bridge diode and the smoothing capacitor are connected, and allows residual charges in the smoothing capacitor and the X capacitor to be discharged when the AC shutoff detection signal is output, and the discharging circuit includes a JFET which has a drain terminal connected to the above connection point and lowers discharge voltage; and a first discharging switch element connected to the source terminal of the JFET.

In converters represented by a power device which coverts input AC power to DC power and outputs a desired DC voltage, what is called an across-the-line capacitor (hereinafter referred to as X capacitor) that is a capacitor which reduces line noises is usually connected between AC voltage lines.
When a plug of the power device connected to the AC power supply is pulled out from a commercial power supply which is the AC power supply, electric charges accumulated until immediately before the pull-out remain in the X capacitor. At this time, there is a risk that these residual charges cause an electric shock to a person who touches an outlet portion of the plug just pulled out. There are safety standards for preventing such an electric shock, which demand that the X capacitor be discharged within a predetermined length of time when the AC power is shut off.
As a measure for this electric shock, a discharge resistor for allowing the residual charges to be discharged is conventionally provided in parallel with the X capacitor. However, this discharge resistor consumes power constantly while the power device is supplied with AC voltage. In particular, there is a problem that power consumed by the discharge resistor in the standby condition becomes too high to ignore.
In order to solve the above problem, Patent Literature (PTL) 1 discloses a power circuit which includes a transistor that switches the above discharge resistor between a conductive state and a non-conductive state and a control unit that controls the transistor between an ON state and an OFF state and in which, only when supplied with no AC voltage, the control unit turns on the transistor to form a discharging loop.

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


Method and apparatus for delivering multiple tissue fasteners with needle and fastener assemblies each of which comprises a hollow needle adapted to be passed through tissue layers to be fastened, the needle containing a proximal and a distal implant, the implants being configured to self-expand when ejected from the needle, the implants being lockable to each other after ejection in response to drawing the implants together with tissue gripped between the implants.

U.S. patent applications Ser. No. 15/438,924, filed, Feb. 22, 2017 and Ser. No. 14/272,304 filed May 7, 20214 describe tissue fasteners comprising a pair of implants (sometimes referred to as "occluders") that can be positioned on opposite sides of two or more layers of tissue to transfix the layers and clamp and secure the layers together while effecting a seal that circumscribes the point of transfixion. The tissue layers may be opposing walls of a body lumen or hollow anatomical structure, for example, if it is desired to occlude the lumen or structure, or may be simply tissues that are to be attached to each other as desired by a clinician in the performance of a particular surgical procedure. It would be desirable to be able to deploy a number of such implants in rapid succession without having to remove or reload the delivery and deployment device, for example, in laparoscopic procedures, in which numerous insertions and retractions of devices from within the patient are to be avoided.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A crimping tool is provided for compressing a terminal onto an electrical wire. The tool includes an anvil having a terminal engaging surface area. A ram is reciprocally movable toward and away from the anvil and has a terminal engaging surface area opposing the terminal engaging surface area of the anvil for compressing the terminal therebetween. A second ram is movably mounted on one of the anvil and ram in the respective terminal engaging surface area thereof for selectively compressing the terminal to an extent greater than that afforded by the anvil and the ram alone.

There are many application tools, presses, and the like for terminating a wide variety of electrical connectors to their respective terminals. One type of application tooling involves compression tools for crimping metal connectors about electrical conductors to form an electrical and/or structural connection between two conductors or between a conductor and a terminal. Two conductors may be inserted into opposite open ends of a connector splice, or one conductor may be inserted into an open end of a terminal, with the opposite end of the terminal providing a mating connection for a complementary terminal. The terminal then is crimped, such as by a hydraulic compression tool, to structurally lock the conductor(s) to the terminal and/or to establish electrical conductivity therewith.
Many types of terminals are used with electrical connectors as described above, including a commonly used terminal having a cylindrical portion which is crimped onto the exterior of an insulated electrical wire having a central conductor or core. The terminal commonly is fabricated as a stamped and formed metal component, with a cylindrical crimpable portion having an open seam. The edges of the seam conventionally are crimped onto the exterior of the insulated wire to provide strain relief between the wire and the terminal.
One of the problems with terminating electrical connections of the character described above, is that the insulated electrical wires are used in a variety of sizes or diameters. Obviously, compression tools can be provided with interchangeable dies for crimping a terminal onto different sized wires whereby the dies can be interchanged to accommodate either the differences in sizes or the differences in forces desired to terminate the different wires. However, such interchangeable dies often are cost prohibitive in mass production environments, particularly in the down time required to change the tooling every time a terminal is crimped to a different size wire.
One solution to the above problem is to provide an adjustable compression tool in which the total crimping height between the crimping dies is adjusted to accommodate smaller wires, for instance, in a larger crimping area. This commonly is called adjusting the "shut height" of the crimping tool. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,173, dated Dec. 13, 1988, discloses a type of tool which provides means for adjusting the shut height of the crimping sections thereof. Such tools not only are fairly complicated, but their range of adjustment is limited by the very product involved. In other words, there is a fairly wide range of electrical wire sizes or diameters, and, if a crimping "area" between opposing compression dies is large enough to accommodate a large diameter wire, that same area is too large to crimp and terminate a relatively small wire simply by adjusting the shut height of the opposing dies or tool sections.
This invention is directed to solving the above problems by providing a crimping tool which has practically an infinite range of adjustment without having to interchange the compression tool dies or crimping sections.


A subsill positioned at least partially under a sill in a sill assembly. The sill assembly positioned under a door or window. Two or more pressure chambers extend lengthwise between the subsill and sill. Pressure chambers can extend one behind another. The subsill can include a backstop with some of the pressure chambers extending lengthwise between the backstop and the sill. Apertures in the pressure chambers are positioned to force water to flow by a circuitous path.

The present disclosure relates to subsills that form the bottom structure of a sill assembly under a doorway or window.
Sills can create an air or moisture barrier between the inside and outside of a doorway or window. For example, a sill can weather seal the bottom of the door, preventing water and outside air from entering the building from underneath the door. It can also provide a drainage path for water that penetrates door or window seals.
Sills use many different strategies to prevent water from entering the inside of the doorway or window. One such strategy is to place the sill in a sill pan or pan flashing that surrounds the sill on the bottom, back, and sides, but is open on the front to allow water to drain out.
Another strategy is to use the sill in combination with a subsill. A subsill is a structural member placed between the sill and floor to capture water that penetrates the sill and drain the water out of the building structure. The sill sits on top of the subsill or partially in the subsill. A subsill typically has both a front wall and a back wall and typically uses attachable members, referred to as end dams to surround the ends of both the sill and the subsill. Water typically is drained out by gravity from the back of the subsill to the front of the subsill through apertures in the front wall known as weep holes.
One of the challenges facing sill and subsill designers is air and water infiltration through the sill and subsill. This can occur through the weep holes or through penetrations from fasteners in the sill and/or subsill. Weep flaps can be used over the weep holes to help reduce water infiltration through the weep holes. However, weep flaps can form imperfect seals, can be stuck open because of air blown debris, and over time can fail.


A disengagement/disconnect assembly for disengaging a generator from a gear box includes an inner ball screw having an angled threading on an outer surface thereof and surrounding and operatively engaged to a rotating generator drive shaft to cause rotation of the inner ball screw, the inner ball screw having axial dog teeth engaged to corresponding teeth of the gear box drive shaft, an outer ball screw surrounding and normally rotating with the inner ball screw and having a spherical ball and an angled ball track between the inner and outer ball screws, a lock, and a brake for slowing or stopping rotation of the outer ball screw so that the inner ball screw rotates relative to the outer ball screw along the ball track and slides axially toward the lock thereby disengaging the generator from the gear box drive shaft.

The present invention generally relates to apparatus and methods for disengaging generators and other rotating machines from a gearbox and, more particularly, to apparatus and methods of disengaging an aircraft generator from a gear box to prevent damage to the gear box.
In the aerospace industry, aircraft receive electric power from generators. The generators are coupled to the main engine or to auxiliary power units through the gear box. Known designs of generators have a generator drive shaft that includes some kind of shear section that is based on safe operational capability of the gearbox. In the event that the generator malfunctions, this shear section operates and protects the gear box from continuing to rotate under an unacceptable load from a malfunctioning generator that may have stopped rotating. For constant speed generators, the design of the shear section is not difficult—it is easy to design a shear section to meet one speed. However, with the evolution of variable frequency generators (VFG), where failure can occur over a range of speeds, it is rather difficult to design a shear section that can protect the gear box regardless of the multiple possible speeds of the generator.
It is therefore useful that some other means should be incorporated into the design of the generator that would help protect the gear box. If, for example, there is a minor fault with the generator and it is not producing any power but rather is rotating like a load on the gear box, it is desirable that the generator be de-coupled from the gear box.
As can be seen, there is a need to de-couple the generator from the gear box as needed when the generator malfunctions. Furthermore, there is a need to have such a de-coupling mechanism that is re-settable by the operator or maintenance personnel of the aircraft when the problem with the generator is fixed or addressed. It is also required that the disconnect mechanism not disengage unnecessarily and not inadvertently engage when disconnected

Ball screw resettable mechanical disconnect


An apparatus includes a transfer adapter, a puncture member, a disinfection member, and a fluid reservoir. The transfer adapter has a proximal end portion and a distal end portion, and defines an inner volume configured to receive the puncture member. The transfer adapter is coupled to the disinfection member. The distal end portion of the transfer adapter includes a port fluidically coupled to the puncture member and configured to be placed in fluid communication with a bodily-fluid of a patient. The proximal end portion is configured to receive a portion of the fluid reservoir to allow the fluid reservoir to be moved within the inner volume between a first position, in which a surface of the fluid reservoir is placed in contact with the disinfection member, and a second position, in which the puncture member punctures the surface to place the puncture member in fluid communication with the fluid reservoir.

Embodiments described herein relate generally to the parenteral procurement of bodily-fluid samples, and more particularly to systems and methods for parenterally-procuring bodily-fluid samples with reduced contamination from microbes or other contaminants exterior to the bodily-fluid source that can potentially distort the results of diagnostic testing in a healthcare setting.
Health care practitioners routinely perform various types of microbial as well as other broad diagnostic tests on patients using parenterally-obtained bodily-fluids. As advanced diagnostic technologies evolve and improve, the speed and value of information that can be provided to clinicians continues to improve. As such, ensuring that the bodily-fluid sample to be analyzed is collected in a fashion that maintains specimen integrity similarly ensures that analytical diagnostic results are representative of the in vivo conditions of a patient. Examples of diagnostic technologies that are reliant on high quality, non-contaminated bodily-fluid samples include but are not limited to molecular diagnostics, genetic sequencing (e.g., DNA, RNA), and the like. When biological matter, cells external to the intended source for sample procurement, and/or other external contaminants are inadvertently included in the bodily-fluid sample that is to be analyzed, the opportunity for an adulterated specimen driving a potentially inaccurate patient diagnosis may occur.
In some instances, patient samples (e.g., bodily-fluids) are tested for the presence of one or more potentially undesirable microbes, such as bacteria, fungi, or yeast (e.g., Candida). Microbial testing may include incubating patient samples in one or more sterile and/or non-sterile vessels containing culture media or other types of solutions that are conducive to microbial growth and/or other real-time diagnostics including molecular polymerase chain reaction-based (PCR-based) technologies used to rapidly identify organisms. Generally, when microbes tested for are present in the patient sample, the microbes flourish over time in the culture medium. These organisms may also be identified by other advanced diagnostic testing technologies (e.g., molecular testing/diagnosing, PCR, genetic testing/sequencing, etc.). In the case of employing a culture medium, after an amount of time (e.g., a few hours to several days—which can sometimes be a longer or shorter depending on the diagnostic technology employed), organism growth can be detected by automated, continuous monitoring. For example, in some instances, such automated monitoring can detect carbon dioxide produced by organism growth. The presence of microbes in the culture medium (as indicated by observation of carbon dioxide) and/or via other detection methods suggests the presence of the same microbes in the patient sample which, in turn, suggests the presence of the same microbes in the bodily-fluid of the patient from which the sample was obtained. Accordingly, when microbes are determined to be present in the culture medium (or more generally in the sample used for testing), the patient may be prescribed one or more antibiotics or other treatments specifically designed to treat or otherwise remove the undesired microbes from the patient.
Generally, patient bodily-fluid samples are collected in various settings and are then transported to a laboratory-type environment for processing and analysis. For example, the settings for collecting the patient sample(s) could include an outpatient clinic, a hospital (including emergency department, intensive care unit (ICU), medical/surgical floor, or the like) or a commercial setting (including a drugstore or any other commercial enterprise that assists with collection of bodily-fluid sample(s)). In all settings, typically, protocols are developed, implemented, and monitored to ensure the quality of the collection, handling, preparation, transportation, etc. of a patient's bodily-fluid sample(s). Generally, practitioners ensure the integrity of the patient specimen(s), understanding that if the sample is adulterated and/or contains matter that is not representative of the patient's in vivo condition, a diagnostic error and ensuing inaccurate treatment decision(s) may occur.
In some instances, patient samples, nonetheless, can become contaminated during procurement. For example, some equipment used in phlebotomy procedures can include multiple fluidic interfaces (e.g., patient to needle, peripheral IV to catheter, needle/tubing to sample vessels, etc.) that can each introduce points of potential contamination. Additionally, the equipment used to procure, transfer, transport, and/or otherwise contain a patient sample are typically connected and/or otherwise placed in fluid communication via manual intervention (e.g., a doctor, phlebotomist, nurse, etc. handles and/or manipulates the equipment). Since the interfaces of the equipment are not consistently preassembled and/or sterilized as a single fluidically coupled system, external contaminants (e.g., microbes, dermally-residing organisms, cells from the patient that are not from the intended source of bodily-fluid to be tested, etc.) can be introduced to the patient sample via multiple sources (e.g. ambient air, contaminants on surfaces of tables and/or counters in patient room, microbes transferred from linens or clothing, skin deposited on collection supplies from a healthcare worker during assembly and/or sample procurement or transfer, cells from another source within the patient, and/or the like). In some instances, the contaminants can lead to a positive microbial and/or other diagnostic test result, thereby falsely indicating the presence of such microbes or other cells and/or other biological matter in vivo. Such inaccurate results are a concern when attempting to diagnose or treat a suspected illness or condition. For example, false positive results from microbial tests may result in the patient being unnecessarily subjected to one or more anti-microbial therapies, which may cause serious side effects to the patient including, for example, death, as well as produce an unnecessary burden and expense to the healthcare system.
As such, a need exists for improved systems and methods for disinfection of specimen container(s) that reduce microbial and/or any other type of contamination associated with the collection of bodily-fluid test samples by, for example, disinfecting equipment interfaces to ensure the integrity of the patient sample(s) that are collected and analyzed in the diagnostic process, thereby minimizing and/or substantially eliminating false positive as well as false negative diagnostic results.

Apparatus and methods for disinfection of a specimen container


A system and method for enhanced automatic monoimaging. Embodiments of the present invention are operable for configuring a first camera based on a configuration determination by a second camera. The method includes capturing a first image with the first camera and determining an optical configuration based on an optical measurement performed by a second camera. In one embodiment, the second camera comprises a lower resolution sensor than a sensor of the first camera. The method further includes sending the optical configuration from the second camera to the first camera and adjusting a configuration of the first camera based on the optical configuration. The method further includes capturing a second image with the first camera. The first image and the second image may be preview images.

As computer systems have advanced, processing power and speed have increased substantially. At the same time, the processors and other computer components has decreased in size allowing them to be part of an increasing number of devices. Cameras and mobile devices have benefited significantly from the advances in computing technology. The addition of camera functionality to mobile devices has made taking photographs and video quite convenient. Upon invoking the camera function, the camera calibrates to adjust the focus. However during this focus calibration, the image on the screen may be blurred or distorted which is unpleasant to the user. In addition, the user will likely not be able to use the camera during the focus calibration.
In order to compete with traditional cameras, mobile devices are increasingly being fitted with higher megapixel capacity and higher quality cameras. As stereoscopic three dimensional (S3D) movies have become popular, an increasingly popular option is to have two cameras on the mobile device to allow capture of S3D images and video. Conventional solutions often include two identical high resolution cameras each with a higher number of megapixels. Unfortunately, the inclusion of two such high end cameras significantly increases the cost and power usage of mobile devices.
Thus, while two high megapixel cameras may allow taking high quality S3D images or video, the inclusion of such high megapixel cameras significantly increases the cost and power usage and may unduly increase the size of the device.

System and method for enhanced monoimaging


A compound for delivering a non-cytotoxic therapeutic moiety into nerve cells, the compound having the general formula:B-L-TMwhere:                B is a binding agent capable of selectively binding to a nerve cell surface receptor and mediating absorption of the compound by the nerve cell;        TM is a therapeutic moiety which has a non-cytotoxic therapeutic effect when absorbed by a nerve cell; and        L is a linker coupling B to TM.

Our understanding of the structure and function of the nervous system has been greatly advanced owing to enormous progresses made in field of neuroscience. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of neuron growth and development and diseases associated with the central and peripheral nervous systems are studied extensively by using rapidly growing techniques in molecular and cell biology. However, a need still exists for efficacious treatments of many neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, schizophrenia, severe pain, multiple sclerosis, bipolar disease, and diseases of the nervous system due to infection by viruses and other microorganisms (herpes simplex, HIV, cytomegalovirus, parasites, fungi, prion, etc.).
Many neuropharmaceutical agents have been developed to treat diseases of the nervous system, but their usefulness has been hampered by severe side effects partially due to nonspecific interactions between these agents and cells or tissues other than the targeted cells. For example, steroid hormone cortisone and its derivatives are widely used to treat inflammation in the body including the nerve system to reduce symptoms such as swelling, tenderness and pain. However, the steroid dosage has to be kept at the lowest effective level because of its severe side effects. Steroid hormone binds to its cognate nuclear hormone receptor and induces a cascade of cellular effects, including programmed cell death of the neurons in the brain (Kawata M., et al., J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. 65: 273-280 (1998)). Since steroid hormone receptors, such as glucocorticord receptor for cortisone, distribute in a wide variety of tissues and cells, nonspecific interactions of the hormone with its cognate receptor in different sites is unavoidable if the drug is circulated systemically.
A need continues to exist for an effective system for delivering therapeutic agents selectively to nerve cells and nerve tissues. Various techniques have been developed to deliver drugs, but with only limited success. For example, liposomes have been used as carrier molecules to deliver a broad spectrum of agents including small molecules, DNAs, RNAs, and proteins. Liposome mediated delivery of pharmaceutical agents has major drawbacks because of its lack of target specificity. Attempts have been made to overcome this problem by covalently attaching whole site-specific antibody or Fab fragments to liposomes containing a pharmaceutical agent (Martin et al., Biochem. 20, 4229-4238, (1981)). However, an intrinsic problem of particular importance in any liposome carrier system is that in most cases the targeted liposome does not selectively reach its target site in vivo. Whether or not liposomes are coated with antibody molecules, liposomes are readily phagocytosed by macrophages and removed from circulation before reaching their target sites.

Compounds for intracellular delivery of therapeutic moieties to nerve cells


A backplane signal connector assembly includes a header connector adapted for mounting on a backplane and a receptacle connector adapted for mounting on a daughter printed circuit board. Each connector includes a conductive housing having a cavity for receiving at least two signal terminals and at least one ground terminal. The signal terminal has an insert molded insulating mounting body about a portion thereof to provide a module for mounting in the cavity to insulate the terminal from the conductive housing. The ground terminal is in direct conductive engagement with the housing. The terminals are stamped and formed metal components. At least one ground clip is mounted on each conductive housing in direct conductive engagement therewith and is adapted for commoning to a ground on the respective backplane and daughter printed circuit board, whereby the housing establishes a primary ground reference for the connector.

In the electronic industry, such as in the field of computers, banks of removable printed circuit boards, commonly known as daughter boards, are removably connected to associated circuitry such as other printed circuit boards, commonly known as mother boards. Such banks of removable circuit boards often require connectors arranged in closely spaced rows along with rows of terminals in the respective connectors. The terminals are interconnected between circuit traces on the daughter boards and circuit traces on the mother boards. Often, the circuit traces terminate at rows of plated-through holes in the boards, and the terminals in the connectors have rows of pins soldered to the plated-through holes. The connectors are removably mateable for easy replacement of a daughter board.
Backplane connectors of the character described above may be used in significant numbers in a single electronic device, such as a computer. Consequently, the connectors could contribute significantly to the costs of the circuitry for the device. Additionally, present day computers require the use of increasingly higher speed switching signals or higher application frequencies in the use of analog systems which generate an increasing amount of electromagnetic interference (EMI) necessitating in the introduction of coaxial type connectors to interconnect the boards while keeping EMI at a minimum. Such coaxial connectors typically take up excessive board space, have been designed of undue complexity, and involve a multiplicity of components in case of right angle connectors, some of the individual components, themselves, being expensive to fabricate. For instance, the terminals of some connectors are fabricated by expensive machining operations and an individual coaxial cavity must be associated with each discrete signal to be communicated. In addition, such connectors in certain operations must take into consideration the provision of component designs which control impedance, cross-talk between the terminals, appropriate ground referencing, and the like. All of these parameters may contribute to the complexity of backplane connectors heretofore available.
This invention is directed to such problems and to satisfying the need for a relatively low cost, easily manufactured connector of the character described above, to interconnect high speed transmission circuits in a backplane environment of an electronic apparatus.

High speed guarded cavity backplane connector


The invention relates to measuring the concentration of a target component in an object. The invention provides a component concentration measurement method including a first step in which light is irradiated onto a measurement object held in a first magnetic field state for detecting the light from the object, a second step in which light is irradiated onto the object held in a second magnetic field state different from the first state for detecting the light from the object, and a third step in which the concentration of the target component is calculated based on the detection results in the first and the second steps. The first magnetic field state may be a magnetic-field-modulated state, while the second state may be a non-magnetic-field-modulated state.

In recent years, there has been an increase in people suffering from lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes, and hence there has been an increase in the need to measure blood sugar level, cholesterol level and so on in one's blood based on a simple technique that can be carried out at home and so on. As a simple technique for measuring blood sugar level, there is for example a method in which a fingertip is punctured so that blood flows out and a sample is taken, and then the glucose concentration in the blood is measured using this sample.
However, puncturing one's fingertip is accompanied by pain, and hence measuring the blood sugar level may be painful. In particular, in the case of a diabetes sufferer, to carry out blood sugar level management during everyday life, the blood sugar level must be measured several times a day. A diabetes sufferer may thus be subjected to pain several times a day, and hence measuring the blood sugar level is a great burden for a diabetes sufferer. Moreover, with ordinary glucose concentration measurement, there is a problem that consumables such as biosensors or urine test paper are used.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H05-176917, to reduce the burden during glucose concentration measurement, there has thus been disclosed a method of measuring the blood sugar level without taking blood from a patient. With this method, near-infrared light of wavelength 0.78 to 1.32 μm is irradiated onto a human body, and the glucose concentration can be measured based on the intensity of the light transmitted through the human body.
On the other hand, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H09-138231, there has been disclosed a method of measuring the glucose concentration in urine without the need for consumables such as urine test paper. With this method, light that has passed through a polarizer is irradiated onto a sample solution, and the glucose concentration can be measured based on the angle of optical rotation of the light transmitted through the sample solution at this time.
However, with the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 5-176917, the measurement is prone to being affected by the state of optical scattering when the irradiated light is transmitted through the human body. That is, variation in measurement results between individuals arises due to differences in the state of optical scattering between individuals, and moreover even with the same person, variation in measurement results arises due to differences in the state of optical scattering at different measurement sites. To resolve these problems, a calibration line must be prepared for each individual, and moreover for each person measurement must be always be carried out at the same site.
On the other hand, with the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H09-138231, the method is effective for measurement on a solution that does not contain solid matter, but there is a problem in that in the case of trying to carry out measurement on a turbid liquid such as blood or trying to measure a component in biological tissue, the measurement is affected by optical scattering due to solid matter in the object of measurement, and hence accurate measurements cannot be obtained.

Component concentration measurement method and device


A heating element (10) comprises an exothermic layer (11) containing an oxidizable metal, a water absorption agent and water and a water-retention layer (12) having a water absorption sheet (102), the exothermic layer (11) and the water-retention layer (12) are in layers, in which the mass ratio of the content of the water absorption agent is from 0.3 to 20 parts by mass for 100 parts by mass of the oxidizable metal, mass ratio of content of water to the content of the water absorption agent in the exothermic layer (11) (water/water absorption agent) is from 0.8 to 13, and the content of water contained in the water-retention layer (12) is from 10 to 45 mass % of the maximum water absorption of said water-retention layer (12).

Exothermic compositions constituting oxidizable metals, such as iron powder and the like, carbon components, and water, which produce heat by an oxidation reaction of an oxidizable metal, are known as, for example, those described in Patent Documents 1 and 2.
Patent Document 1 describes an ink-like or cream-like exothermic composition. It is described therein that the use of this exothermic composition prevents the generation of dust during the production of the heating element and suppresses the exothermic reaction of the exothermic composition, so that loss due to the exothermic reaction during the production, deterioration in the quality of the exothermic composition and/or solidification can be prevented.
Patent Document 2 describes an exothermic composition, having enhanced formability and shape retention ability and also having exothermic characteristics by establishing the particle diameter of the solid component of the exothermic composition and the excessive water within appropriate ranges, in which a heat-generating reaction can be started by coming in contact with air immediately after forming, and a heating element employing the same.


A pivotable cable connection device for a pair of fiber optic connectors includes a carriage and a housing. The carriage includes a body defining a hub pin receiver and an actuator pin slot. A face is connected to the body and defines an opening. The housing is received within the carriage so as to extend through the opening. The housing includes a housing axis and a hub pin. The hub pin is received within the hub pin receiver. Additionally, the housing includes an actuator pin that is received within the actuator pin slot. The housing axis is substantially orthogonal to the face when the actuator pin is positioned in a first end of the actuator pin slot, and is positioned oblique to the face when the actuator pin is positioned in a second end of the actuator pin slot.

Optical connection devices are configured to connect at least a first optical connector to at least a second optical connector. In particular, the connection device aligns ferrules of the first and second optical connectors. Each optical connector terminates an optical fiber that carries light signals. In certain applications, the light signals (e.g., light beams) carried by the optical fibers originate from lasers or other powerful light sources. Connectors on an active fiber optic system will emit a light beam when that connector is not in use. In some conventional systems, shutters or closures have been added to optical connection devices to close off empty ports when one or more optical connectors are removed from an optical adapter. These shutters or closures, however, can be broken or inadvertently damaged, or even deliberately stolen.

Pivoting fiber optic cable connection device


In a magnetic head manufacturing method, a floated surface of each block having plural magnetic head elements formed and arranged on a substrate is ground and lapped in a grinding/lapping step. The grinding/lapping step contains an angle adjusting step for adjusting the angle of the floated surface of the block with reference to a magnetic-head-element formed surface of a substrate and grinding the floated surface concerned, and a finishing lapping step of lapping the floated surface at an angle adjusted in the angle adjusting step.

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a magnetic head having a writing element for writing information into a recording medium by a perpendicular magnetic recording system and a reading element for reading out information recorded in the recording medium.
As a recording system for a magnetic recording and reproducing device have been known a longitudinal magnetic recording system in which the signal magnetization direction is set to a direction within the plane of a recording medium, and a perpendicular magnetic recording system in which the signal magnetization direction is set to a direction perpendicular to the plane of the recording medium. It is said that the perpendicular magnetic recording system is less influenced by thermal fluctuation of the recording medium as compared with the longitudinal magnetic recording system and thus can implement high linear recording density. Accordingly, the vertical magnetic recording system is expected to be practically used in the future.
The process of manufacturing a magnetic head by using the longitudinal magnetic recording system that are practically used at present contains:
(a) a step of forming plural magnetic head elements each containing a recording element for writing information into a recording medium and a reproducing element for reproducing information recorded in a recording medium while arranging the magnetic head elements on a wafer substrate;
(b) a step of cutting out the magnetic head elements from the wafer substrate every bar-shaped block comprising a predetermined number of magnetic head elements;
(c) a lapping step of polishing a floated surface of each block;
(d) a step of cutting each block into individual magnetic head elements; and etc.
In the lapping step of polishing the floated upper surface of the bar-shaped block, the polishing amount has been generally set from the viewpoint of adjusting the magnetic pole length (MR height) of the reproducing element. This is because slight magnetic force recorded in a recording medium is surely read out and thus the magnetic pole length of the reproducing element has a great effect.
Specifically, there has been hitherto adopted a method of using a measurement device for outputting a signal when the magnetic pole length of the reproducing element is set to a properly dimension, observing a signal from the reproducing element by using the measurement device while lapping the floated surface of the block and stopping the lapping work at the time point when the signal concerned is output from the reproducing element.
As described above, in the conventional lapping step, the polishing amount is set from the viewpoint of adjusting the magnetic pole length of the reproducing element, however, no attention has been paid to the magnetic pole length of the recording element. The reason for this is as follows. That is, the recording density is lower in the longitudinal magnetic recording system than that in the perpendicular magnetic recording system. Therefore, even when the magnetic pole length of the recording element is not strictly considered in the lapping step of the floated surface, it has little effect on the characteristic.
However, with respect to the magnetic head of the perpendicular magnetic recording system having higher recording density, developments to further enhance the recording density have been recently advanced.


The mobile data collection system includes a positioning system, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and/or an Inertial Navigation System (INS), to generate position and time data. A down looking line scan camera for mounting on a vehicle, obtains a series of line scan images of a path, such as a road. A data collection controller is connected to the positioning system and the line scan camera to associate the line scan images with the corresponding position and time data. A database stores the line scan images and associated corresponding position and time data. An image processor identifies and marks features in the line scan images.

Accurate position of roads is useful in many commercial and government applications ranging from real time vehicle navigation systems to the definition of boundaries (congressional, municipal, voting districts).
The MAF, or Master Address File, is designed to be a complete and current list of all addresses and locations where people live or work, covering an estimated 115 million residences, as well as 60 million businesses and other structures in the United States. TIGER®, or Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing data is a digital database that identifies the type, location and name of streets, rivers, railroads and other geographic features, and geospatially defines their relationships to each other, to the MAF addresses, and to numerous other entities. The two databases are maintained by the U.S. Census Bureau's Geography Division.
The MAF/TIGER Accuracy Improvement Program (MTAIP) is a major improvement to the quality and accuracy of the Census Bureau's digital geographic data which will be used by U.S. census takers in 2010 and beyond. The program will enable census takers to more precisely conduct their research and tabulations, and will ultimately result in an advanced, easy to update digital database that accurately reflects all of the nation's geographic census data. The MTAIP has a requirement to collect road centerlines at sufficient horizontal accuracy to support a final deliverable product of 5 meters (CE95).
Roughly ⅓ of all counties in the contiguous United States will require centerline collection. With over 11.3M kilometers of roads, the MTAIP will be collecting about 3.7M kilometers of centerline information. Assuming an average collection speed of 15 mph, there will be over 155,000 hours of collection time. Currently it is estimated that for every hour of collection time, another hour of post processing will be spent refining the data to meet the 5 m requirement. The labor costs could be approximately $18M over the lifetime of the program. Any automation that can be applied to reduce the touched labor costs will have a dramatic impact on the overall cost of the program. There are several commercial and government programs that are gathering centerline road data, but not to the scale or accuracy required by the Census Bureau.
The most common approach is to outfit a van with a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver (combined with Inertial Navigation System (INS) for dead reckoning), drive the roads, and ignore the differences between the van location and the centerline. This approach does not meet the 5 m requirement for roads with more than 2 lanes. A second approach is to drive the roads twice (once in each direction), average the 2 collections, and ignore errors introduced by lane changes. This approach is cost prohibitive for the number of roads MTAIP is collecting. A third approach is to record lane changes during the collection, and apply an average lane width offset to the van location as a post-processing step. This approach requires a high level of attention on the part of the operator to reduce human-induced error (2% error means 46,500 miles potentially outside of the 5 m specification).
An example of a mobile mapping and data collection system that can map rail, highway and the transportation infrastructure (e.g., roads, signs, and bridges) while traveling at normal traffic speed is the GPSVan™ developed by the Center for Mapping at the Ohio State University. A Mobile Mapping System (MMS) can be defined as a moving platform, upon which multiple sensor/measurement systems have been integrated, to provide three-dimensional, near-continuous positioning of both the platform and simultaneously collected geo-spatial data. The Center for Mapping developed this technology, realizing that Geographic Information Systems (GIS) require up-to-date and high-quality spatial data to enhance the decision making process in transportation and urban planning. The GPSVan™ positioning module integrates the Global Positioning System (GPS) in the differential mode, and an independent Dead-Reckoning System (DRS) that records the vehicle's position during temporary GPS data outages (satellite signal blockage by trees or other obstructions). The positioning of the vehicle is good to 10 cm when GPS data is available at three-second intervals. GPS data outages of 30 s, 60 s and 120 s cause the positioning degradation to the level of 0.2 m, 0.4 m and 1.0 m, respectively. Additional attributes, i.e., road signs, bridges, etc., can be recorded by a system operator, using a PC keyboard, or the touch screen of the system's portable computer.
An imaging module of the GPSVan™ includes a stereo camera system that records stereo images of the roadway as the van moves down the highway. The stereo system is supplemented by an analog camera system that runs in continuous video mode, and captures a photographic log of the survey. Each video frame is time-tagged with the GPS signal, and geodetic coordinates (i.e., latitude, longitude and ellipsoidal height) are assigned to every image. Digital stereo pairs are processed in a post-mission mode to determine geodetic coordinates of objects such as road edges and centerlines, curbs, street signs, mile markers, etc., with a relative accuracy of 5-10 centimeters within 10-40 meters from the vehicle. The analog imagery provides information for urban planners and tax assessors, as well as the real estate and transportation industry. Data collected by the GPSVan™ can be converted into a format compatible with a GIS, and used by the rail and transportation authorities to establish management priorities, and control safety features, such as speed limits and location of the warning signs.
Similar to the Ohio State GPSVan™, LambdaTech and Transmap use forward and/or side looking stereo cameras coupled with GPS navigational equipment to map road features. Another company using similar features is Visat. One survey article is "Land Based Mobile Mapping Systems" by Cameron Ellum and Nase El-Sheimy published in Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing for January 2002. Also, a Swedish system called the PhotoBus is documented by Gillieron et al. in the 3rd International Symposium on Mobile Mapping Technology. The Photobus system performs a survey of the painted road centerline using a GPS and a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) camera mounted on a roof rack extending over the left side of the vehicle. The image footprint is about 2.8 meters long and 2 meters wide.

Mobile data collection and processing system and methods


A dental prosthesis or template (10) simulates the front surfaces of a patient's teeth and is positioned to overlay over a patient's natural teeth (40) to provide an indication of what a dental porcelain overlay may look like once applied to the patient's teeth. A matching temporary veneer overlay (110) with simulated matching teeth sized and shaped to the template is constructed to be installed over the patient's prepared teeth.

Human beings are a social animal and a person's face communicates important information to other people. A smile is a very important part of human communication and socialization. A genuine broad smile can help a person fit in and makes others who see the smile comfortable and even happy by seeing someone else's smile.
Teeth are an important part of a person's smile. Unattractive teeth or defects in a person's teeth can detract from the overall appearance of the smile. Dentists have long improved defective teeth with a porcelain overlay to enlarge, straighten, brighten, or fill in breaks or gaps in a person's teeth. A person who has excessively small teeth in part to excessive gums can enlarge the teeth by recontouring the gum line with the removal of some gum tissue in conjunction with a new overlay. People with yellow teeth or dark stains in their teeth can brighten their smile with a brighter whiter porcelain overlay.
As important as a smile is, many people with serious and unsightly defects in their smile decline to have a porcelain overlay to improve the smile for various reasons. One of these reasons is that a person may not be willing to undergo a permanent and irreversible operation unless there is a high assurance in the person's mind that the procedure will greatly enhance one's smile and the overlay will be comfortable in the mouth against one's natural teeth. The person may not have the vision or knowledge as to how such an overlay can improve one's smile. A person may initially resist the incorporation of dental prosthesis by being under the impression that the prosthesis may be uncomfortable in the mouth. Dentists until now had no easy method to demonstrate how such an overlay can improve the smile or to counteract the fears of discomfort. As such, only a limited amount of potential consumers accept and undergo an overlay procedure even though this dental treatment could greatly benefit a vastly wider consumer group.
A patient may not be willing to undergo a permanent dental procedure such as an overlay until he/she is fully assured with the knowledge that the procedure is right for him/her and will produce some dramatic and known result. The patient needs to see the image of his/her own face and smile in a dynamic setting in a more three dimensional demonstration in order to obtain the needed assurance to undergo the permanent porcelain overlay.
Recently, efforts have been made to visually demonstrate to the patient how a porcelain overlay may improve one's smile. One such attempt is to take a photograph of a person smiling and then digitally alter the teeth to produce the desired smile improvement. While the digitization can produce a number of different looks by digitally altering the teeth in a variety of ways, this process is less than optimal. The result produces a somewhat static and two dimensional look to the patient. It also gives no knowledge to the consumer related to the comfort of a porcelain overlay in the mouth.
Attempts have been made to place a temporary molded overlay of an individual tooth on a person's tooth. The overlay may adhere to the natural tooth for a short period of time in order to demonstrate to others the benefits and potential outcome of enhancing one's teeth for a better smile. The temporary molded overlay is made from a temporary moldable putty formed over a model of the desired smile changes. This putty is relined with an acrylic that is cured or glued onto a patient's teeth. A second approach is via direct sculpting composite on the surface of the patient's tooth and curing the composite in place one the desired shape has been sculpted. While these methods can provide the dynamic and three dimensional demonstration needed for the potential dental patient, they are time consuming and costly procedures for fitting a plurality of teeth.
Once a patient decides to undergo cosmetic dentistry and obtain a porcelain overlay, the patient's teeth are prepared to receive the overlay. The overlay is then made using a mold impression of the prepared teeth. The mold contains the impression of the teeth along the tooth plane however, the mold often does not provide adequate information as to the vertical and horizontal inclinations and facial planes with respect to the tooth plane to provide the best location of the outer surface of the overlay. Often, the appearance of the overlay teeth needs to be aligned with a facial plane that is angled with respect to the plane of the natural teeth for the best appearance. Dentists have in the past approximated the best angle by placing a stick, such as a cotton swab, into the registration paste before it has set to indicate the vertical and horizontal planes of the overlay with respect to the tooth plane. This placement was done with no visual representation of human teeth and as such could only provide approximation to the ideal position.
Another obstacle for a patient is the time needed for the preparation of a temporary overlay to be used while the permanent overlay is being manufactured. Often the temporary is made using a wax impression of the patient's original teeth. The teeth are then prepared for the overlay and the temporary is formed in place by using curing material. After the material is cured, it is then trimmed, polished and cemented in place. The problem with this procedure is that the patient remains with a look substantially like original teeth from the wax molding. The patient desires to have the look of the new veneer, while the permanent overlay is being prepared.
Temporary multi-tooth crown shells are known, but have only been applied to cuspid teeth and rearward for example the bicuspids and molars. Until now, there have been no full arched dental temporary that can also incorporate temporary crowns or temporary implants.
What is needed is a pre-fabricated demonstration dental template that can quickly be adhered to patients' teeth to demonstrate the look of a dental overlay for the patient. What is also needed is a dental prosthesis in the form of a dental template that provides the visual and tactile indicator to allow the consumer or patient to make a better educated decision prior to the onset of an aesthetic dental treatment; namely the application of a porcelain overlay. What is also needed is a method of visually demonstrating how a dental prosthesis can improve one's smile. Further, what is needed is a method to use the demonstration template also as a visual indicator to assist in determining the desired vertical and horizontal facial planes. The vertical plane determines how long the tooth should be with respect to the lips and other facial features. The overlay relative to the natural tooth plane can be set in a mold to maintain and be able to communicate information of the desired vertical and horizontal facial planes for the overlay relative to the natural teeth with the laboratory to facilitate ideal end results with respect to facial planes and symmetry.
What is needed is a full arched temporary pre-formed shell including front incisors that can be easily applied to a patient's prepared teeth as a temporary while the permanent overlay is being manufactured. What is also needed is a temporary shell that matches in size, shape and color of the demonstration template that is used on the patient.

Demonstration dental template and matching temporary overlay


A turbine engine with a turbine shaft which has a number of disks arranged adjacent to one another, to each of which a number of blades are fastened in a star arrangement, wherein these blades can be cooled with at least one coolant which flows through coolant channels inside the blades is provided.

Turbine engines are used in many fields, principally as drives in the aviation industry and for energy production. In energy production, a distinction is made between gas turbines and steam turbines, which are both used, often simultaneously in so-called gas and steam installations, for driving generators. In the gas turbine, which is examined below, a fuel/air mixture is ignited in a combustion chamber, from where the working medium produced in this process expands in the direction of the blades, performing work as it passes said blades. The energy of the working medium is converted by means of the blades into kinetic energy, which, upon rotation of the turbine shaft, is relayed to generators.
The fuel/air mixture usually burns at a temperature of 1200° C. to 1300° C., producing low emissions and thereby achieving a high degree of efficiency. The degree of efficiency can generally be further increased through a further rise in the combustion temperature.
At these high combustion temperatures of the working medium, very high demands in terms of thermal endurance, mechanical strength and service life are placed on those components of the turbine engine which come into contact with the working medium. A maximum possible degree of efficiency should be achieved here, taking into account the risk to operations and cost-effectiveness of the individual components.
Thermal endurance, a long service life and reliability are also required of the blades of a turbine engine. In order for the blades in the first row of blades, viewed in the direction of flow of the working medium, to withstand the highest thermal loadings, they are cooled in a known manner. For this purpose, they generally have cavities running through them, said cavities forming a branched system of channels in which a coolant flows. Either compressed air or steam, or else both simultaneously, is/are used as a coolant. Steam exhibits better cooling properties than compressed air. However, steam places higher demands on the sealing of the complete cooling system, which means higher production costs with regard to conduction of the coolant.
It is known that blades can be air-cooled and/or steam-cooled. Air cooling can take the form of open as well as closed cooling, but steam cooling is appropriate only as a closed cooling system. When blades of a turbine engine are cooled, the substantial difference in pressure between working medium and coolant can be maintained only by means of a high level of technical resources. In order to close off areas from one another, a costly sealing system is required along the conduction pathway of the coolant, so as to limit leakage losses and thereby ensure efficient cooling. Disadvantageous here is the enormous economic and technological outlay required for this purpose, which on top of everything leads to a reduction in operational dependability and reliability on account of the complicated technology.
Supplying coolant to individual blades in the various rows of blades is very difficult, due to the arrangement of the individual elements concerned, and demands a high outlay in order to guarantee the required sealing of the system and a low operating risk.

Turbine engine and a method for cooling a turbine engine


A polyamide composition comprising an aromatic ring-containing polyamide resin and a specific amount of an aliphatic polyester. The composition has improved molding properties, such as mold release characteristics, and exhibits excellent physical properties, such as stiffness, which will not be lowered upon contact with moisture. The polyamide composition may contain additional components which have been used to improve properties other than molding properties, such as Izod impact strength and hinge effect properties, so that the effects of the components are also exerted in the present composition without sacrificing the main effect aimed at by the present invention, i.e., excellent molding properties. Therefore, the polyamide composition of the present invention is useful as a molding material in various fields, e.g., automobile, electrical and electronic industries.

1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to a polyamide composition. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with a polyamide composition comprising an aromatic ring-containing polyamide resin and a specific amount of an aliphatic polyester, which composition is extremely excellent in molding properties, particularly in mold release characteristics. The polyamide composition may contain additional components which have been used in polyamide compositions to improve properties other than molding properties, such as Izod impact strength and hinge effect properties, so that the effects of these additional components are also exerted in the present polyamide composition. The polyamide composition can advantageously be used as a material for shaped articles, such as a connector and a relay block in various fields, e.g., automobile, electrical and electronic industries.
2. Discussion Of Related Art
Aliphatic polyamides, for example nylon 6 and nylon 66 are now used in large quantities for a wide variety of usages, e.g., for preparing industrial parts, such as parts of automobiles, electrical and electronic devices and machines and also sporting goods and leisure goods, because aliphatic polyamides generally have excellent heat resistance, mechanical strength, toughness and molding properties. However, aliphatic polyamides are susceptible to moisture absorption due to their chemical structure. When aliphatic polyamides absorb moisture, not only are the aliphatic polyamides likely to undergo dimensional change to a large degree but also the stiffness of the aliphatic polymamides becomes low.
For overcoming the above-mentioned disadvantages, a method has been proposed in which a resin having low moisture absorption properties, such as polystyrene, is blended with a polyamide resin (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Specification No. 60-195157). However, although the stiffness of the blend obtained by the above-mentioned method is almost not lowered even upon contact with moisture, the blend is not satisfactory in heat resistance and molding properties.
In order to lower the moisture absorption of a polyamide resin, it has been proposed to introduce aromatic rings into a main chain of a polyamide resin (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Specification No. 58-120665). Indeed, an aromatic ring-containing polyamide resin prepared by this method exhibits excellent characteristics, such as heat resistance and stiffness, and only exhibits a small dimensional change and a small lowering of stiffness even upon contact with moisture. However, the aromatic ring-containing polyamide resin has a drawback in that when it is subjected to injection molding or compression molding, it is difficult to release the resultant molded article from the molds. For removing such a drawback, it has been attempted to increase the cooling time in the molding operation and also attempted to conduct molding while applying a mold release agent to a mold. However, these proposals are disadvantageous from the viewpoint of operational efficiency. Various other proposals have also been made for improving the molding properties of an aliphatic polyamide. In these proposals, a metal salt of a higher aliphatic carboxylic acid, such as calcium stearate, an aliphatic bisamide, or a higher aliphatic ester is incorporated in aliphatic polyamides (see Japanese Patent- Application Laid-open Specification Nos. 60-32845, 58-157855, 58-157856, 61-188458 and 62-232456). However, these proposals are not effective for improving the molding properties of the above-mentioned aromatic ring-containing polyamide resins.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,803,076 discloses a method for improving the molding properties of an aromatic ring-containing polyamide, in which a lactone having 3 to 9 carbon atoms is incorporated, as a mold release agent, in the polyamide. However, this method cannot provide an aromatic ring-containing polyamide with sufficiently improved molding properties. In addition, this method has a drawback in that since the lactone is liquid at room temperature, silver streaks are likely to appear on the surfaces of molded articles, particularly on the surfaces of portions of molded articles having small thickness, thereby leading to a remarkable lowering in commercial value of the molded articles. Further, the aromatic ring-containing polyamide having the above-mentioned lactone incorporated therein is likely to adhere to a hopper, so that additional measures must be employed for facilitating handling. For example, for incorporating the lactone as a mold release agent to the polyamide composition, it is necessary to introduce the liquid lactone by means of a gear pump or the like during pelletization of the polyamide composition. Therefore, this method is practically disadvantageous.
Heretofore, an aromatic ring-containing polyamide resin having not only excellent molding properties, such as mold release characteristics, but also being free from a lowering in physical properties upon contact with moisture has not yet been realized.


A y-shaped gusset structure can be used, for example, in a support frame for vehicles. The gusset structure includes two hollow sections. The first hollow section includes at least one flat side, has been cut through along its circumference except for a web situated in the flat side, and has been bent open around this web. The face of the second hollow section has been inserted into the facing ends of the first hollow section, which facing ends have been created by the process of cutting and bending open, wherein the edge regions of the ends are integrally connected with the first hollow section.

The invention relates to a y-shaped gusset structure of a support frame for vehicles as well as a method for its production.
Various designs of gusset structures for vehicle support frames are known from practical application. The crash safety of the vehicle support frame is decisively determined by its geometry, i.e. by the position of the elements of the support frame—as a rule hollow sections —relative in relation to each other, and by the stiffness of the gusset structures. In particular in the region where the front or rear longitudinal member is connected to the passenger compartment, which region represents a crash zone which is particularly subjected to loads, preferably y-shaped gusset structures are used in order to achieve a favourable distribution of the longitudinal forces, which during a crash act on the passenger compartment. In order to minimise the danger of the hollow sections collapsing in the region of the gusset structure, said gusset structure has to be designed so as to provide maximum stiffness. To this effect, conventional design solutions require the use of additional reinforcement elements; a solution which leads to an undesirable increase in the overall weight of the vehicle support frame. In particular with the use of interior high-pressure metal forming technology, which saves weight due to the lack of welding flanges, adequate rigidity of the gusset structure can only be achieved with the use of support plates. This partly negates the weight gain achieved by this solution.
EP 0 568 251 B1 describes a support frame for vehicles, which support frame comprises several subassemblies based on hollow sections. The hollow sections are interconnected by way of various types of gusset structures in stretched or rectangular positions. The connection of sections which are arranged at right angles in relation to each other, for example the connection between the B-pillar and the lateral sill, is implemented by way of a T-shaped gusset structure. According to an embodiment of such a T-gusset, one end of a first hollow section of rectangular cross section comprises two sections, arranged flush with each other and bent by 90°, with said sections comprising a C-shaped cross section, wherein a second hollow section can be placed against said sections and welded to them.
A gusset structure which is similar to the above embodiment is known from DE 37 26 079 A1. This printed publication describes a door frame construction for utility vehicles, in particular for buses or coaches. The central component of this design is also made up of a T-shaped gusset structure for connecting two hollow sections arranged at a right angle in relation to each other. In this arrangement, the opposing lateral surfaces of one of the hollow sections, at their ends facing the other sections, have been longitudinally cut open in such a way that two U-shaped connection pieces are created which can be formed to constitute a desired transition contour and which can be placed against the section to be connected. In both the above-mentioned printed publications, the respectively described frame structures are largely or exclusively based on T-shaped gusset structures. There is no description of the connection of hollow sections by way of y-gusset structures which are advantageous as far as their crash behaviour is concerned.

Method for producing a Y-shaped node structure for the supporting frame of a motor vehicle


A new and improved educational board game is disclosed that employs dice, personal markers, a plurality of two-sided game cards, and a game board. The game board includes indicia, a portion of which corresponds to different levels of difficulty of a predetermined educational category such as history, and a portion of which corresponds to instructions with respect to movement of the personal markers along the game board. The front side of the game card bears a picture of a historical figure, and the back side bears textual information about the historical figure on the front side. During a player's turn, when the player selects one of the game cards, the player looks at the picture on the front side of the selected card. Another player then reads aloud information relating to the picture from the back side of the card. From the information read aloud, the first player learns factual knowledge and makes a guess at the identity of the historical figure in the picture. If the player is correct, the player gets credit for having earned that card. The game cards are grouped into three groups representing three different levels of difficulty which are designated to be undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. levels. The game is won by the player who first successfully earns a respective predetermined number of game cards for the respective three levels of difficulty.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to board games, and more particularly, to a board game especially adapted to award players who demonstrate knowledge of increasing levels of difficulty in a predetermined category.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Board games that test players' knowledge are well known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,878 of Tripp discloses a trivia game that employs four spinners. The first spinner determines which player is to ask a question. The second spinner determines a challenging player. The third spinner determines the question category; and the fourth spinner determines the point value and the degree of difficulty.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,780 of Begley et al discloses a sports trivia game board which employs five differently colored pairs of tokens. The first token tracks a player's progress around the board. The second token keeps score on a scoreboard section of the board. A plurality of colored cubes corresponding to colored spaces on the board are provided. The colored cubes further have indicia corresponding to the questions on each question card. The question a player must answer is determined by first landing on a colored space, then rolling the correspondingly colored cube.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,808 of Turner et al discloses a trivia board game associated with the television program Star Trek. The game provides a plurality of knockdown models representing the Enterprise. Players collect model portions and assemble tehm on their game piece while moving from destination to destination on the game board.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,842 of Proctor discloses a trivia game system involving recall of trivia information associated with commercial products, commercial slogans, and personalities of characters associated with these products and slogans. Play of the game involves utilization of a playing board which is divided into individual sectors, with each sector including a movement otrack for a progress marker which identifies the winner of the game.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,793 of Sigle discloses a picture identification game for competitive determination of the identity of the subject matter of a partially exposed picture, such as a photograph of a well known person. When a participant recognizes the identity of the person in the picture, that participant wins the game.
Thus, while the foregoing body of prior art indicates it to be well known to use board games to test players knowledge in a variety of subject areas, no board game appears to reward a player with victory for cumulatively demonstrating knowledge at a number of sequential levels of difficulty. More specifically, no board game disclosed in the prior art cited above rewards a player with the status of a high level of scholarship for having successfully identified figures in pictures at successively increased levels of difficulty. Moreover, no board game disclosed in the prior art cited above elicits knowledge, from a player, about the identity of a figure in a picture, simply by seeing the picture of the figure and having another player read specific information about the figure. The foregoing disadvantages are overcome by the unique educational board game of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.