The present invention pertains to the field of pain management in medicine. Methods for treating reflex sympathetic dystrophy (including causalgia) are provided, in which a haloalkylamine a adrenergic blocking agent and a local anesthetic are administered to the affected limb by intravenous regional block. Formulations which can be used in these methods are also provided. In a preferred embodiment, phenoxybenzamine and either lidocaine or procaine are administered to the affected limb using a Bier block procedure.

Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, or "RSD," is a common but poorly recognized chronic syndrome that most often occurs following traumatic injury to a limb. It is also associated with heart attack (myocardial infarction) and certain disorders of the nervous system. RSD includes disorders that were in the past known as causalgia, minor causalgia, post-traumatic pain syndrome, post-traumatic spreading neuralgia, post-traumatic vasomotor disorders, post-traumatic painful arthrosis, Sudeck's atrophy, sympathalgia, shoulder-hand syndrome, chronic traumatic edema, post-traumatic edema, autonomic hyper-reflexia, and reflex dystrophy, among others. (See: Bonica, J. J., The Management of Pain, Second Ed., Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia, 1990, pp. 220-243). The International Association for the Study of Pain continues to distinguish "causalgia," which is a more severe disorder often caused by nerve injury from war-inflicted shrapnel or projectile wounds, and which has some distinctive symptoms such as psychological disturbances that apparently result from the continuous, intense pain. However, most clinicians and researchers recognize that causalgia is symptomologically quite similar to the reflex sympathetic dystrophies, that it is treated in essentially the same way, and that it likely results from the same underlying mechanisms. Therefore, we hereinafter use the terms reflex sympathetic dystrophy and "RSD" to mean all of the above-mentioned disorders, including causalgia, as well as other disorders that fall within the symptomological definition of RSD.
RSD causes pain, stiffness, disturbances of the limb's blood vessels and muscles, and swelling. It is generally disabling because of the intensity of the pain. Also, since movement of the affected limb makes the pain much worse, patients suffering from RSD often stop using the affected limb at all. (Lankford, L. L., Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, in: Management of Peripheral Nerve Problems, G. E. Omer, Jr., and M. Spinner, eds; W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, 1980; pp. 216-244.)
RSD often occurs following sprains, dislocations, and fractures of the hands, feet or wrists, and also following traumatic amputation of fingers, hands or wrists. However, the likelihood of developing RSD and its severity cannot be predicted based upon the severity of the injury; the disorder can even be caused by seemingly minor injuries such as contusions, cuts or even pinpricks to the fingers, hands, toes or feet. Following heart attacks, some patients develop a form of RSD known as "shoulder-hand syndrome," where the shoulder becomes painful and disabled, and the hand on the same side becomes painful and swollen.
Although many theories have been advanced, the mechanism that causes RSD is not clearly understood. One recent view is that RSD is caused by increased firing of peripheral nerves due to increased sensitivity, which in turn causes altered responses by the spinal cord, which then responds abnormally to signals from the brain stem and cortex. (See: Schwartzman, R. J. and T. L. McLellan, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, Arch. Neurol. 44:555-561).
Unless successfully treated, RSD progresses through three stages of increasing disability. In Stage I, the "acute" phase, there is a burning or aching pain that is greater than the pain caused by the initial injury. The pain gets worse when the limb is touched, or when the patient becomes emotionally upset. The limb becomes swollen, hot or cold to the touch, and there is pronounced hair and nails growth. In Stage II, the "dystrophic" phase, the limb becomes hard and swollen, sweaty, and cool, and the hair begins to fall out. The nails become ridged, cracked and brittle. The pain becomes constant, and is increased by any stimulation of the limb. In Stage III, the "atrophic" stage, the pain spreads from the limb, and irreversible tissue damage occurs. The skin becomes thin and shiny, and the fingertips become wasted. The fingers may become permanently flexed, and X-rays show considerable bone loss. Id.
An important method for treating RSD is to temporarily block the sympathetic nerves of the affected limb. The sympathetic nerves are those that largely contain adrenergic fibers (i.e., those that use norepinephrine as a neurotransmitter), and which tend to depress secretion, decrease the tone and contractility of visceral smooth muscles, and cause the contraction of blood vessels. Such a blockade can be accomplished by injecting a local anesthetic such as lidocaine into the symapthetic nerve ganglia near the spinal cord that serve the affected limb. More commonly today, however, this is accomplished by making a local anaesthetic block of the affected limb. This is done by using a "Bier block." A Bier block is performed by elevating the limb and isolating it from the circulation using a tourniquet; the anesthetic is then injected into the limb intravenously, and left there for five to fifteen minutes. The tourniquet is then removed. This provides an effective sympathetic blockade, but without the inherent risks involved in injecting spinal ganglia.
Such regional local anesthetic blocks can be quite effective in treating RSD, particularly when carried out early in the course of the disorder. The response is generally prompt and dramatic; the anesthetic blocks the sympathetic nerves and also relaxes vascular smooth muscle, resulting in vasodilation and a reversal of the pain. The administration of repeated blocks over a period of time often improves the relief provided. It has been optimistically reported that such blockades combined with vigorous physical therapy can effect a "cure" for about 80% of patients with RSD. Binica, Supra. However, there are still at least 20% of patients who do not obtain complete relief. In addition, even among those who might otherwise obtain substantially complete relief by this method, good results depend upon prompt treatment.
Another method of considerable interest is the use of intravenous regional sympathetic block (IRSB) with the specific sympathetic nerve terminal blocking drug guanethidine. (IRSB is another term used to describe what is essentially a Bier block using a drug other than a local anaesthetic). Hannington-Kiff, J. G., "Antisympathetic drugs in limbs," in: Textbook of Pain, P. D. Wall and R. Melzak, eds., Churchill Livingstone, London, (1984), pp. 566-573. Guanethidine is a drug which displaces norepinephrine in presynaptic vesicles and prevents its reuptake. Many clinicians have reported good results and the achievement of long lasting pain relief using guanethidine IRSB. However, two double-blind comparisons failed to find any statistically significant difference between IRSB with guanethidine and IRSB with salt water (saline), calling into question the value of this therapy. Blanchard, J., S. Ramamurthy, N. Walsh, J. Hoffman, and L. Schoenfeld, "Intravenous Regional Sympatholysis: a Double-Blind Comparison of Guanethidine, Reserpine, and Normal Saline," Journal of Pain and Symptom Management (1990) 5(6):357-361; Jadad, A. R., D. Carroll, C. J. Glynn, and H. J. McQuay, "Intravenous Regional Sympathetic Blockade for Pain Relief in Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy: A Systematic Review and a Randomized, Double-Blind Crossover Study," Journal of Pain and Symptom Management (1995) 10(1):13-20.
A third and more recent treatment for RSD is the oral administration of phenoxybenzamine, a potent drug which blocks postsynaptic .alpha..sup.1 receptors and also blocks presynaptic .alpha..sup.1 receptors. In the primary study of this therapy, increasing oral doses of this drug were administered to RSD patients until a maximum dosage of 40 to 120 mg was reached. This treatment was continued for 6 to 8 weeks. A complete cure was reported for all patients, and the authors concluded that treatment with oral phenoxybenzamine was simple, safe and effective. Ghostine, S. Y., Y. G. Comair, D. M. Turner, N. F. Kassell, and C. G. Azar, "Phenoxybenzamine in the Treatment of Causalgia," J. Neurosurg. (1984) 60:1263-1268. However, the authors reported that postural hypotension was a prominent side effect, which caused lightheadedness, and required some patients to wear leg stockinettes or an abdominal girdle throughout treatment. 17 out of 40 patients, or about 45%, were reported to have experienced hypotension. Some patients also reported ejaculatory problems. These side effects, particularly in view of the need to continue therapy for 6 to 8 weeks, substantially reduces the value of oral phenoxybenzamine for the treatment of RSD.

Formulations of haloalkylamines and local anesthetic and methods for the treatment of reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD)


A method for operating a wind turbine is described. The wind turbine includes a tower having a tower axis, and a nacelle being rotatable about the tower axis. The method includes providing a data set of one or more operational parameters of the wind turbine. The one or more operational parameters depend on the angular position of the nacelle with respect to the tower axis. The method further includes determining an angular position of the nacelle with respect to the tower axis; selecting one or more operational parameters from the data set of one or more operational parameters of the wind turbine depending on the determined angular position of the nacelle; and applying the one or more selected operational parameters to the wind turbine. Further, another method of operating a wind turbine and a wind turbine are described.

The subject matter described herein relates generally to methods and systems for controlling an operational parameter of a wind turbine, and more particularly, to methods and systems for controlling operational parameters of a wind turbine tailored to another operational parameter.
At least some known wind turbines include a tower and a nacelle mounted on the tower. A rotor is rotatably mounted to the nacelle and is coupled to a generator by a shaft. A plurality of blades extend from the rotor. The blades are oriented such that wind passing over the blades turns the rotor and rotates the shaft, thereby driving the generator to generate electricity.
In known wind turbines, the yaw angle of the wind turbine (i.e., the horizontal misalignment between wind and turbine pointing direction) can be adapted so that the energy yield is improved, e.g., when the wind changes its direction. By adapting the yaw angle to the actual wind angle, the power output is maximized.
However, the yaw angle of the wind turbine influences not only the energy yield, but also the amount of load on non-yawing support structure parts of a wind turbine (such as tower, bearings, and the like). The support structure parts of a wind turbine are designed corresponding to a peak value. For instance, the operational parameters of the wind turbine may be set so that the load on the structural parts does not exceed a predetermined peak value. That means for example that the wind turbine has to be shut off or curtailed in some cases in order to stay within the design load levels of the structural, non-yawing parts of the wind turbine.
Traditional design load calculations take the fatigue loading for the support structure by default as being axi-symmetric with respect to the yawing axis of the wind turbine. This may lead to the situation where the turbine support structure is over-dimensioned due to a directional variation in short-term and long-term wind conditions. It is therefore desirable to permit a better use of the turbine fatigue reserve margins and a higher energy production by capturing more power for various wind directions.

Method and apparatus for controlling an operational parameter of a wind turbine


A lens that can be used in a digital camera includes in sequence a first lens element (20), a second lens element (30) and a third lens element (40). The first lens element is biconvex, and includes a first aspheric surface (22) and a second aspheric surface (24). The second lens is concavo-convex, and includes a third aspheric surface (32) and a fourth aspheric surface (34). The third lens includes a wavelike fifth aspheric surface (42) and a wavelike sixth aspheric surface (44). All of the lens elements are made of glass. The lens has a compact volume, and provides stable imaging performance and good image quality.

Digital cameras utilizing high-resolution electronic imaging sensors typically require high resolution optical components such as lenses. In addition, the lenses generally must be very compact, so that they can be incorporated into devices such as palm-sized computers, cellular telephones, and the like.
Lenses for digital cameras generally have several individual lens elements. The lens elements are typically spherical, and usually create spherical aberration. Chromatic aberration, coma, distortion, and field curvature are also common optical aberrations that occur in the imaging process of a typical lens. A large number of lens elements are generally required in order to balance the inherent optical aberrations. Lenses having a large number of lens elements tend to be large, heavy, and expensive to manufacture. The large number of lens elements increases material costs, and increases the cost of assembling and mounting the lens elements into the lens cell.
Further, conventional lenses commonly use one or more aspheric lens elements, each of which has one or two non-spherical surfaces. The aspheric lens elements are made of plastic or glass. Aspheric plastics lens elements may be produced by means of plastic injection molding, and are therefore relatively inexpensive. However, the optical characteristics of most plastics lens elements change with changes in temperature and humidity, such as when the digital camera is used outdoors on very hot or very cold days. Furthermore, the hardness of optical plastic material is lower than that of optical glass material. The surfaces of such lens elements are easily scraped or abraded, which affects the precision of imaging. In comparison, glass aspheric lens elements have good optical properties and are less easily scraped or abraded. However, glass aspheric lenses generally cannot be easily produced by traditional glass grinding and polishing techniques. It is only in relatively recent times that glass aspheric lenses have been able to be produced through molding glass methods.
A typical lens having both spherical lens elements and aspheric lens elements is disclosed in China Patent Number 01272836. The lens includes a first spherical lens element, a second aspheric lens element, and a third lens element. The first lens element is biconvex, and is made of glass. The second lens element is biconcave, and is made of plastic. The third lens element has a lens surface convex to the object side of the lens, and is made of plastic. Although the second plastic aspheric lens element decreases the overall weight of the lens, the performance of the lens can easily change with changes in temperature. In addition, changes in humidity may also reduce the image quality.
Accordingly, what is needed is a lens for a digital camera which is compact and which provides stable and good quality imaging.


Fluorinated prodrug compounds as can be used for selective streptococcal mevalonate pathway inhibition.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a common bacterium that causes many types of infection other than pneumonia, including acute sinusitis, otitis media, and meningitis. Infection by this bacterium is a significant cause of infant mortality in developing countries, killing more than 3000 people per day, the majority of whom are children below the age of five. Unfortunately, the incidence of strains resistant to penicillin and other antimicrobial agents has been increasing rapidly worldwide since the mid-1990s. Thus, developments of new antibiotics are needed to maintain control of this deadly organism.
The mevalonate pathway (FIG. 1) is an important cellular metabolic pathway present in all higher eukaryotes and many bacteria. Isopentenyl diphosphate, the pathway end-product, is the five-carbon building block used for the biosynthesis of isoprenoids, which in turn lead to many biologically active small molecules, including cholesterol, steroid hormones, and vitamin A. It was discovered that the mevalonate pathway in S. pneumoniae is regulated by 5-diphosphomevalonate (DPM). (See, Leyh, T. S., et al., Biochemistry 2004, 43, 16461.) DPM is a feedback inhibitor of mevalonate kinase (MVK), the first enzyme in the mevalonate pathway, binding tightly to an allosteric site of MVK in S. pneumonia. However, human MVK is not inhibited at DPM concentrations that essentially completely inhibit the streptococcal system. It has also been reported that S. pneumoniae in which the mevalonate pathway is mutated do not survive in mouse lung or serum.
On these bases, it appeared that DPM could be a lead compound for the development of new anti-streptococcal antibiotics that do not interfere with human metabolism. However, the highly-charged diphosphate compounds do not penetrate the cell membrane. Further, phosphatase degradation of the diphosphate also can occur. For these and other reasons, there remains an ongoing search in the art for effective inhibitors of the mevalonate pathway of S. pneumoniae.

Prodrugs of fluorinated mevalonates to inhibit the mevalonate pathway of

Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University


The present invention relates to a buffer circuit of a semiconductor memory device, and includes a common bias supply unit and a plurality of interface units having a differential amplifying structure. Each interface unit receives an input signal and differentially amplifies the input signal and a common bias. The common bias supply unit is driven by a reference voltage to provide the common bias signal to each of the interface units. The buffer circuit makes it possible to reduce the area occupied by the buffer circuit in a semiconductor memory device.

The present invention relates to a buffer circuit, and more precisely to a buffer circuit provided in a semiconductor memory device.
In general, a buffer is provided in the semiconductor memory device for the purpose of making a precise signal interface between an internal portion and an external portion of the semiconductor memory device. Further, if the semiconductor memory device interfaces the signal under conditions that are different from the conditions of the external portion, the buffer is responsible for mitigating the impacts caused by the differing conditions.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional buffer that is formed with a current mirror type differential amplifying structure that compares an input signal IN to the level of a predetermined reference voltage VREF and that outputs the compared results as an output signal OUT.
More specifically, the conventional buffer includes a differential amplifying unit 10 that compares a potential difference between the input signal IN and a bias signal BIAS and outputs it as the output signal OUT, a bias supply unit 12 that is driven by a reference voltage VREF so as to provide the bias signal BIAS to the differential amplifying unit 10, and a load 14 that provides the same pull-down current to a common node of the differential amplifying unit 10 and the bias supply unit 20.
In the conventional buffer, if the input signal IN is input at a level that is relatively higher than the level of the reference voltage VREF, the potential of node O_ND1 descends to allow the output signal OUT to be output at a high level, whereas if the input signal IN is input at a level that is relatively lower than the level of the reference voltage VREF, the potential of the node O_ND1 ascends to allow the output signal OUT to be output at a low level.
A plurality of buffers is provided, each corresponding to a pad of the semiconductor memory device, and multiple buffers having the properties mentioned above are included in the plurality of buffers.
However, since the buffers are provided for each pad of the semiconductor memory device, a problem occurs in that the size of the memory chip increases due to the number of the buffers. Additionally, a circuit (i.e., a reference voltage generating circuit) that controls the buffer is needed for each of the respective buffers, thus further increasing the size of the memory chip.

Buffer circuit which occupies less area in a semiconductor device


Techniques for load balancing communication sessions in a networked computing environment are described herein. The techniques may include establishing a first communication session between a client device and a first computing resource of a networked computing environment. Additionally, the techniques may include storing, in a data store, data indicating that the first communication session is associated with the first computing resource. The techniques may further include receiving, at a second computing resource of the networked computing environment, traffic associated with a second communication session that was sent by the client device, and based at least in part on accessing the data stored in the data store, establishing a traffic redirect such that the traffic and additional traffic associated with the second communication session is sent from the second computing resource to the first computing resource.

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) make use of various protocols to encrypt traffic from a client node to a server node, and VPN traffic will generally terminate on a specific computing device. However, networked computing environments, such as cloud-based data centers, generally include multiple computing devices or server computers that execute software in order to provide clients with a broad range of resources, such as virtual machines, virtual private networks, storage, etc. Accordingly, in a networked computing environment, a specific computing device (on which VPN traffic would typically terminate) is replaced by individual software resources executing on one or more computing devices of the networked environment. These software resources may be moved between various computing devices of the networked environment in order to satisfy current demands, and VPN traffic may additionally be moved between different software units. Accordingly, there is no guarantee that VPN traffic will always terminate on the same software unit or computing device of the networked computing environment.

Load balancing communication sessions in a networked computing environment


An electric iron with boiler-type steam generator, comprising: a main body of electric iron; a boiler-type steam generator positioned in the main body of electric iron and a ironing plate positioned at the bottom of the main body of electric iron, a steam chamber is set on the ironing plate, squirt holes which are connected with steam chamber are set in the bottom surface of the ironing plate, a mechanical valve is fixed on the body of the boiler-type steam generator, an intake of said mechanical valve positioned in the said body, the outlet is connected with the steam chamber positioned on the ironing plate by tube, a switch which is connected with the valve core of said mechanical valve and control the valve core is set on the surface of the main body of electric iron.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electric iron, and more particularly, to an electric iron having a boiler-type steam generator.
2. Brief Description of the Background of the Invention
Electric irons are commonly used in people's daily lives. The easiest method to prevent damage to clothing and to iron clothing wrinkle free is to sprinkle water onto clothing prior to ironing. However, this method is inconvenient as water cannot be sprinkled uniformly onto the clothing by hand. One improvement to this method is the incorporation of water tanks and water spraying systems into electric irons for directly sprinkling water when ironing, which allows for an easy operation and uniform distribution of water onto clothing.
Along with the improvement of people's lives and desire for better quality, the request for better electric irons was advanced, and steam-spraying electric iron was designed. For example, the Chinese Pat. No. 98102941.8 discloses a "spraying steam electric iron", comprising: a water tank which is used for storning water, a steam chamber which is used for vaporizing the water form the water tank into steam, a base which is used for forming the steam chamber, a heating unit which is used for heating the base, a base cover which is used for covering the base, a first tube which is used for guiding water from water tank into the steam chamber, a mixing chamber, water positioned in the water tank is influenced by steam produced from steam chamber and forms corpuscule, the water positioned in the water tank is guided into the second tube of the mixing chamber, the steam positioned in the steam chamber is guided into the steam tube of the mixing chamber, with the influence of steam for sprinkling water from nozzle.
Said water spray sprinkled from said electric iron is a mixture of water and vapor, containing less vapor, and the sprinkling pressure is not enough, said electric iron has a good effect for clothing which is put flat-wise, but not for clothing which is hung. There are other structures of steam electric irons in the market, but most have the same drawbacks.
For obtaining enough steam in the industry, commonly, connecting a boiler-type steam station with electric iron for providing steam which has enough pressure, the principle of producing steam is same as the boiler used in the industry, since the volume is big, inconveniently using, so it is unpopular in the daily life.
Designer integrates boiler-type steam generator with electric iron, requiring the volume must be little enough, so the volume of the switch valve must also be little enough, and meeting the safety criterion. The electromagnetic valve accords with the safety criterion, but its volume can not achieve the minimum limit. So far, we do not find mechanical valve used in the boiler-type steam generator of electric iron.
On the other hand, the boiler-type steam generator and ironing plate adopt a same heating system, their temperature can not be changed separately, for obtaining the steam which has high temperature and high pressure, the boiler-type steam generator need high temperature, however, if the temperature of ironing plate is much higher, the clothing may be damaged, so the boiler-type steam generator and ironing plate can not use the same heating system.

Electric iron with boiler-type steam generator


Disclosed are exemplary embodiments of devices for measuring voltage of a power supply. Also disclosed are exemplary embodiments of detection devices and temperature controllers comprising such devices for measuring voltage of a power supply. In exemplary embodiments, a device for measuring the voltage of a power supply generally includes a resistor, a capacitor, and a control unit. One end of the capacitor is connected with the resistor, while the other end of the capacitor is connected to ground. The control unit is connected with the power supply. The control unit includes a comparator connected with the capacitor, a reference power supply connected with the comparator, a timer, and a computing unit.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
With the development of chip technology, the cost has become increasingly lower, while performance is getting better or stronger. These improvements have allowed chips to be applied in various fields everywhere, such as in electric machine control, consumer electronics, game devices, industrial control and automation, and major/white household appliances, etc.
FIG. 1 shows a unit inside a chip. The unit can be applied on a controlling device, such as a temperature controller. The unit comprises a temperature measurement module 11 and a supply voltage indicator 12, which are regarded as different modules to fulfill different functions. The temperature measurement module 11 is used for measuring the temperature. The supply voltage indicator 12 is used for detecting the voltage of the power supply.
Conventionally, the components for the supply voltage indicator 12 are integrated inside the chip, such that it occupies more resources inside the chip. This conventional configuration cannot ensure that the chips will have good performance. Also, the cost of the chip equipped with the power supply voltage indicator is high, and thus not conducive to production and sales. Therefore, there is a need to improve the performance of the prior unit, to reduce cost and ensure versatility.

Devices for measuring voltage of a power supply, detection devices, and temperature controllers


An apparatus and method for locally expanding tubular member includes a pre-form die having a cavity with an expansion chamber therein to receive a portion of a tubular blank between ends thereof. The apparatus also includes a bladder apparatus for insertion in the tubular blank and cooperating with the pre-form die to locally expand the portion of the tubular blank in the expansion chamber to form a locally expanded tubular member.

It is known to construct tubular members for vehicles such as automotive vehicles. The tubular members are typically roll-formed and/or extruded from steel, aluminum, or magnesium and have a constant wall thickness. However, it is occasionally desirable to have a tubular member that has an increased stiffness, wherein the stiffness is increased away from the ends of the tubular member.
It is also known that rollformers or tailored tube producers have made steel tubular members with increased stiffness around the perimeter of the tubular member. To increase the stiffness, strips of metal have been welded together axially prior to joining the strips into a tubular form. However, these tubular members are costly due to the extra material and labor involved.
It is known to hydroform tubular components or members. Hydroformed tubular members are becoming increasingly popular in automotive body structural applications. During vehicle body manufacturing, many of the hydroformed tubular members are used in vehicle body and chassis applications. However, vehicle strength, stiffness, and/or impactworthiness often necessitate the need for local areas of structural reinforcement to meet their design goals.
As a result, it is desirable to provide an apparatus for locally expanding a tubular member or blank to achieve a desirable stiffness where needed for a structural member of a vehicle. It is also desirable to provide a hydroformed tubular member having a local expansion away from the ends of the tubular member for a structural member of a vehicle. It is further desirable to provide a method for locally expanding a tubular member away from the ends of the tubular member. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a new cost effective apparatus and method that meets at least one of these desires.

Tubular local expansion apparatus and method of locally expanding tubular member for vehicles


The present invention is directed, at least in part, to a process for improving the efficiency of a photocatalyst (a semiconductor photocatalyst) by tethering (depositing) a metal (e.g., metal ions of a late transition metal, such as nickel) to the semiconductor (photocatalyst) surface through the use of an organic ligand. More specifically, 1,2-ethanedithiol (EDT) functions as an excellent molecular linker (organic ligand) to attach a transition metal complex (e.g., nickel (Ni2+ ions)) to the semiconductor surface, which can be in the form of a cadmium sulfide surface. The photocatalyst has particular utility in generating hydrogen from H2S.

Natural gas operations and hydrodesulfurization processes at refineries produce large quantities of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Some sour gas wells can contain greater than 30% of H2S. H2S is corrosive in nature and impedes the integrity of pipeline. H2S induces hydrate formation and impacts gas production. H2S is toxic, environmental harmful and therefore, it must be neutralized.
In the step of desulfurizing crude oil which is generally conducted presently, heavy naphtha is subjected to hydrofining during crude oil distillation to recover all of the sulfur ingredients contained in the crude oil as hydrogen sulfide. Currently, the predominant process for converting H2S into non-toxic elemental sulfur is the Claus sulphur recovery process. The Claus process includes a number of different steps that are performed to neutralize the toxic H2S. First, the H2S is separated from the host gas stream using amine extraction. Then, the H2S is fed to a Claus unit, where it is converted in the following two steps. The first step is a thermal step in which the H2S is partially oxidized with air. This is done in a reaction furnace at high temperatures (1000-1400° C.). Sulfur is formed, but some H2S remains unreacted, and some SO2 is made. The second step is a catalytic step in which the remaining H2S is reacted with the SO2 at lower temperatures (about 200-350° C.) over a catalyst to make more sulfur. A catalyst is needed in the second step to help the components react with reasonable speed. Unfortunately, the reaction does not go to completion even with an optimal catalyst. For this reason, two or three stages are used, with sulfur being removed between the stages. Inevitably, a small amount of H2S remains in the tail gas and this residual quantity, together with other trace sulfur compounds, is usually dealt with in a tail gas unit.
While the Claus process can yield high conversion rates, there are a number of deficiencies associated with this sulfur recovery process. In particular, the Claus process necessitates an enormous amount of energy because of not only the catalytic reaction of sulfurous acid gas with hydrogen sulfide but also repetitions of heating and condensation. The process has further problems, for example, that the management of sulfurous acid gas is costly. In addition, the process cannot recover the energy contents of H2S and cannot produce highly demanded H2.
Catalysis is the process in which a substance participates in modifying the rate of a chemical transformation of the reactants without being altered or consumed in the end. This substance is known as the catalyst which increases the rate of a reaction by reducing the activation energy. Generally speaking, photocatalysis is a reaction which uses light to activate a substance which modifies the rate of a chemical reaction without being involved itself. The photocatalyst is the substance which can modify the rate of chemical reaction using light irradiation.
A semiconductor photocatalyst has an energy band structure in which the conduction band and the valence band structure are separated by a forbidden band. When a photocatalyst is irradiated with light having energy equal to or higher than a band gap, electrons in the valence band are excited to the conduction band, while holes are generated in the valence band. The electrons excited to the conduction band have higher reducing power than that when the electrons are present in the valence band, and the holes have higher oxidizing power.
Thus, photocatalysis can be in the form of a process that involves light absorption by a semiconductor, particularly, in the form of particulates and generation of excitons to be separated to make redox reactions. The process allows the free-energy positive reaction (a thermodynamically unfavored reaction) to happen utilizing photon energy incident to a reactor (device), which can be utilized for solar energy conversion to chemical energy.
Photocatalytic evolution (generation) of hydrogen using semiconductor powder materials has gained considerable attention because of the importance of solar energy conversion or recovering energy from waste, such as biomass-related organic wastes and hydrogen sulfide. Utilizing solar energy for photocatalysis requires not only extensive absorption in visible light range but also large scale application with low capital cost. The earth-abundant elements are therefore preferred to be the components of the photocatalyst materials. Noble metal nanoparticles are generally good electrocatalyst materials to reduce water/proton to generate hydrogen molecules, and thus efficient photocatalysts can include noble metal nanoparticles on the surface of semiconductor materials. Finding the alternative of noble metals possessing high electrocatalytic activity is still awaited and is desirable.
For high efficient conversion of photocatalytic water splitting, modification of the photocatalyst surface with a cocatalyst is essential because of enhancement in the charge separation creating new metal-semiconductor electronic structure, and in electrocatalytic properties that catalyze the target redox reactions. Many nanomaterials decorated (deposited) on the photocatalyst material, such as Pt, Pt—Pd(S), Au, MoS2, and Ag2S have been reported to enhance photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. For many years, a nickel-based nanoparticle structure is known to be active for photocatalytic water splitting reaction and a moderate size (typically greater than 10 nm) of metallic nickel particles has been considered to be utilized for an active site of hydrogen evolution. A more recent study reported that nickel-thiolate complexes possibly work effectively as hydrogen evolution sites.
Despite these advances, there is still a need for improvements in solar-based hydrogen production technologies and in particular, there is a need for an improved alternative process for the simultaneous conversion of H2S or its containing gases into valuable hydrogen and sulfur. In other words, there is a desire and need for a method for decomposing hydrogen sulphide with a photocatalyst to yield hydrogen and sulfur and which can be put to practical use, thereby making it possible to decompose hydrogen sulfide as a harmful substance with a smaller amount of energy to produce hydrogen and sulfur as useful substances.
This is particularly true for industries that are located in areas that have high annual solar irradiation, such as Saudi Arabia.

Tethered transition metals promoted photocatalytic system for efficient hydrogen evolutions

KING ABDULLAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


Systems and methods for identifying foreign objects and debris (FOD) and defects during fabrication of a composite structure. The system includes at least one light source positioned to emit light that illuminates a portion of the composite structure with bright field illumination and that also illuminates another portion of the composite structure with dark field illumination. The bright field illumination is reflected differently by defects in the composite structure than from portions of the composite structure that are defect free. The dark field illumination is reflected differently by FOD on the composition structure than from surfaces of the composite structure that are FOD free. The system also includes at least one camera for receiving images of the illuminated portions of the composite structure. The images received by the camera may be processed by a processor which then outputs a response identifying defects and foreign objects and debris based on the images.

Composite structures have been known in the art for many years. Although composite structures can be formed in many different manners, one advantageous technique for forming composite structures is a fiber placement or automated collation process. According to conventional automated collation techniques, one or more ribbons of composite material (also known as composite strands or tows) are laid down on a substrate. The substrate may be a tool or mandrel, but, more conventionally, is formed of one or more underlying layers of composite material that have been previously laid down and compacted.
Conventional fiber placement processes utilize a heat source to assist in compaction of the plies of composite material at a localized nip point. In particular, the ribbon or tow of composite material and the underlying substrate are heated at the nip point to increase the tack of the resin of the plies while being subjected to compressive forces to ensure adhesion to the substrate. To complete the part, additional strips of composite material can be applied in a side-by-side manner to each layer and can be subjected to localized heat and pressure during the consolidation process.
Unfortunately, defects can occur during the placement of the composite strips onto the underlying composite structure. Such defects can include tow gaps, overlaps, dropped tows, puckers, and twists. Additionally, foreign objects and debris (FOD), such as resin balls and fuzz balls, can accumulate on a surface of the composite structure. Resin balls are small pieces of neat resin that build up on the surfaces of the fiber placement head as the pre-impregnated tows pass through the guides and cutters. The resin balls become dislodged due to the motion and vibration of the fiber placement machine, and drop on to the surface of the ply. If not removed, subsequent courses will cover the resin ball and create a bump in the laminate whereat there may be no compaction of the tows. Fuzz balls are formed when fibers fray at the edges of the tows and then break off as the tows are passed through the cutter assembly. The broken fibers collect in small clumps that fall onto the laminate and, if not removed, are covered by the next course.
Composite laminates fabricated by fiber placement processes are typically subjected to a 100% ply-by-ply visual inspection for both defects and FOD. Typically, these inspections are performed manually during which time the fiber placement machine is stopped and the process of laying materials halted until the inspection and subsequent repairs, if any, are completed. In the meantime, the fabrication process has been disadvantageously slowed by the manual inspection process and machine downtime associated therewith.

Systems and method for identifying foreign objects and debris (FOD) and defects during fabrication of a composite structure


Devices and methods disclosed here can include a foot mount, such as an action camera foot mount. The action camera foot mount can include a harness having a toe loop and an ankle loop. The harness can include an elastic material and can be in tension between the toe loop and the ankle loop. The toe loop can encircle a toe of the user and the ankle loop can encircle an ankle of the user to secure the harness to the foot of the user. In an example, at least one midportion can be disposed between the toe loop and the ankle loop of the harness. A base member can be coupled to the harness and the base member can include a camera mount for attaching an action camera to the harness. In an example, the base member can be slidably coupled along the midportion.

Action cameras are used by athletes, hobbyists, drivers, pilots, or the like to record still images or video of activities for later viewing. Such devices are frequently used in outdoor environments. Accordingly, action cameras can be protected in environmentally sealed housings, making the action camera suitable for such uses.
Existing action cameras can be attached to the body of a wearer. For instance, the action camera can be coupled to a mount. Existing mounts can include straps that wrap around a wearer's hand, ankle, chest, or leg, and mounts that can strap to a wearer's shoe or footwear. Some action camera mounts include an adapter for orienting the camera toward the wearer or in other orientations to capture views of scenery, the experience of the wearer, other individuals in view of the wearer, or the like.


A column select line includes a first layer column select line and a second layer column select line formed above the first layer column select line and connected thereto at any point. Furthermore, clamping circuits each for clamping each word line of paired main word lines at a constant potential are provided in a semiconductor memory device having main and secondary word line structure. With such a structure, malfunction due to multiselection of memory cells can be avoided even when the column select line or the paired main word lines is disconnected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device. It particularly relates to a column select line having a two layer structure and a clamping circuit which prevent malfunction when a column select line or a word line is disconnected by foreign matters or the like.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a dynamic random access memory (referred to as a "DRAM" hereinafter), a conventional semiconductor memory device.
As shown in FIG. 10, the semiconductor memory device is provided with subarrays 1 into which a memory cell array is divided, a row decoder 2 arranged at each subarray 1 for selecting a word line WL, and a column decoder 3 arranged at each subarray 1 for selecting a column select line CSL.
Furthermore, the semiconductor memory device shown in FIG. 10 is a DRAM .times.4 configuration and has a memory cell array consisting of four subarrays 1. Each subarray 1 has a plurality of word lines WL including a redundant word line, a plurality of pairs of bit lines (not shown) arranged to cross the plurality of word lines WL and including a redundant pair of bit lines, a plurality of column select lines CSL arranged parallel to the plurality of pairs of bit lines and including a redundant column select line for sending a signal for selecting a pair of bit lines, and memory cells (not shown) connected to intersections of ward lines WL and the pairs of bit lines.
One end of column select line CSL is connected to column decoder 3 and the other end is opened. Thus, when column select line CSL is disconnected due to foreign matters or the like, a redundant column select line is substituted for the column select line CSL while the disconnected portion is floating, causing multiselection of memory cells and hence malfunction of the device.
Furthermore, a word line WL also has one end connected to row decoder 2 while the other end open. Thus, when word line WL is disconnected due to foreign matters or the like, a redundant word line is substituted for the disconnected word line WL while the disconnected portion is floating, causing multiselection of memory cells and hence malfunction of the device.

Semiconductor memory device capable of preventing malfunction due to disconnection of column select line or word select line


Process for the production of an oriented polyolefin film using multi-component polymer compositions. One polymer component comprises an isotactic propylene homopolymer produced by the polymerization of propylene with a Ziegler-Natta catalyst. A secondary component is a Ziegler-Natta polymerized ethylene-propylene random copolymer or a metallocene-polymerized ethylene-propylene random copolymer produced by the polymerization of propylene and ethylene in the presence of a metallocene polymerization catalyst. The Ziegler-Natta polymerized copolymer is produced by the polymerization of ethylene and propylene in the presence of a Ziegler-Natta catalyst and contains no more than 0.5 wt. % ethylene and has a xylene solubles content of at least 2 wt. %. The primary and secondary polymer components are mixed together to provide a blend in which, when the secondary component is a Ziegler-Natta polypropylene, is present in an amount within the range of 5–25 wt. % and the secondary polymer component is a metallocene-based copolymer present in an amount of less than 5 wt. %. After mixing the two polymer components together, the mixture is extruded and the formed into a biaxially oriented film.

Biaxial orientation of polyolefins, particularly polypropylenes, produces films which have applications in the polyolefin film business, for example snack food packaging, cigarette overwrap, electronic components wrapping, packaging tape, and shrink film. The polymers normally employed in the preparation of biaxially oriented films are isotactic homopolymers with high stereoregularity, although on some occasions the use of syndiotactic polymers has been proposed. Also suitable are co-polymers of isotactic polypropylenes with a small content of ethylene (mini-random co-polymers).
Isotactic polypropylene is one of a number of crystalline polymers which can be characterized in terms of the stereoregularity of the polymer chain. Various stereospecific structural relationships denominated primarily in terms of syndiotacticity and isotacticity may be involved in the formation of stereoregular polymers of various monomers.
Isotactic polypropylene is conventionally used in the production of relatively thin films in which the polypropylene is heated and then extruded through dies and subjected to biaxial orientation by stressing the film in both a longitudinal direction (referred to as the machine direction) and lateral direction (sometimes referred to as the tenter direction). The structure of isotactic polypropylene is characterized in terms of the methyl group attached to the tertiary carbon atoms of the successive propylene monomer units lying on the same side of the main chain of the polymer. That is, the methyl groups are characterized as being all above or below the polymer chain.
Stereoregular polymers, such as isotactic and syndiotactic polypropylene can be characterized in terms of the Fisher projection formula. Another way of describing the structure is through the use of NMR. Bovey's NMR nomenclature for an isotactic pentad is . . . mmmm . . . with each "m" representing a "meso" dyad, or successive methyl groups on the same side of the plane of the polymer chain. As is known in the art, any deviation or inversion in the structure of the chain lowers the degree of isotacticity and crystallinity of the polymer.
Syndiotactic polymers are semi-crystalline and, like the isotactic polymers, have few xylene-soluble species. This crystallinity distinguishes both syndiotactic and isotactic polymers from an atactic polymer, which is non-crystalline and highly soluble in xylene. An atactic polymer exhibits no regular order of repeating unit configurations in the polymer chain and forms essentially a waxy product.


A process cartridge to be detachably attached to an electrophotographic image-forming apparatus body includes a cartridge frame; an electrophotographic photosensitive drum; a processing unit for acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum; a handle for gripping the process cartridge when the process cartridge is mounted on a first electrophotographic image-forming apparatus body; and an mounting unit provided in the cartridge frame, to which a handle member is attached for gripping the process cartridge when the process cartridge is mounted on a second electrophotographic image-forming apparatus body in a case where the second electrophotographic image-forming apparatus body is used on which the process cartridge is mounted in a direction different from that of the first electrophotographic image-forming apparatus. Thereby, by achieving commonality of the cartridge-frame structure, the system can corresponds to the first electrophotographic image-forming apparatus and the second electrophotographic image-forming apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process cartridge able to be mounted on and dismounted off an electrophotographic image-forming apparatus body and an electrophotographic image-forming apparatus capable of mounting or dismounting the process cartridge.
2. Description of Related Art
Wherein the electrophotographic image-forming apparatus means an apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium using an electrophotographic image-forming process. Examples of the electrophotographic image-forming apparatus include an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (a laser-beam printer and an LED printer, for example), a facsimile machine, and a word processor.
The process cartridge means a cartridge integrated with a charging means as process means, developing means or cleaning means, and an electrophotographic sensitive member to be mounted on and dismounted off the electrophotographic image-forming apparatus body. Furthermore, the process cartridge means a cartridge integrated with at least one of charging means as process means, developing means, and cleaning means; and the electrophotographic sensitive member to be mounted on and dismounted off the electrophotographic image-forming apparatus body. The process cartridge also means a cartridge integrated at least with charging means as process means and the electrophotographic sensitive member to be mounted on and dismounted off the electrophotographic image-forming apparatus body.
In an electrophotographic image-forming apparatus using an electrophotographic image-forming process, a process cartridge system has been adopted in that a cartridge integrated with an electrophotographic sensitive member and processing means for acting on the processing unit is mounted on and dismounted off an electrophotographic image-forming apparatus body.
According to this process cartridge system, since the maintenance of the apparatus can be done by a user oneself without depending on a service personnel, operationality has been largely improved. Therefore, the cartridge system has been widely used in the electrophotographic image-forming apparatus.
For example, the process cartridge is mounted on or dismounted off the apparatus body by a user oneself. Thus, in order to improve the operationality when the process cartridge is mounted on the apparatus body, the process cartridge may be provided with a handle member attached to upward protrude from the process cartridge frame (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-271274). Also, a toner container may be provided with handles arranged on entire regions in the axial direction of an electrophotographic sensitive member, and an operator may grip this handle (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,154,623).

Process cartridge and electrophotographic image-forming apparatus


‘NCHA1’ is a new Hydrangea plant particularly distinguished by having a medium-sized, rounded, multi-stemmed shrub, a unique combination of compound, corymb inflorescences with prevalent sterile flowers and rose to pink colored sepals, is disclosed.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Hydrangea, botanically known as Hydrangea arborescens, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'NCHA1'. This new Hydrangea was developed through a breeding program at Mills River, N.C. 'NCHA1' originated as an open pollinated (F2) seedling from H. arborescens cultivar 'H2005-045-061' (unpatented) that was grouped in an isolation block with full sibling plants of the same parentage.
The first asexual propagation of 'NCHA1' was carried out in June 2006 by rooting stem cuttings at Mills River, N.C., USA and has been asexually reproduced repeatedly by vegetative cuttings in North Carolina over a two year period. 'NCHA1' roots readily from softwood cuttings treated with a basal dip of 2,500–4,000 ppm indole butyric acid (potassium salt) in water. 'NCHA1' has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive asexual propagations.
Plant Breeder's Rights for this cultivar have been applied for. 'NCHA1' has not been made publicly available more than one year prior to the filing of this application.


Methods, systems, and products are disclosed for a remote control device. Means for detecting orientation of the remote control device couples to a processor. The processor is operative to change a mode of operation of the remote control device in response to a change in the orientation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to a remote control device and, more specifically, to a remote control device with a directional mode indicator.
2. Description of the Background
Virtually every consumer electronic (CE) device sold today comes with its own remote control. As a result, it is not uncommon for households to have as many as three different remote control devices to control separate CE devices on the living room coffee table, thus introducing clutter and confusion as to the remote control that controls each particular CE device. The home electronics industry has responded to consumer frustrations with the introduction of universal remote devices. A universal remote control can be "taught" to take the place of all of the individual remote controls, thus allowing reduction of the number of remote controls per household to one.
Even though using a universal remote control has many advantages, it, at the same time, introduces new problems. For one, it is difficult to determine the current mode of operation of the universal remote control merely by visual inspection. In addition, once the mode of operation is determined, a sequence of buttons must be pressed to change the mode of operation of the remote control to that of another CE device. Thus, there is a need for a remote control in which the mode of operation may be more easily changed.
Another significant problem with universal remote controls is that no feedback is given to the user to identify the source of transmittal problems between the remote control and the CE device such as a weak remote control signal, low battery power, an incorrect mode of operation, a malfunctioning set-top box, and other such problems. Thus, there exists a need for a feedback device that indicates the mode of operation of the remote control whenever the buttons of the remote control are pressed to assist in diagnosing the source of transmittal problems. Further, there exits a need for a remote control having a feedback device that indicates weak signal strength and/or low battery power.
In addition, many remote control users also find it frustrating to have to press a button or tap an LCD screen on the remote control that cannot be seen in a dark room in order to light the remote control's buttons. Further, pressing a random button or randomly tapping the LCD screen in the dark may trigger a remote control function that the user did not intend. Thus, there exists a need for a remote control having illumination whenever the remote control is moved or picked up.
Advanced technophile users demand the functionality of universal remote control devices to become increasingly more sophisticated. For example, an experienced technical user may wish to do as much as the user can with a single remote control device. In addition, a home electronics maven might wish to be visually or audibly alerted to incoming telephone calls, or to a favorite television show starting, from the mobile remote control independent of the typically immobile set-top box or other CE device, which may be off when such an event occurs, thereby causing the user to miss that event. In addition, some advanced consumers may appreciate having the means to save and retrieve individualized settings of each CE device and/or their user profile from their remote control instead of having to use the set-top box to access these individualized settings and user profiles.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Remote control device with directional mode indicator

AT&T Delaware Intellectual Property, Inc.


Anti-thrombotic agents containing humanized antibodies which bind to von Willebrand factor.

1. Field of the Invention
Humanized monoclonal antibodies against human von Willebrand factor, cells which produce the antibodies, and antithrombotic agents containing the foregoing antibodies as the active ingredient.
2. Background of the Invention
When subendothelium tissue is exposed due to injury, platelets flowing through the bloodstream immediately adhere to the subendothelium. This event triggers a series of platelet activation processes including platelet aggregation and release of intracellular granules, after which a thrombus is formed and bleeding stops. Thrombus formation is necessary for the physiological hemostatic mechanism. However, the thrombus can cause a number of thrombotic diseases such as myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, cerebral infarction and cerebral thrombosis.
Many anti-thrombotic agents have been developed to treat thrombotic diseases. However, many conventional antithrombotic agents have low effectiveness in clinical applications and have low thrombus-specificity, causing hemorrhaging as a side effect.
An important protein which functions at the early stage of thrombus formation is von Willebrand factor ("vWF"), in blood plasma. Hemorrhagic legions associated with the occurrence of qualitative and quantitative changes in vWF are indications of von Willebrand disease ("vWD"). Several antibodies against vWF are known: NMC-4 disclosed by Fujimura et al, J. Nara Med. Assoc., vol. 36, 662 (1985); RFF-VIIIRAG:1 disclosed by Tuddenham et al, Blood, vol. 177, no. 1, 113 (1992); and the monoclonal antibodies produced by hybridomas AJvW-1, AJvW-2, AJvW-3, and AJvW-4 disclosed by Nagano et al, PCT/JP95/02435 (incorporated herein by reference).
The present invention provides humanized antibodies based on the antibodies produced by hybridoma AJvW-2. This murine monoclonal antibody is an effective inhibitor of the physiological activity of vWF and would be desirable to use for treating thrombotic diseases. Unfortunately, the use of murine monoclonal antibodies such as those from AJvW-2 have certain drawbacks in human treatment, particularly in repeated therapeutic regimens. And mouse monoclonal antibodies tend to have a short half-life in humans and lack other important immunoglobulin functional characteristics when used in humans. More importantly, murine monoclonal antibodies contain substantial amino acid sequences that are immunogenic when injected into human patients. Numerous studies have shown that, after injection of foreign antibodies, the immune response elicited in a patient against the injected antibody can be quite strong, eliminating the antibody's therapeutic effectiveness after the initial treatment. Moreover, if mouse or other antigenic (to humans) monoclonal antibodies are used to treat a human disease, then subsequent treatments with unrelated mouse antibodies may be ineffective or even dangerous due to cross-reactivity.
While the production of so-called "chimeric antibodies" (e.g., mouse variable regions joined to human constant regions) has proven somewhat successful, significant immunogenicity problems remain. (See, LoBuglio, A. F. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 86, 4220–4224 (1989); M. N. Saleh et al., Human Antibod. Hybridomas e: 19 (1992)).
In general, producing human immunoglobulins reactive with von Willebrand factor with high affinity would be extremely difficult using typical human monoclonal antibody production techniques. Thus, there is a need for improved forms of humanized immunoglobulins specific for von Willebrand factor that are substantially non-immunogenic in humans, yet easily and economically produced in a manner suitable for therapeutic formulation and other uses. The present invention fulfills these and other needs.

Antithrombotic agent and humanized anti-von Willebrand factor monoclonal antibody


Protective film in the form of a tape or sheet comprising a substrate layer and a pressure sensitive adhesive composition.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,465,557 B1 (KRATON Polymers U.S. LLC) discloses a hot-melt, pressure sensitive positioning adhesive for use in an adsorbent article such as sanitary napkins, incontinent pads, feminine pads, panty shields and diaper inserts.
Said adhesive comprises:
a. from 6 to 15 percent by weight of a hydrogenated styrene-(butadiene and/or isoprene)-styrene block copolymer, having a vinyl content of greater than 50% by weight,
b. from 50 to 80 percent by weight of a tackifying resin, which has an aromaticity such that the MMAP cloud point is at least 45° C., and
c. from 5 to 35 percent by weight of a plasticizer,
wherein the weight percentages of the total components a), b) and c) and the sum of the three components add up to 100.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,465,557 B1, the preferred vinyl contents in the block copolymer before hydrogenation are those in the range of from 70 to 80 wt %, while the preferred block copolymer content in the adhesive composition is from 8 to 11 percent by weight. Preferred poly(styrene) contents in the block copolymer are in the range of from 10 to 40 percent by weight.
A clear disadvantage of the described and exemplified adhesive compositions of U.S. Pat. No. 6,465,557 B1 is that they comprise large amounts of plasticizing oils such as TUFFLO 6056, which have been found to leave residues on the surface to be protected by the protective film after the film is removed. It will be appreciated that these residues on the surfaces to be protected are unacceptable for several types of products.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,850 (Sekisui Chemical Co.) discloses a pressure sensitive adhesive composition comprising 100 parts by weight of at least one block copolymer selected from the group consisting of block copolymers represented by the general formula A-B-A and block copolymers represented by the general formula A-B, wherein A denotes a styrene polymer block and B denotes a butadiene polymer block, an isoprene polymer block or a polymer block obtained by hydrogenating these polymers, 10 to 200 parts by weight of a tackifying resin and 25 to 200 parts by weight of a polyolefin. Pressure sensitive adhesive tapes or sheets comprising, as a pressure sensitive adhesive layer, the pressure sensitive adhesive composition are also disclosed.
WO 00/77118 (KRATON Polymers Research BV) discloses an adhesive composition comprising: (i) a block copolymer containing at least two poly(monovinyl aromatic hydrocarbon) blocks and at least one hydrogenated poly(conjugated diene) block; (ii) 20 to 80 parts by weight of an at least partially hydrogenated tackifying resin per 100 parts by weight of block copolymer; (iii) 0 to 40 parts by weight of aromatic resin per 100 parts by weight of block copolymer; (iv) 10 to 60 parts by weight of a polybutene-1 per 100 parts by weight of block copolymer; and (v) 0 to 25 parts by weight of plasticizer per 100 parts by weight of block copolymer. Said document further discloses a process for preparing pellets containing the adhesive composition and a protective film comprising a substrate layer and an adhesive layer comprising the adhesive composition as defined above, made for instance, by co-extrusion.
The compositions according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,850 and WO 00/77118 have in common that they comprise a styrenic block copolymer, a midblock compatible tackifying resin (i.e., compatible with the hydrogenated poly(conjugated diene) block) and a polyolefin. The latter is generally the cheapest component of the composition. It is therefore used in large amounts. On the other hand, the polyolefin does not contribute to the desirable properties of the adhesive composition. For instance, producers of protective films are on the look out for adhesive compositions that may contain a lot of cheap polyolefins while still having excellent adhesive properties (generally determined on the basis of peal adhesion) and good processability (generally determined on the basis of Melt Flow Rate).
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a pressure sensitive adhesive composition that combines a high peel adhesion with a Melt Flow Rate (MFR according to ASTM D-1238, Condition E, 190° C. at 2.16 kg load) from 5 to 20 g/10 min.

Protective films and pressure sensitive adhesives


A closed loop amplifier adapted to be directly connected to a battery having a battery voltage for powering the amplifier. The amplifier includes an amplifier stage having a node for receiving a control voltage for controlling a common mode voltage of the stage, a digital voltage indicator for generating a digital value corresponding to the battery voltage, and a common mode voltage supply providing the control voltage corresponding to the digital value.

Today's integrated circuit (IC) industry is driven almost completely by the pursuit of lower cost without sacrificing performance. To achieve this, circuit designers look for ways to reduce the IC die area as they develop attractive solutions to make IC devices more desirable to their customers. In the newly expanding Class-D audio amplification area, an attractive idea is to provide a Class-D amplifier system that runs on a digital pulse width modulation (PWM) input. This is advantageous as it greatly reduces the amount of die area by eliminating the necessity of using a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), thus lowering the cost of production and of implementation.
PWM is obtained by taking a stream of electrical pulses and varying their widths, i.e., their duration in time, as a function of an input. The simplest type of PWM generation is called Natural-PWM (NPWM), and involves comparing the input waveform, which is an analog input, with a triangle wave at a frequency of fc. In addition, the continuing expansion of digital techniques in the field of audio has led to a different type of PWM generation called Uniform-PWM (UPWM) which typically uses a higher order digital modulator to convert a digital Pulse Coded Modulation (PCM) signal to a uniformly sampled PWM. In addition to the sampling method, PWM is traditionally also differentiated by the edge modulation type and by the class. The modulation may also be single sided or double sided. Class AD and Class BD are the standardized abbreviations used to differentiate between two-level and three-level switching.
Once a PWM signal is generated, it can be used to drive a high power output field effect transistor (FET) array. Due to the bi-level nature of a PWM signal, each transistor will be either completely on or completely off, as a result of which the power stage will have a higher efficiency than other analog power stages.
However, even using an ideal NPWM (and UPWM), a subsequent switching power stage will generally add noise and distortion due to switching delays that vary non-linearly with load current. Errors can also be induced by a lower quality triangle wave signal. Similarly, noise and ripple on the power supply for the switching power stage will introduce errors in the system output signal resulting in poor Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) and Power Supply Rejection Ratio (PSRR).
It is known from delta-sigma (Δ-Σ) converter theory that using an integrator before a noise adding element and then feeding back the inverse of the output pushes the added errors high into the frequency band. If the errors are pushed above the audio band, an external low-pass filter can be used to extract the audio signal from the PWM waveform. The same principle has been used for many existing Class-D architectures. Most of the existing architectures for Class-D operate on analog inputs and hence require the presence of a DAC, and also need an analog ramp at the input of the comparator to generate the PWM output.
Although prior art architectures can also work with digital PWM inputs, they still need an analog ramp at the input of the comparator. This is not very desirable since the presence of an analog ramp can create intermodulation distortion because of the carrier modulating with the PWM input. In order to avoid this, the ramp frequency and the carrier frequency of the digital PWM input should be perfectly matched. This is a very tight factor to control.
A prior art solution has been proposed that uses a square wave feeding in into the integrator in order to create a ramp. However, this architecture does not completely eliminate intermodulation distortion due to the square wave modulating with the input PWM's carrier. Solutions that have been proposed to overcome this are generally not area effective, because of the size of the passive devices that end up being required. Furthermore, the presence of clock jitter and duty cycle modulation can also cause noise in the system.
Still further, in a generic, single-ended Class-D amplifier, the common-mode value of the integrator should change based on the voltage of the power supply, e.g. battery. However, prior art techniques for achieving this, while improving the PSRR, do so at the cost of a large amount of silicon area, because, for example, they do so by adding either a very large RC filter on the chip or by using an extra pin to connect to an external RC filter, in both cases to create a sub-Hertz pole.

Common-mode technique for a digital I/P class D loop


A process for baking electrically conductive wires clad in insulating plastics resin, comprising a first, evaporation stage for evaporation of solvents and a second resin polymerization and cross-linking stage, which are performed respectively in a first and in a second region of a tunnel chamber in a continuous oven between the inlet regions and outlet regions of which the wires advance, a third stage comprising aspiration from the oven of a mixture of air and solvents formed during the first evaporation stage, and a fourth stage comprising heating this mixture to a predetermined temperature such as to cause combustion of the solvents, and including a fifth stage of introducing heat energy to these regions of the oven from at least part of the stream of air and combustion products coming from the fourth stage, through heat exchangers disposed on the outer surface of this tunnel chamber, in such a way as significantly to reduce the introduction of heat energy provided to the chamber by heating means supplied externally of the oven.

The present invention relates to a method for baking wire-like products, and in particular copper wires enamelled with a cladding of insulating plastics resin.
As is known, processes currently used for baking the cladding of electrically conductive wires comprise two stages successively performed in respective first and second regions of an oven, usually of the continuous or tunnel type. During the first stage of the process the solvents which impregnate the layer of synthetic resin cladding the wire are caused to evaporate by heating, while during the second stage of the process the wire is heated to a temperature greater than that of the first stage so as to cause polymerization and cross-linking of the cladding resin, which has insulating properties. During these stages the wire is advanced through the tunnel oven, parallel to the longitudinal axis of this oven, at a predetermined speed. The heating of the oven is usually effected by electrical or gas radiant elements disposed within the oven itself. The evaporated solvent mixes with the air present in the oven which therefore becomes polluted; before discharge, therefore, the stream of air and solvent is subject to a combustion process, conveniently by means of an armored electrical resistance heater unit followed by catalytic plates, which cuts out the major part of the solvent by oxidizing it into non-polluting products such as steam and carbon dioxide.
The known process described above is not entirely free from disadvantages in that, as well as periodically extracting a part of the atmosphere from the furnace and replacing it with fresh air, which is also undertaken for reasons tied to the control of the constancy of the desired temperature in the oven, this involves a rather significant amount of loss of the heat accumulated in the airstream sent to the discharge since the said combustion heater unit is operated at a temperature considerably greater than that of the oven.
Ovens have therefore been made in which a part of the heat in the discharge flow is recovered, in that at least a part of this flow is reintroduced into the oven chamber, for example close to the inlet opening or the outlet opening or both, so as to effect heating of the oven chamber also by convection. This process is not however suitable for the baking of wire-like products of relatively small diameter, less than 0.2 mm, since the direct movement of the air on the wire detrimentally affects the achievement of uniformity in the final characteristics of the wire.

Process for baking wire-like products clad in insulating plastics resin, and an oven for performing the said method

S.I.C.M.E. S.p.A. Societa Industriale Costruzioni Microelettriche


A digital map with line features is stored on a storage medium into parcels, each covering a certain area of the map. A parcel has around it standard border a border region bounded by an inner border and an outer border. A line feature crossing the standard border between two neighboring parcels is only divided into two new line features if it completely crosses the border region, i.e. if it crosses the outer border of both neighboring parcels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of data storage techniques. More specifically, the present invention is directed to improved systems and methods for storing geographic data to provide improved efficiency and simpler access to the underlying data.
2. Description of the Related Art
The known car navigation systems require a map with digital road data on a removable storage medium, e.g. a CD-ROM, in order to realize functionality such as calculations of routes between a start and a destination point and displaying a road map on a display screen. In most cases the amount of data to be processed is very large and can be some hundreds of Megabytes. On the other hand, the embedded computer system in the navigation system has very restricted system memory capacity, e.g. 4 Megabytes, which is shared among the various components, such as the operating system and the application software. Therefore, the required amount of digital road data cannot be loaded from the storage medium into the system in one step but is structured in smaller units which can be processed by the computer system. The method of structuring is called parceling and a unit of road data is called a parcel. In addition to this parceling, the application software requires the organization of the road data in several levels to cover different scales for map display and different densities of the road network for route planning. For example, the most detailed level contains road data corresponding to city maps, a less detailed level only contains connector roads between cities and villages and the least detailed level only contains freeways and motorways. The number of levels is not fixed and depends on the characteristics of the area of which the map with road data is stored. The parceling is applied to each level of the map independently.
The method of parceling is described in U.S. Pat. 4,888,698. In that patent, a pattern of rectangular parcels is defined covering the map of which the road data are to be stored, whereby each parcel covers a particular part of the map. The size for the area of a parcel is chosen in such a way that the amount of data stored in the parcel does not exceed a certain maximum amount. The size of this area may be different for different parcels at the same level of the map. So a parcel covering a part of a city may have a small corresponding area whereas a parcel covering a less populated part may have a much larger corresponding area. A map contains line features which extend between two nodes and which have a certain geographical extension, e.g. a part of a road running between two intersections. If such a line feature crosses the border between two parcels, in the known method the line feature is divided into two new line features by adding an additional node at that border and the two new line features together with their nodes are stored into the two parcels. This method has some undesired effects. First, storing the additional nodes requires extra storage space without holding any information about the map itself. In practical situations, the number of additional nodes stored in a parcel can be 20% of the total number of nodes in that parcel. Furthermore, an application program using the stored map requires extra computational effort for processing the additional nodes. For instance, for constructing a route the line features are linked together and every additional node requires an additional link to be made.
it is an object of the invention to provide a method of the kind set forth which produces a storage medium with a reduced number of additional nodes compared with the known method. This object is achieved according to the invention in a method which is characterized in that each of the parcels has around its standard border a border region bounded by an inner border and an outer border, whereby the inner border of a particular parcel coincides with the outer border of its neighboring parcel in the pattern; and that the step of determining whether the line feature needs to be divided includes determining whether the line feature is fully enclosed by the outer border of a particular parcel and, if this is not the case, deciding that the line feature is to be divided. By making a border region for a parcel and by allowing a line feature to intersect the standard border and not to divide it as long as it remains inside the border region, the number of divided line features and consequently the number of additional nodes is reduced. In the method according to the invention, the network of roads is not sharply cut at the borders between the parcels but the topology of the network is taken into account by checking whether there are xe2x80x98naturalxe2x80x99 break points in the network in the form of existing nodes near that border. If such break point exists, there is no need to cut the network at an artificial place and there is no need to place an additional node in the network. This advantage is achieved while maintaining the basic regular structure of parcels, which is advantageous for processing the map data, e.g. for displaying the map. The minor disadvantage that a feature at a geographical position in the border region of a parcel may not be stored in that parcel but in its neighboring parcel, can be resolved by retrieving that neighboring parcel.
Adding the additional node to an existing intermediate point has the advantage that no complete new item of information has to be stored. This saves storage space on the storage medium.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a system for producing a storage medium with a map of the kind set forth which produces a storage medium with a reduced number of additional nodes compared with the known system. This object is achieved according to the invention in a system that is characterized in that each of the parcels has around its standard border a border region bounded by an inner border and an outer border, whereby the inner border of a particular parcel coincides with the outer border of its neighboring parcel in the pattern; and that the means for determining whether the line feature needs to be divided are arranged to determine whether the line feature is fully enclosed by the outer border of a particular parcel and, if this is not the case, to decide that the line feature is to be divided. The reduction of the number of additional nodes on the storage medium is advantageous in that it saves storage space and computational effort in the application program using the line features from the storage medium.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a storage medium of the kind set forth with a reduced number of additional nodes compared with the known storage medium. This object is achieved according to the invention in a storage medium that is characterized in that each of the parcels has around its standard border a border region bounded by an inner border and an outer border, whereby the inner border of a particular parcel coincides with the outer border of its neighboring parcel in the pattern, and that the line feature intersects the standard border of a particular parcel while being fully enclosed in the outer border of that parcel. Such storage medium has fewer additional nodes for a given map, since fewer line features have been divided into multiple line features. A line feature is allowed to intersect the standard border, whereby it has not been divided if it does not intersect the outer border as well. So as long as the line feature does not completely cross the border region, it has not been divided. Apart from saving storage space, the storage medium according to the invention also has the advantage that a system using the map data from that storage medium requires less computational effort to process the line features.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a system of the kind set forth which is arranged to read a storage medium with a map according to the invention. This object is achieved according to the invention in a system that is characterized in that each of the parcels has around its standard border a border region bounded by an inner border and an outer border, whereby the inner border of a particular parcel coincides with the outer border of its neighboring parcel in the pattern; and that the reading unit is arranged to read a line feature intersecting the standard border of a particular parcel, while further being fully enclosed by the outer border of that particular parcel. In this way, the system requires less computational effort to process a given route on the map. A route is constructed by linking the constituent line features at their respective nodes. According to the invention, fewer line features have been divided into multiple line features when storing the map on the storage medium, So the system needs to link fewer line features to construct the route.

Method for producing a storage medium with a map


A fuel pump for a fuel system includes a nozzle, a venturi, a pump inlet and a flow controller. The nozzle has an orifice through which fuel is ejected and the venturi is downstream of the nozzle and has an inlet through which fuel discharged from the orifice flows, a passage downstream of the venturi inlet through which fuel flows to create a drop in pressure in the area of the venturi, and an outlet through which fuel is discharged from the venturi. Fuel is drawn through the pump inlet by the drop in the pressure created in the area of the venturi and the flow controller is downstream of the outlet and has a chamber in which fuel from the venturi outlet is received. The flow controller causes fuel to fill the venturi to ensure performance of the fuel pump.

Fuel pump assemblies typically include a motor driven fuel pump that takes in fuel from a tank and discharges the fuel under pressure. Some of these fuel pumps are disposed within the tank, and further within a reservoir that is received within the tank. To move fuel from the tank interior to the reservoir interior so that fuel is readily available to the fuel pump therein, a secondary pump may be used. Secondary pumps have included so-called "jet pumps" having a nozzle and venturi through which fuel is directed to create a pressure drop that causes fuel to flow.

Venturi fluid pump with outlet flow controller


A method for preparing active carbon-based special synthetic paper capable of degrading harmful substances in environment, including: stirring polyurethane particles and a solvent in a reactor, and standing to completely dissolve the polyurethane particles to obtain a polyurethane solution; adding active carbon having harmful substances adsorption property in the obtained polyurethane solution, stirring and mixing uniformly to obtain a solid-liquid mixture; coating the obtained solid-liquid mixture onto a piece of release paper, soaking the release paper coated with the solid-liquid mixture into an aqueous solution of silver nitrate having photocatalytic degradation property, completely curing the solid-liquid mixture to form a film, and soaking the release paper and the film into an aqueous solution of sodium chloride; drying the obtained release paper and the film in an electric blast drying oven, and stripping the film from the release paper to obtain the active carbon-based special synthetic paper.

Active carbon-based special paper is also called active carbon paper. The active carbon paper is special paper that is prepared from plant fiber and active carbon and characterized by large specific surface area and external surface area, high adsorption volume, high adsorption efficiency, ease of use and the like. As one of novel material products, the active carbon paper is an important reform in the utilization of active carbon.
The plant fiber used during the production of the active carbon paper needs to be chopped and boiled at a high temperature in high-concentration alkaline water; subsequently, the alkaline water contained in the primary pulp is removed by machines such as centrifugal screens, high-frequency vibrating screens, pulp washers or press filters; and finally, the pulp is bleached and then used for papermaking with active carbon. On one hand, the production process of the active carbon paper is complicated, and a large amount of industrial waste liquid will be produced, which pollutes the environment. On the other hand, the plant fiber is mainly obtained from wood and massive deforestation will damage the ecological environment to a certain extent. Meanwhile, since the overall structure of the existing active carbon paper is generally compact, the surface area of the special paper products in contact with the environment is decreased greatly. Consequently, the adsorption performance of the active carbon paper is reduced, and the range of application of the active carbon paper is limited to a certain extent. It can be known from the above description that the existing active carbon paper products mainly have the disadvantages of ecological destruction, environmental pollution, compact overall structure of the products, limited adsorption performance and the like. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the production process for active carbon paper in order to expand its application fields.

Method for preparing active carbon-based special synthetic paper

HUNAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


The signal from a piezo-electric transducer in an electro-acoustic guitar is modified by a variable depth notch filter. The notch filter includes two paths between an input and a summation circuit. The signals in the two paths are 180.degree. out of phase and one of the paths includes a bandpass filter. The notch is located at approximately 5 khz. The depth of the notch depends upon either the broadband amplitude or the narrowband amplitude of the signal from the transducer and the depth of the notch is controlled using either feedback or feedforward control.

This invention relates to electronic musical instruments and, in particular, to electro-acoustic guitars using a piezoelectric element to detect the vibrations of the guitar strings.
Electric guitars can be broadly divided between those having a solid guitar body and those having a hollow body, the latter being constructed essentially identically to an acoustic guitar except for the addition of a transducer to convert the vibrations of the strings into an electrical signal. The transducer in an electro-acoustic guitar is typically a piezoelectric element coupled to the strings at the junction of the strings with the body of the guitar. In a guitar with a solid body, the transducer is typically magnetic and is located near the junction of the strings with the body of the guitar.
Despite some superficial similarities, the two types of guitars serve distinctly different purposes and are actually quite distinct instruments. Generally, one wants the amplifier for an electro-acoustic guitar to reproduce the sounds of an acoustic guitar faithfully. A guitar with a solid body is generally coupled to an amplifier for producing varying kinds and amounts of distortion to the electrical signal from the magnetic transducer. Thus, an electro-acoustic guitar is itself a musical instrument whereas the combination of an electric guitar and an amplifier is the instrument.
A problem with electro-acoustic guitars is the piezo-electric transducer. The amplitude of the electrical signal from the transducer is a non-linear function of stress and frequency. Thus, a passage strummed softly sounds different from the same passage strummed vigorously. For years, musicians have adjusted the gain of amplifiers to match the expected playing level. If a piece included both loud and soft passages, the musician tried to find an intermediate setting that best accommodated both ends of the range. Usually the results were unsatisfactory, with soft passages sounding muffled and loud passages sounding too "bright." Simply providing automatic gain control, with or without high frequency roll-off, has not solved the problem.
It is known in the art to use a variable depth filter for reducing sibilance in audio recording and broadcast. These circuits typically include high frequency roll-off and are known as "de-essing" circuits. Attenuation of high frequencies is typically obtained by inverting or phase shifting 180.degree. the high frequency components and combining the inverted components with the original signal.
In view of the foregoing, it is therefore an object of the invention to provide a compensation circuit for the piezoelectric transducer in an electro-acoustic guitar.
Another object of the invention is to provide a compensation circuit for enabling an amplifier to faithfully reproduce the sound of an acoustic guitar.
A further object of the invention is to eliminate manual tuning or manual adjustment of an amplifier for an electro-acoustic guitar.

Compensation circuit for piezoelectric pickup