Epileptic seizures are difficult to diagnose and are often difficult to distinguish from several conditions with similar presentations, and therefore, diagnosis of seizures is often a long, expensive, and unreliable process. This invention provides biomarkers for identifying seizures and epilepsy, assays for measuring and assessing biomarker concentration, predictive models based on biomarkers and computer systems for detecting, assessing and diagnosing phasic and tonic changes associated with seizures and epilepsy in all clinical and healthcare settings. Diagnostic methods, kits and predictive models provided herein provide quantitative and/or qualitative assessment in order to allow patients to proceed immediately to diagnostic and/or treatment protocols, and assess therapeutic treatment effectiveness.

Seizures and epilepsy are very common neurological disorders that are associated with significant morbidity, health care cost, and even mortality. Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder behind migraine, stroke, and Alzheimer's. Epilepsy is a common neurological affliction affecting over 2.3 million patients in the US and 65 million patients worldwide, with significant financial burden. Current estimates are that epilepsy affects approximately 1% of the world population. The prevalence of total active cases currently being treated for epilepsy is 17.8 million, with India (7.5 million), China (4.9 million), and the US (2.3 million) leading other countries. The financial burden of epilepsy care is substantial with a major expense contributed by tests required for appropriate diagnosis. Estimates are that epilepsy and seizures in the U.S. incurs an estimated annual cost of $17.6 billion in direct and indirect costs. A major limitation in providing care for patients with seizures is the lack of a diagnostic blood test to identify clinical events as seizures as opposed to other disorder such as transient ischemic attacks, fainting, sleep disorders, and psychogenic events.
Epilepsy, defined by spontaneous and recurrent seizures, is a highly prevalent public health problem. Also known as "seizure disorder," epilepsy is not diagnosed until after the patient has had two seizures not caused by a known medical condition. In 70 percent of new cases, no cause is apparent. Approximately, 30-50% of people who have had a single, unprovoked seizure will develop recurrent seizures (epilepsy). One-third of people with epilepsy live with uncontrolled seizures because no available treatment works for them.
While much research has been devoted to developing new anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs), the "gold standard" diagnostic protocol—which often hinges on EEGs—has remained constant and inadequate. When patients present with a suspected seizure, the process to diagnose whether the event was caused by epilepsy or another disorder is most often long and expensive. Patients undergo a lengthy work-up that regularly includes blood tests, imaging studies, EEGs, and video EEGs where available. Often the diagnosis is one of exclusion where other medical conditions are "ruled-out;" and definitive diagnosis of epilepsy is typically made if an EEG records an epileptic seizure "event" while it is occurring, usually during a lengthy and expensive stay in an in-patient epilepsy monitoring unit.
In addition to the high cost associated with a long engagement with the health system, the current state of epilepsy diagnosis presents another critical issue: in the absence of a good triage tool for early diagnosis, patients who experience suspected seizures because of other underlying conditions may be either over- or under-treated erroneously with AEDs, during which time their underlying conditions actually remain untreated while they experience undesirable medication side-effects. Thus, timely diagnosis of the patient's condition (whether epilepsy or not) remains a significant unmet medical need.
Epilepsy Diagnostic Methodologies
Accurately diagnosing epilepsy is very challenging and time consuming because clinicians rarely observe the actual seizure, plus there are many different types of seizures and epilepsy syndromes with differing presentations. Furthermore, other neurological disorders can be mimics for seizures leading to erroneous diagnosis, inappropriate treatments with significant potential adverse events, incorrect prognosis, and significant waste of health care resources. Clinical events such as movement disorders e.g., tremors, tics, dyskinesias, fainting spells/syncope, transient ischemic attacks (TIA), sleep disorders/parasomnias, and somatiform psychiatric disorders can be mistaken for seizures even by seasoned clinicians. Rendering a definitive diagnosis of seizures is critical to long-term patient health and outcome that will lead to early treatment, subsequent follow up and surveillance, counseling, and support. Currently, obtaining a definitive diagnosis of seizures or epilepsy is expensive and inconvenient for patients as it may require inpatient evaluation and a battery of costly tests. The diagnosis of epilepsy has for years relied on a broad costly and often cumbersome medical-neurological evaluation that includes:                The "gold standard" test is electroencephalography (EEG). If a seizure is captured during the recording, seizure activity will appear as rapid spiking waves on the EEG. Brain lesions, i.e., tumors, strokes, may cause slowing of normal electrical brain rhythms. The challenge with EEG is that it is typically performed as a post hoc assay, that is, after the clinical event is finished, and may in fact be normal. A continuous EEG is a 24 hour EEG done in the hospital to get a prolonged pattern and try to "catch" the seizure when occurring. This requires a costly inpatient hospital stay, and there is no way to know for certain that a clinical event will occur during the stay. Obviously, this provides a significant logistical challenge to caregivers in the outpatient and emergency department (ED) settings since most patients come to the ED after the event has ended and only historical information is gathered; definitive diagnosis of a single seizure is essentially impossible and empiric at best. EEG is only about at best 30 to 50% sensitive (measures proportion of positives that are correctly identified) and 50% specific.        Medical History to determine circumstances surrounding first seizure like event, the duration and frequency of the event, and age of onset. Often the patients or caregivers cannot give the level of detail needed for accurate diagnosis. Missing information regularly includes time of onset and duration of event due to the fact that a caregiver was either not present or failed to keep accurate records. Seizure-like events are traumatic events for patients, caregivers, and responders where the first reaction is to care for the patient and not to keep track of timing or other information necessary for diagnosis.        Laboratory studies including complete blood count (CBC), chemistry metabolic panel (CMP), and toxicology screen tests. These do not diagnose the "seizure" itself, but instead may provide clues to explain neurological dysfunction. Measurement of prolactin levels is unreliable. EEG is used to evaluate several types of brain disorders.        MRI is a technique used to create an image or scan of the brain. MRI scans can be used examine a person's brain structure. An MRI scan cannot, by itself, determine whether the person has epilepsy, but when considered with other information, may help the clinician decide if epilepsy is a likely cause of the seizure like events.        PET scan may be used to locate the part of the brain causing seizure like events as it gives clinicians additional information about how the cells in the body are functioning. While PET scans are helpful in some cases, they often show abnormalities that are not related to epilepsy and are less often part of the diagnostic process.        Lumbar puncture is a procedure in which fluid surrounding the spinal cord is withdrawn through needle aspiration and analyzed in the lab. It is performed to rule out infections, such as meningitis or encephalitis, as the cause of seizure like events.Timely Diagnosis: An Unmet Need
The diagnostic process can take several months before clinical events are pinpointed as epileptic seizures, and often clinical care is largely empiric, based on supporting but not definitive evidence—often resulting in either under- or over-diagnosis and treatment. Thus, timely and accurate seizure diagnosis remains an unmet medical need. Not only is the diagnostic process long, there is a significant burden on the healthcare system with annual figures for epilepsy diagnostic methodologies totaling greater than $15 billion in the US alone. Thus, a critical gap in our clinical assessment of seizures in virtually every clinical setting is an accurate diagnostic blood test for seizures that can be used for either single or recurrent events to identify both phasic and tonic changes in brain activity. Numerous clinical scenarios can be envisioned in which a clinical diagnostic test for seizures would be invaluable to explain a patient's clinical condition: 1) an individual is brought to the ED after collapsing at home; 2) an individual is found confused and wandering in the street; 3) a hospitalized patient has a brief episode of unresponsiveness or change in mental status; 4) patients in third world countries where EEG, CT, or MRI are not readily available. A simple blood test that could provide immediate and definitive explanation of the clinical event with actionable results would be an enormous diagnostic advance and could direct further studies towards ("rule in") or away ("rule out") from epilepsy, saving resources, time, and expense. In short, a simple blood test for seizures would be a major innovation.
Accurately diagnosing epilepsy is very challenging and time consuming because clinicians rarely observe seizures and there are many different types of seizures and epilepsy syndromes with differing presentations. The diagnosis of epilepsy has for years relied on a "gold standard" to include patient medical history (inclusive of complete blood count and chemistry metabolic profile) and electroencephalograph (EEG). Once these are analyzed, the clinician may also perform magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and continuous video EEG (vEEG) where available. Additional diagnostic techniques may include positron emission tomography (PET) scan and lumbar puncture (spinal tap). A major challenge in the diagnosis of epilepsy using the gold standard EEG is the fact that EEG has a low sensitivity for epilepsy, ranging between 25-56%. Specificity is better, but also variable at 78-98%—as specificity is dependent on the skill of the physician reading the EEG. Additionally, while often adequate for the appropriate diagnosis of a seizure disorder, EEGs can appear persistently normal for patients with epilepsy. In fact, EEG was demonstrated to have a Sensitivity of 37-55%, Specificity of 98-99%, PPV of 98%, and NPV of 64-66% in our studies which validates the need for a test that maximizes sensitivity when diagnosing a seizure.
Importantly, while patients are undergoing months of diagnostic work-up for epilepsy, as described above, they are typically subjected to a period of AED medication trial and error to determine which—if any—medications control their seizures. Especially when considering the side-effect-laden and in some cases teratogenic consequences of AEDs, this unnecessary medication cost is huge and when combined with the long diagnostic process, there is a significant burden on the health care system with annual figures for epilepsy diagnostic methodologies totaling greater than $15 billion in the US alone.
In an effort to streamline epilepsy diagnosis, it has been observed that prolactin levels were elevated subsequent to a seizure. Further clinical evaluation of application of prolactin for seizure diagnosis indicated that prolactin is only a viable biomarker for seizure if a sample is collected between 10 and 20 minutes of a seizure. Additionally, Prolactin is only applicable to a subset of seizures including primary or secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures and partial complex seizures of temporal lobe origin. Accordingly, the short window of viability (minutes after), coupled with inadequate diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy, preclude prolactin from being a practical seizure biomarker, and is rarely, if ever used today in clinical settings.
Link Between Inflammation and Seizures
Seizures induce an inflammatory response in brain tissue where the seizure starts. For example, there may be a robust inflammatory response in the resected brain specimens of intractable epilepsy patients including expression of critical proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα, interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interferon gamma (IFNγ). Increased levels of TNFα, IL-8, IL-6, and IFNγ have also been detected in mouse seizure models highlighting the idea that inflammatory processes in the brain contribute to the pathogenesis of seizures and to the establishment of a chronic epileptic focus. Many of these cytokines have been detected in the cerebrospinal fluid of seizure patients immediately following seizures as well. Expression of several cytokine receptor subtypes is also upregulated on neurons and astrocytes, suggesting a mechanism for activated intracellular signaling, highlighting autocrine and paracrine actions of cytokines in the brain. Functional interactions between cytokines and classical neurotransmitters such as glutamate and GABA suggest the possibility that these interactions underlie established cytokine-mediated changes in neuronal excitability, thus promoting seizures. There is also clear evidence that acute seizures can induce increased blood-brain barrier permeability. The effect has been shown to facilitate passage of activated T-cells and macrophages into brain tissue, facilitating an inflammatory response in the brain, and fostering the leakage of brain specific inflammatory cytokines and chemokines into peripheral blood.
ICAM5 is a neuronal glycoprotein that is exclusively expressed in the brain and functions as an anti-inflammatory protein via inhibition of T cell mobility and chemotaxis. ICAM5 is confined to the soma and dendrites in neurons and it is enriched in dendritic filopodia with less expression in more mature dendritic spines. ICAM5 has a complex structure with nine external immunoglobulin domains followed by a transmembrane and a cytoplasmic domain. The external portions bind to beta1- and beta2-integrins and the matrix protein vitronectin, whereas it's transmembrane domain binds to presenilins and the cytoplasmic domain to alpha-actinin and the ERM family of cytoplasmic proteins. VVhen cleaved and released ICAM5 becomes a soluble form (sICAM5) and can be released into the extracellular space and blood. sICAM5 strongly stimulates neurite outgrowth. In immunoelectron microscopic studies, it was found that ICAM5 was localized at the surface membrane of postsynaptic spines of pyramidal cell dendrites but not at that of axonal terminals in the hippocampal CA1 region. Long-term potentiation (LTP) at Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapses in the hippocampus was suppressed by blocking of ICAM5 with anti-ICAM5 antibodies or recombinant sICAM5 protein. These observations suggest a role for sICAM5-mediated cell-cell interactions as a key step in the development of LTP. Subsequent studies showed that sICAM5 may act as a major adhesion molecule for leukocyte binding to neurons in the brain. In one small cohort, increased levels of sICAM5 were reported in the cerebrospinal fluid and serum of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy with no changes reported in multiple sclerosis or Alzheimer's disease. Activation of NMDA receptors promotes dendritic spine development through metalloproteinase (MMP)-mediated ICAM-5 cleavage and contributes to neuronal excitability. Additionally, it was demonstrated that sICAM5 plays a critical role in modulating chemokine production in the brain in a mouse model of encephalitis. The ICAM-5 ectodomain was found to stimulate an increase in the frequency, but not the amplitude, of AMPA mini excitatory post-synaptic currents (mEPSCs) using single cell recordings. Using biotinylation and precipitation assays, it has been found that the ICAM-5 ectodomain causes an increase in membrane levels of GluA1, but not GluA2, AMPAR subunits. An ICAM-5 associated increase in GluA1 phosphorylation was found. At the same time, ICAM-5 causes an increase in GluA1 surface staining along dendrites without causing an increase in dendritic spine number. This suggested that sICAM-5 increases glutamatergic transmission and could be affected by brain network activity changes.
TARC (Thymus and activation-regulated chemokine; CCL17) is a chemokine (i.e., cytokine that is responsible for the movement of T and B lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils and basophils, in allergic and other inflammatory conditions) that principally expressed in the thymus and blood mononuclear cells. TARC functions as a proinflammatory cytokine and lymphocyte chemoattractor that binds specifically to CCR4 receptors on T-cells and induces chemotaxis in T-cell lines. Since TARC binds to CCR4, it is considered a Th2 type chemokine. TARC is produced by multiple cell types including dendritic cells, endothelial cells, keratinocytes and fibroblasts. Serum TARC levels have been shown to be a useful assay for disease activity in atopic dermatitis, an inflammatory disorder of the skin affecting children and adults. Indeed, TARC is an established systemic rheostat for inflammation. TARC exhibits low-level expression in the choroid plexus in the brain but has minimal expression by neurons or astrocytes. However, little is known about changes in plasma TARC expression as a consequence of seizures.
TNF-α is a secreted cytokine that has been implicated in a range of neurological disorders including stroke, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, and autism. A number of studies have examined TNFα levels in both experimental epilepsy model systems as well as human samples including CSF and serum. Kainate induced seizures in the rat induce TNF-α expression in hippocampus. In dogs with spontaneous seizures, TNF-α levels are elevated in CSF and manipulation of TNF-α signaling cascades in mouse seizure models can attenuate seizure. TNF-α levels are robustly elevated in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy suggesting it is a broad marker of inflammation in the brain, especially in the setting of seizures.
As shown herein, the described invention ameliorates the deficiencies in the field. Indeed, based on a link between inflammation and seizures both in experimental models and in humans with epilepsy, an initial proteomics screen in patient plasma was used to probe a panel of biomarkers linked to inflammatory cytokines that were hypothesized to exhibit phasic or tonic changes in response to seizures in our studies. It was speculated that measurable changes in levels of specific plasma proteins could yield a diagnostic blood test for seizures. Plasma samples were analyzed by multiplex ELISA at baseline (pre-seizure) and 24 hours post-seizure (documented in the EMU by EEG recording) in a cohort of 20 epilepsy patients. It was found that the ratio of Thymus and Activation Regulated Chemokine (TARC or CCL17) to soluble isoform of Intercellular Adhesion Molecule 5 (sICAM5 or telencephalin) was statistically different in seizure patients compared with normal controls. Subsequently, it was found that plasma TNFα levels were also statistically significantly different in patients who have suffered a seizure compared with control individuals. In another cohort of 131 neurology patients admitted to the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit and 30 normal controls, patient samples were analyzed both pre-seizure and 1 minute to over 72 hours post-seizure, and an algorithm involving TNFα, TARC and sICAM5 was devised that can distinguish between epileptic and non-epileptic event plasma samples.

Biomarkers and methods for detection of seizures and epilepsy


A new compact floribunda rose which has abundant, light pink flowers and attractive foliage. This new and distinct variety has shown to be uniform and stable in the resulting generations from asexual propagation.

Rosa hybrida xe2x80x98POULac001xe2x80x99.
The present invention constitutes a new and distinct variety of floribunda rose plant which originated from a controlled crossing between xe2x80x98POULfiryxe2x80x99 described and illustrated in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,484, dated Mar. 26, 2002 and xe2x80x98POULsintxe2x80x99 an unpatented variety. The two parents were crossed during the summer of 1996 and the resulting seeds were planted in a controlled environment in Fredensborg, Denmark. The new variety is named xe2x80x98POULac001xe2x80x99.
The new rose may be distinguished from its seed parent, xe2x80x98POULfiryxe2x80x99, by the following combination of characteristics:
1. xe2x80x98POULac001xe2x80x99 has pink flowers, while xe2x80x98POULfiryxe2x80x99 has bright orange flowers.
2. xe2x80x98POULac001xe2x80x99, as a compact floribunda is taller in habit when compared to the miniature rose xe2x80x98POULfiryxe2x80x99.
3. xe2x80x98POULfiryxe2x80x99 exhibits more anthocyanin in the foliage when compared to xe2x80x98POULac001xe2x80x99.
The new variety may be distinguished from its pollen parent, xe2x80x98POULsintxe2x80x99 by the following combination of characteristics:
1. xe2x80x98POULac001xe2x80x99 exhibits light pink flowers, whereas the pollen parent exhibits orange-red flowers.
2. xe2x80x98POULac001xe2x80x99 has a larger flower diameter than that of xe2x80x98POULsintxe2x80x99.
3. xe2x80x98POULac001xe2x80x99 has glossy foliage, whereas xe2x80x98POULsintxe2x80x99 displays matte foliage.
The objective of the hybridization of this rose variety was to create a new and distinct variety for garden use with unique qualities, such as:
1. Uniform and abundant pink flowers;
2. Vigorous, but compact growth when propagated both as a budded rose and on its own roots;
3. Disease resistance.
4. Suitability for production in pots.
This combination of qualities is not present in previously available commercial cultivars of this type and distinguish xe2x80x98POULac001xe2x80x99 from all other varieties of which we are aware.
As part of their rose development program, L. Pernille Olesen and Mogens N. Olesen germinated the seeds from the aforementioned hybridization during winter 1996 and conducted evaluations on the resulting seedlings in a controlled environment in Fredensborg, Denmark.
xe2x80x98POULac001xe2x80x99 was selected in the spring 1997 by the inventors as a single plant from the progeny of the aforementioned hybridization. Asexual reproduction of xe2x80x98POULac001xe2x80x99 by traditional budding and rooted cuttings was first done by L. Pernille and Mogens N. Olesen in their nursery in Fredensborg, Denmark in July 1997. This initial and other subsequent asexual propagations conducted in controlled environments have demonstrated that the characteristics of xe2x80x98POULac001xe2x80x99 are true to type and are transmitted from one generation to the next.

Compact floribunda rose plant named xe2x80x98POULac001xe2x80x99


An auxiliary switch sub-assembly is provided for a telecommunication system circuit breaker including a housing having an opening, separable contacts inside the housing, and an operating mechanism operating the separable contacts between open and closed positions. The operating mechanism comprises an operating handle operable among a first position corresponding to the separable contacts being open and a second position corresponding to the separable contacts being closed. The operating handle has a first end protruding from the opening of the housing, and a second end. The auxiliary switch sub-assembly includes an auxiliary switch including an actuator, and a mount attaching the auxiliary switch to the operating mechanism of the circuit breaker within the housing thereof. The actuator is mechanically actuated by a portion of the second end of the operating handle. An electrical switching apparatus employing an auxiliary switch sub-assembly is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to auxiliary switches for electric switching apparatus and, more particularly, to auxiliary switch sub-assemblies for electrical switching apparatus. The invention also relates to electrical switching apparatus employing an auxiliary switch sub-assembly.
2. Background Information
Circuit breakers for telecommunication systems are small in comparison with circuit breakers commonly associated with power distribution networks. By way of example, in accordance with one conventionally known telecommunication system circuit breaker design, the circuit breaker measures about 2.5 inches high by about 2.0 inches long by about 0.75 inch thick, when viewed with the operating handle extending horizontally and moving in a vertical arc. While having a reduced size, the telecommunication system circuit breaker must still accommodate the various components (e.g., separable contacts; trip mechanism; operating mechanism) associated with larger circuit breakers.
Electrical switching apparatus, such as the aforementioned circuit breakers, as well as transfer switches, network protectors and the like, are often equipped with auxiliary switches that provide signals indicating certain conditions within the apparatus. For example, such auxiliary switches indicate whether the separable contacts are open or closed and/or whether the device has been tripped open. The signals generated by the switches can be used for communicating the condition to a remote location.
Auxiliary switches are either mechanically actuated usually through physical contact with, or by a linkage to, the operating mechanism that opens and closes the separable contacts, or are of a non-contact variety being actuated by any known or suitable non-contact sensor (e.g., without limitation, Hall effect device; proximity sensor; optical sensor). However, some non-contact auxiliary switch designs are more complex thus undesirably increasing the complexity and associated cost of the circuit breaker. The small size of some electrical switching apparatus, including telecommunication system circuit breakers, provides limited space for mechanical auxiliary switches to be mounted within the apparatus housing. In one prior proposal, such mechanically actuated switches have been housed within their own separate enclosures mounted on the outside of the circuit breaker housing. However, this requires the circuit breaker housing to be modified to include an opening for the mechanical linkage.
There is a need, therefore, for a mechanically actuated auxiliary switch capable of being mounted in the limited space inside the housing of small electrical switching apparatus, such as telecommunication system circuit breakers.
There is, therefore, room for improvement in auxiliary switches.
There is also room for improvement in electrical switching apparatus including auxiliary switches.
There is further room for improvement in circuit breakers, such as telecommunication system circuit breakers, having a reduced size but including an auxiliary switch disposed within the housing of the circuit breaker.

Auxiliary switch sub-assembly and electrical switching apparatus employing the same


A system is provided for monitoring the levels of combustible gas in a gas stream. The system includes means for controlling the relative humidity of the gas stream and maintain a humidity level in the performance range of combustible gas sensors. A number of methods are illustrated for achieving the humidity control including secondary phase separations and the adjusting of the gas stream temperature.

Hydrogen gas is used and produced in many applications. Since the amount of hydrogen in a gas stream produced by a given process may be an indicator of system efficiency, the systems typically utilize sensors, such as combustible gas sensors to determine the level of hydrogen. An example of a prior art system having an arrangement for monitoring combustible gas is shown in FIG. 1A. The electrochemical system 12 receives water from an external source 14 and passes it through a deionizing bed 16. Once the water has been properly conditioned, it is supplied to an electrochemical cell 18 which disassociates the water into hydrogen and oxygen gas.
One example of an electrochemical cell 18 is a proton exchange membrane electrolysis cell which can function as a hydrogen generator by electrolytically decomposing water to produce hydrogen and oxygen gas, and can function as a fuel cell by electrochemically reacting hydrogen with oxygen to generate electricity. Referring to FIG. 1B, which is a partial section of a typical anode feed electrolysis cell 100, conditioned water 102 is fed into cell 100 on the side of an oxygen electrode (anode) 116 to form oxygen gas 104, electrons, and hydrogen ions (protons) 106. The reaction is facilitated by the positive terminal of a power source 120 electrically connected to anode 116 and the negative terminal of power source 120 connected to a hydrogen electrode (cathode) 114. The oxygen gas 103 and a portion of the process water 108 exit cell 100, while protons 106 and water 110 migrate across a proton exchange membrane 118 to cathode 114. At cathode 114, hydrogen gas 112 is formed and removed. Water is also removed from cathode 114.
A typical fuel cell uses the same general configuration as is shown in FIG. 1B. Hydrogen gas is introduced to the hydrogen electrode (the anode in fuel cells), while oxygen, or an oxygen-containing gas such as air, is introduced to the oxygen electrode (the cathode in fuel cells). Water can also be introduced with the feed gas. The hydrogen gas for fuel cell operation can originate from a pure hydrogen source, hydrocarbon, methanol, or any other hydrogen source that supplies hydrogen at a purity suitable for fuel cell operation (i.e., a purity that does not poison the catalyst or interfere with cell operation). Hydrogen gas electrochemically reacts at the anode to produce protons and electrons, wherein the electrons flow from the anode through an electrically connected external load, and the protons migrate through the membrane to the cathode. At the cathode, the protons and electrons react with oxygen to form water, which additionally includes any feed water that is dragged through the membrane to the cathode. The electrical potential across the anode and cathode can be exploited to power an external load.
In other embodiments, one or more electrochemical cells can be used within a system to both electrolyze water to produce hydrogen and oxygen, and to produce electricity by converting hydrogen and oxygen back into water as needed. Such systems are commonly referred to as regenerative fuel cell systems.
After the electrochemical cell 18 disassociates the water, oxygen and hydrogen gas exit the cell 18 through conduits 20 and 22 respectively. As mentioned herein above, in addition to the gas products, water entrained in the gases exits with the oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen conduit 22 typically connects with a hydrogen phase separator 24 which extracts most of the water from the gas, with the water exiting the phase separator 24 through a valving arrangement which recycles the water back into the electrochemical cell water feed conduit. Depending on the needs of the application, additional water may be removed from the hydrogen gas by passing through an optional desiccant gas dryer 26 before exiting the process for use in the application.
The oxygen gas stream 20 also enters into a phase separator 28 with a majority of the water separating from the gas stream and dropping to the bottom of the separator 28. As with the hydrogen separator 24 this water is removed and recycled into the electrochemical cell water feed conduit. The separated hydrogen gas exits the phase separator 28 via a conduit 32 to exit the process. Since it is desirable to monitor for the presence of hydrogen gas in the oxygen gas stream through an orifice 40 to a combustible gas sensor 36. A gas dryer 38, such as a NAFION tube dryer, is usually placed in line between the phase separator 28 and the sensor 36 to remove water still entrained in the gas. Unfortunately, since the gas stream can still have a relative humidity greater than 95%. This high relative humidity results in lower monitoring performance than is desired.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a system for monitoring combustible gas levels in a gas stream that reduces or eliminates the effects of relative humidity on the combustible gas sensor.


A method of providing access to file content comprises: receiving, at a shared file content server, a request to access file content stored on the shared file content server from a requestor; determining a shared portion of the file content using stored shared portion indication data; and providing the shared portion of the file content to the requestor. The method allows partial sharing of file content.

The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatus that allow sharing of file content.
File sharing systems allow access to file content to be controlled. Most file sharing systems control the access to the entire file for any operation such as read/write/delete etc. This is an all or nothing approach. Some other sharing forms work based on extracting the contents of the file and creating a new copy of the contents before sharing it with someone. If the original file contents are updated, the updates are not shared automatically with other users. In cases where confidential files are to be made searchable, the meta-data for search indexes may be provided separately by the file owners. When such files are updated, the meta-data becomes invalid, and search results are incorrect.

Methods and apparatus for managing access to file content


A cochlear implant includes an active base section with a front surface configured to lie against an inner modiolar wall of the scala tympani. Electrode contacts are on the front surface configured to face the inner modiolar wall to deliver electrode stimulation signals to nearby modiolar neural tissue. A passive apex section has a front surface without electrode contacts configured to lie against an outer lateral wall of the scala tympani. A U-shape transition bend section is at an apical end of the active base section bending in a reverse direction and transitioning into a basal end of the passive apex section such that the back surface of an apical tip of the passive apex section lies adjacent to a back surface of a basal end of the active base section at an electrode opening in the cochlea when the electrode is implanted in the patient.

A normal ear transmits sounds as shown in FIG. 1 through the outer ear 101 to the tympanic membrane 102 which moves the bones of the middle ear 103 that vibrate the oval window and round window openings of the cochlea 104. The cochlea 104 is a long narrow duct wound spirally about its axis for approximately two and a half turns. It includes an upper channel known as the scala vestibuli and a lower channel known as the scala tympani, which are connected by the cochlear duct. The cochlea 104 forms an upright spiraling cone with a center called the modiolar where the spiral ganglion cells of the acoustic nerve 113 reside. In response to received sounds transmitted by the middle ear 103, the fluid-filled cochlea 104 functions as a transducer to generate electric pulses which are transmitted to the cochlear nerve 113, and ultimately to the brain.
Hearing is impaired when there are problems in the ability to transduce external sounds into meaningful action potentials along the neural substrate of the cochlea 104. To improve impaired hearing, auditory prostheses have been developed. For example, when the impairment is related to operation of the middle ear 103, a conventional hearing aid may be used to provide acoustic-mechanical stimulation to the auditory system in the form of amplified sound. Or when the impairment is associated with the cochlea 104, a cochlear implant with an implanted electrode can electrically stimulate auditory nerve tissue with small currents delivered by multiple electrode contacts distributed along the electrode.
FIG. 1 also shows some components of a typical cochlear implant system where an external microphone provides an audio signal input to an external signal processor 111 in which various signal processing schemes can be implemented. The processed signal is then converted into a digital data format for transmission by external transmitter coil 107 into the implant 108. Besides receiving the processed audio information, the implant 108 also performs additional signal processing such as error correction, pulse formation, etc., and produces a stimulation pattern (based on the extracted audio information) that is sent through an electrode lead 109 to an implanted electrode array 110. Typically, this electrode array 110 includes multiple stimulation contacts 112 on its surface that provide selective stimulation of the cochlea 104.
The electrode array 110 contains multiple electrode wires embedded in a soft silicone body referred to as the electrode carrier. The electrode array 110 needs to be mechanically robust, and yet flexible and of small size to be inserted into the cochlea 104. The material of the electrode array 110 needs to be soft and flexible in order to minimize trauma to neural structures of the cochlea 104. But an electrode array 110 that is too floppy tends to buckle too easily so that the electrode array 110 cannot be inserted into the cochlea 104 up to the desired insertion depth. A trade-off needs to be made between a certain stiffness of the electrode array 110 which allows insertion into the cochlea 104 up to the desired insertion depth without the array buckling, and certain flexibility of the electrode array 110 which keeps mechanical forces on the structures of the scala tympani of the cochlea 104 low enough.
Recent developments in CI electrode array designs and surgical techniques are moving towards minimal trauma implantations. For preservation of residual hearing it is of particular importance to preserve the natural intra-cochlear structures. Therefore, the size and mechanical characteristics of the electrode array are critical parameters for the best patient benefit. Some electrode array designs are pre-curved, though a drawback of that approach is that a special electrode insertion tool is needed which keeps the electrode array straight until the point of insertion.
As documented by Erixon et al., Variational Anatomy of the Human Cochlea: Implications for Cochlear Implantation, Otology & Neurotology, 2008 (incorporated herein by reference), the size, shape, and curvature of the cochlea varies greatly between individuals, meaning that a CI electrode array must match a wide range of scala tympani (ST) geometries. Furthermore, recently published research by Verbist et al., Anatomic Considerations of Cochlear Morphology and Its Implications for Insertion Trauma in Cochlear Implant Surgery, Otology & Neurotology, 2009 (incorporated herein by reference) has shown that the human ST does not incline towards the helicotrema at a constant rate, but rather there are several sections along the ST where the slope changes, sometimes even becoming negative (i.e. downwards). The location and grade of these changes in inclination were also found to be different from individual to individual. Consequently, CI electrode arrays should be highly flexible in all directions in order to adapt to individual variations in curvature and changes in inclination of the ST for minimal trauma implantation.
Electrode arrays that lie close to the inner modiolar wall of the cochlear scala tympani are advantageous over the more typical free-fitting electrode arrays that lie against the outer lateral wall in-terms of power consumption and effectiveness in stimulating the spiral ganglion cells of the modiolus. Modiolar hugging electrode arrays known in the prior art are often pre-curved and required a positioning stylet for safe introduce it into the cochlea (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,219, U.S. Pat. No. 6,125,302, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,374,143). Other existing perimodiolar hugging electrode arrays require some additional structural elements to ensure placement of the electrode array close to the inner modiolar wall after insertion. However, after insertion there is no opportunity for the surgeon to correct and optimize the position of the electrode array.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,498,954 describes a cochlear implant electrode with a leading section that is attached to the distal end of the electrode array. Two separate cochleostomies are drilled, one at the base and another separate one at the apex of the cochlea. The electrode leading section then is inserted through the basal cochleostomy and advanced towards the apical cochleostomy. A forward end of the leading section is then pulled through the apical cochleostomy which causes the electrode array to be pulled into the cochlea. The leading section must be the leading section must relatively stiff in order to properly move the leading section through the interior of the cochlea from base to apex.


A method and device for classifying uniform resource locators based on content in corresponding websites includes extracting, by a network device, a plurality of website contents from a website associated with a URL based on Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Each of the plurality of website contents are classified into a plurality of webpage categories based on machine learning. User actions for the plurality of website contents are simulated based on a webpage category associated with each of the plurality of website contents. An access classification is determined for the URL based on results of simulating the user actions and machine learning.

As per an industry report, 43% of data breaches commenced with phishing emails. The weakest link and highly exploited element in a phishing attack is the human element. Phishing is a type of social engineering attack, using which, the attacker cleverly manipulates and tricks the victim into responding. Primary motive of a phishing attack may be to gather user credentials in order to commit financial fraud or Internet Protocol (IP) theft. To achieve this motive, an attacker may create a special phishing attack targeting users and may build a look-alike website that is fake. This look-alike website may gather information from the users, for example, credentials, personal information, or banking information. This information may later be used for unlawful objectives.
Conventional signature based detection security solutions may be unsuccessful in detecting and protecting against phishing threats, since each phishing attack is unique and polymorphic. Moreover, each webpage content may persistently be made unique with a fake domain. Additionally, these conventional solutions do not take into consideration the human factor and completely ignore the social engineering attacks. This lacuna in technology is exploited by attackers.

Method and device for classifying uniform resource locators based on content in corresponding websites


A packaging structure is disclosed for holding an article securely between a flexible film and a pair of foldable flaps. The structure includes a frame having a main portion, and a pair of folding side legs and a pair of folding end legs supporting the main portion. The main portion defines a window, and a flexible web is connected to the folding side legs so that it extends across and below the window. A pair of flaps are foldably connected to the side legs. An article to be packaged is placed on the web and the flaps folded thereover to hold the article securely in place. The entire packaging structure may be placed in an outer box which holds the flaps in a closed position against the packaged article.

Protective packaging structures are often used when an article to be transported requires protection from physical shock, dust, dirt and other contaminants. For example, when shipping articles which may be relatively fragile, it is often desirable to package the article inside a box to protect the article from physical impacts to the box which may occur during loading, transit and unloading. In addition, when shipping sensitive electronic articles, such as computer components, it is often desirable to protect those components from dust and dirt. Aside from the shipping box itself, some additional structures are ordinarily needed to prevent the article from being damaged by uncontrolled movement within the box. Such additional structures have included paper or plastic dunnage, molded plastic foams, and foam-filled cushions, among others.
One useful form of packaging for especially fragile articles is referred to as suspension packaging, examples of which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,743 to Louis H. Ridgeway and U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,701 to Devin C. Ridgeway. In suspension packaging, the article is suspended between two confronting sheets of plastic film. The sheets are usually attached to frames which are sized to fit securely within a selected size box. The fact that the article is not in contact with any substantially rigid surfaces protects it from physical shock. It is not necessary in all cases, however, for the article to be entirely suspended within the box, such as when packaging less fragile articles. In such cases, the extra space required for full suspension packaging becomes a less efficient use of such materials.
An alternative to suspension packaging is referred to as retention packaging, examples of which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,695 to Devin C. Ridgeway et al. In retention packaging, an article is positioned between a sheet of flexible film and a rigid backing. The film is connected to folding side portions of the rigid backing such that the film is tightened against the article as the rigid side portions are folded away from the film. The folded structure fits within a selected box size which holds the article securely in place, but in contact on one side with a rigid surface. While retention packaging reduces the overall size of the packaging, placing the article between the flexible film and rigid backing is a cumbersome process and may increase the overall time needed to package each article. When packaging many thousands of articles, this incremental increase in time may have a substantial overall impact on shipping costs.
In a variant of the retention package described above, the package includes a rigid border extending around the entire periphery of a window opening, and side legs and end legs foldably connected to and supporting the border. A flexible film is connected to the underside of the border so that it extends across the window opening. An article to be packaged is placed on the film, and a series of four flaps connected to the four sides of the border are folded over the article to hold the article in place against the film. This packaging structure suffers from several drawbacks, including the need to hold the four flaps open in order to place the article on the film, the increased package size resulting from the requirement for a border extending around the entire periphery of the window opening, the need for a flap connected to each portion of the border to provide structural integrity to the border, and the need to increase the size of the window opening in order to accommodate articles which are thicker in cross-section.
There therefore exists a need for packaging structures which are easier and less time consuming to use than prior art packaging structures. Preferably, such structures will make efficient use of materials so as to be able to package articles in smaller containers than previously possible without sacrificing the strength of the packaging structure so as to risk damage to the articles packaged therein.


An example a head-mounted display device includes a light projector and an eyepiece. The eyepiece is arranged to receive light from the light projector and direct the light to a user during use of the wearable display system. The eyepiece includes a waveguide having an edge positioned to receive light from the display light source module and couple the light into the waveguide. The waveguide includes a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface. The waveguide includes several different regions, each having different grating structures configured to diffract light according to different sets of grating vectors.

Optical imaging systems, such as wearable display systems (e.g., wearable display headsets) can include one or more eyepieces that present projected images to a user. Eyepieces can be constructed using thin layers of one or more highly refractive materials. As examples, eyepieces can be constructed from one or more layers of highly refractive glass, silicon, metal, or polymer substrates.
In some cases, an eyepiece can be patterned (e.g., with one or more light diffractive nanostructures) such that it projects an image according to a particular focal depth. For an example, to a user viewing a patterned eyepiece, the projected image can appear to be a particular distance away from the user.
Further, multiple eyepieces can be used in conjunction to project a simulated three-dimensional image. For example, multiple eyepieces—each having a different pattern—can be layered one atop another, and each eyepiece can project a different depth layer of a volumetric image. Thus, the eyepieces can collectively present the volumetric image to the user across three-dimensions. This can be useful, for example, in presenting the user with a "virtual reality" environment.

Eyepieces for use in wearable display systems


A process of producing a solid cosmetic includes continuously repeating the steps of feeding a cosmetic base containing a powder and an oil as main ingredients into a heating cylinder from a hopper, causing the cosmetic base to be injected into a mold by forward motion of a screw or plunger, and cooling the thus-injected cosmetic base to solidify in the mold.

The present invention relates to a process for producing a solid cosmetic, involving subjecting a cosmetic base containing appropriate amounts of an oil and a powder as principal ingredients to an injection molding directly in a mold or through ogive mold, capsule, inner plate, container, or the like fitted in the mold. The molded product thus obtained has no unevenness in hardness in the interior thereof and possesses a polymorphous property which permits forming into any desired shape, further possessing a shape retaining property and a sufficient strength. In actual use, the solid cosmetic thus obtained adheres well to the skin and spreads to a satisfactory extent. Moreover, it does not provide a dry or sticky impression, possesses a good cosmetic retaining property, and does not re-adhere to handkerchief, tableware, etc. Further, the molded product exhibits an extrenmely good handleability and the high productivity.
Heretofore, there have been proposed a solvent process wherein a cosmetic base and a volatile solvent are mixed together into a slurry, then the slurry is filled into a container or a mold, thereafter the solvent is removed, followed by solidifying molding (Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 127305/1981) wherein a cosmetic base and a volatile solvent are mixed together into a slurry, then the solvent is absorbed by an absorber while the slurry, which is viscous, is injected at a low pressure, followed by filling and solidifying.
Also, as methods wherein ogive mold, capsule, inner plate, container, or the like, are fitted into a mold and then a cometic base is filled into the thus-loaded member to obtain a molded product, there are known a compression molding wherein an inner plate is fitted into a mold, an injection molding wherein a cosmetic base is injected through an opening formed in the back of a container or an inner plate, a cast molding wherein a cosmetic base is filled by casting into an inner plate or a container to obtain a solid cosmetic, and a method (Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 62513/1984) wherein a cosmetric base is filled by casting into a cylindrical container, then taken out and cut into an appropriate thickness, and the thus-cut piece is filled into a container and pressed at a low pressure to obtain a solid cosmetic. For example, according to the compression molding, an inner plate is loaded to a female mold of a pressing machine and a cosmetic base is filled into the inner plate, thereafter pressure is applied from one side by means of a male mold to obtain a solid cosmetic.
As injection molding methods of injecting a cosmetic base through a small opening formed in the back of a container or an inner plate, there have been proposed a method (Japanese Patent Publication No. 54766/1988) wherein a cosmetic base is dissolved in a solvent and thereby made viscous, then this viscous cosmetic base is injected through a small opening formed in the back of a container or an inner plate and thereafter solidified while the solvent is sucked from the cosmetic base and a method (Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 156709/1988) wherein a viscous cosmetic base is injected through a small opening formed in the back of a container and then solidified by cooling using a cooling plate from the surface opening side of the container.
Solid cosmetics obtained by compression molding are simple in shape and their shapes are limited to planar shapes. When complicated shapes, e.g. spherical and rod-like shapes are to be obtained, compression becomes non-uniform, and during molding and when the cosmetics are applied to the skin, there occurs breakage or cracking. Besides, such cosmetics are unsatisfactory also in the feeling of use such as being low in strength and inferior in both impact strength and adhesion to the skin or to a puff. Also as to the amount of a binder which is used for remedying these drawbacks, there is a limitation. If the amount of the binder is increased, the fluidity of the cosmetic base used is deteriorated, resulting in that the filling thereof into the inner plate from the hopper is no longer smooth, thus causing unevenness in weighing. Thus, in compression molding, there is a restriction not only in the shape of a cosmetic to be obtained but also in point of formulation and it is extremely difficult to produce a solid cosmetic capable of satisfying all of high strength, good feeling of use and desired shape which are important conditions required for cosmetics.
According to a cast dissolving/melting filling method, in the case of filling and molding a cosmetic base into a container or an inner plate, since the filling pressure is low, the cosmetic base to be filled is limited to one which assumes a liquid state of low viscosity when melted. The use of a highly viscous and sticky cosmetic base makes the filling thereof impossible and thus there is a restriction on the formulation of a cosmetic base to be used.
According to a solvent method wherein a cosmetic base which has been dissolved in a solvent is injected and filled and solidified while the solvent is sucked in vacuum, a high strength is obtained when the amount of a binder used is large, but the user feels the cosmetic sticky, and with the lapse of time, the cosmetic will be twisted and cause unevenness. In addition, it becomes necessary to use a special apparatus for recovery of the solvent, thus resulting in increase of the cost. Further, the suction of the solvent causes unevenness in the amount of the binder and that of a coloring matter in the cosmetic, thus making it extremely difficult to effect the filling of the cosmetic in a constant amount. And the injection pressure is as low as 4 to 6 kg/cm.sup.2. Thus, this method is unsuitable for the filling of a highly viscous, clay-like cosmetic base and requires a large amount of a solvent for lowering the viscosity. Besides, the resulting molded product is poor in strength.
According to the method wherein a cosmetic base is filled under pressure through a small hole formed in the back of a container and just thereafter cooling is performed using a cooling plate from the surface opening side of the container, since the cooling just after the filling is only at the surface opening portion of the container, the cooling efficiency is low and it takes time until solidifying by the cooling. Thus, not only the productivity is low but also molded products obtained by this method are limited to thin products. Further, since the cosmetic composition used should have fluidity at the time of melting, if the amount of a binder used is large, a restriction is imposed on the formulation, the cosmetic is sticky in use and will be twisted with the lapse of time, causing unevenness.
According to a method wherein a cosmetic composition is cast into a tubular container, then taken out from the tube and cut in round slices, which slices are each filled into a container, followed by pressing at a low pressure, there are the same drawbacks as in the foregoing cast molding method; besides, the process up to completion of the molding is complicated, leading to an increase of the manufacturing cost.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a process for producing a solid cosmetic which has remedied the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art.


The semiconductor memory device comprises first and second terminals connected to first and second power sources, respectively; a detection circuit for outputting a detection signal when the second power source voltage becomes higher by a predetermined value than the first power source voltage; a power source switching circuit for controlling the memory device so that power is supplied from the second power source, in response to the detection signal; and a data hold control circuit for controlling the memory device so that data are kept stored therein in response to the detection signal. Since these circuits are incorporated inside the chip, the packaging efficiency or density of the memory devices can be improved when the memory devices are integrated on a semiconductor substrate.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device, and more specifically to a semiconductor memory device backuped by a battery.
The semiconductor memory device can be roughly divided into read-only memory (ROM) device and random-access memory (RAM) device. Since almost all RAM devices are volatile, data stored in the memory cells are dissipated whenever voltage supply fails.
In various OA (office automation) apparatus widely used recently, many RAM devices are incorporated therein as semiconductor memory devices, data stored in the memory cells are usually held by a battery provided for the apparatus, whenever the ordinary power supply fails. FIG. 5 shows an example of prior-art system backed up by a battery.
Under the normal power supply conditions, power is supplied from a DC power source 51 to a semiconductor memory device 52. However, when power supplied from the DC power source 51 fails, power is supplied from a battery back-up circuit 57 to the device 52. Usually, a power switching circuit 56 and a battery back-up circuit 57 are connected in series between the DC power source 51 and the semiconductor memory device 52.
In more detail, a voltage of 5V is ordinarily outputted from a power supply terminal OUT of the DC power source 51. Therefore, current i flows through a Zener diode D1 and a resistor R53, and a voltage across the resistor R53 causes current to flow via a resistor R52 as a base current of a bipolar transistor 54. Therefore, a voltage across the resistor R52 turns on the bipolar transistor 58, so that an output of the DC power source 51 is supplied between a power supply terminal V.sub.CC2 of the semiconductor memory device 52 and a ground terminal V.sub.SS. Here, since a rechargeable battery (i.e. Ni-Cd cell) is used as a battery E of the battery back-up circuit 57, the battery is kept charged via a resistor R55.
However, when the output of the DC power source 51 begins to drop from a time point t1 as shown in FIG. 6 and therefore the voltage between the power supply terminal OUT and the ground terminal GND drops below a breakdown voltage of the Zener diode D1, since the Zener diode D1 is turned off, the two bipolar transistors 54 and 58 are both turned off, so that electric charge accumulated in a capacitor C3 is discharged via a resistor R55. In this case, voltage V.sub.N1 of node N1 drops relative to a voltage V.sub.E of the battery E. Therefore, a forward bias voltage is applied to a diode D2 at a time point t2 at which the voltage V.sub.N1 drops by a value corresponding to a junction potential of the diode D2, relative to the battery voltage V.sub.E. That is, at this time point t2, power supply starts from the battery backup circuit 57 to the semiconductor memory device 52, instead of the DC power source 51.
As described above, in the prior-art device, power supplied to the semiconductor memory device 52 is switched by the power switching circuit 56 from the DC power source 51 to the battery back-up circuit 57 or vice versa.
In the prior-art device, however, since the power switching circuit 56 is additionally required, there exists a problem in that the packaging efficiency of the semiconductor memory devices 52 is reduced. In addition, when the device is backed up, since the semiconductor memory device 52 must be so activated as to hold data, another memory device control circuit must be integrated, thus further decreasing the packaging efficiency of the memory device.


A sensor circuit (10), including a silicon photomultiplier, SiPM, sensor (20), a voltage source (32), a current-to-voltage converter (24), and a limiting bias circuit (34). The SiPM sensor (20) has avalanche photodiode, APD, elements (30) connected in parallel between a cathode (K) and an anode (A). The voltage source (32) is configured to apply a reversed bias voltage (Vb) across the SiPM sensor, so that each APD element operates in reverse-biased Geiger mode, and the APD elements operate in integration mode. The bias circuit (34) is connected between the voltage source (32) and the anode, and is configured to limit currents through the APD elements, and to present an AC load impedance for an alternating current within a predetermined operating frequency range (fo) generated by the APD elements at the anode (A) as well as a DC load impedance, such that said AC load impedance is lower than said DC load impedance.

Electronic sensors, as used in measurement devices and communication devices, often exhibit non-linear behaviour. Such non-linear behaviour could influence the intended measurements or receptions by intermodulation. Intermodulation (IM) or intermodulation distortion (IMD) is the amplitude modulation of signals containing two or more different frequencies, caused by nonlinearities or time variance in a system.
Non-linear electronic sensors can be sensors such as a Light Dependent Resistor (LDR), photodiodes (PD), avalanche photodiodes (APD), Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM), Hall effect sensors, negative temperature coefficient (NTC) resistors or positive temperature coefficient (PTC) resistors. All said detectors have in common that the sensed property will change the electrical behaviour of the sensor, e.g. by allowing a greater current at a given bias voltage.
A sensor of a particular type, the Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM), has emerged as an interesting photo-detection solution for sensing applications with very low intensity levels down to a single photon. A SiPM-based sensor offers several advantages, such as low operational voltage, good photon detection efficiency (PDE), high detection gain, and fast response times. These properties render SiPM sensors very useful as photon counting devices in scientific or medical instruments. A SiPM is formed by an array of avalanche photodiode (APD) pixel elements that are operated in Geiger mode. In this mode, the APD elements are subjected to a reverse bias voltage for which the absolute value is higher than the characteristic breakdown voltage of each APD element. When a photon hits an APD element, an avalanche breakdown is triggered, which leads to the generation of an output current pulse. The APD can thus function in a so-called "photo counting mode", in which single photon detections can be recorded and counted. An APD element operated in this mode is referred to as a single photo avalanche diode (SPAD). The fundamental difference between SPADs and APDs is that SPADs are specifically designed to operate with a reverse bias voltage well above the breakdown voltage.
The above-mentioned properties make SiPM sensors suitable for applications in free space visible light communication (VLC) systems, and in particular for underwater VLC systems. However, when optical communication methods are used that rely on amplitude modulation for coding information into the light beam, the SiPM should be operated in a so-called "integration mode". In said mode, an output signal is generated that represents a statistical average of a large number of photons from the impinging light beam. For this mode, the SiPM preferably includes a very large number of APD elements, e.g. in the order of thousands or more elements, which are connected in parallel. An amplitude-modulated optical signal with certain intensity may then simultaneously trigger many temporally overlapping avalanche discharges in the SiPM, so that a SiPM output signal can be obtained that is formed from a sum of many photon detection currents from the individual APD elements. If the number of simultaneous detections is sufficiently large, the sum of detection currents will closely follow the amplitude modulation of the incoming light beam. This mode of operation imposes new design challenges when using SiPM sensors.
In general, most circuits of the prior art are concerned with photo counting mode and therefore cannot be easily applied to integration mode, which is advantageous for free space VLC systems.
A VLC receiver is a communication receiver with all the associated design challenges. Such receivers should have a low noise floor, good frequency selectivity, low intermodulation (IM) distortion, high dynamic range, etc. Good frequency selectivity and high dynamic range are important when there are multiple light sources that may interfere with the light communication signal. Examples of such conditions could be an office environment having ambient and modulated light sources like fluorescent lighting, flat panel backlights, infrared (IR) communications, etc., or an underwater environment, where an ROV might be equipped with mounted laser scanners, dimmable floodlights or other systems using modulated light.
These modulated light sources might interfere with the communication signal in an improperly operated SiPM causing a distortion effect called intermodulation. The wanted and unwanted signals are then impossible to separate during later processing.
SiPM sensors are vulnerable to over-currents. In order to overcome this problem, commonly current-limited power supplies are used, as shown in the SiPM Experiment Guide by Sensl. Current-limiting circuits have a non-zero source resistance when operating at or near their current limit. A non-zero source resistance will cause the voltage over the SiPM to vary with the current through the SiPM, thereby varying the gain which may cause intermodulation distortion.
Patent document US 2016/0181459 A1 describes a method for improving the dynamic range in integration mode by applying an automatic gain control method. However, this document does not solve the intermodulation distortion when using a SiPM in a visible light communication system in integration mode.
It would be desirable to provide a protective front-end circuit for a SiPM sensor in a free space VLC receiver.

Front end circuit for a non-linear sensor comprising a current to voltage converter and a limiting bias circuit respectively connected to the common cathode and the common anode of an array of avalanche photodiode elements


A pulsed diode ring laser gyroscope and method of modulation are provided to greatly reduce the occurrence of frequency locking in optical gyroscopes at low rotational rates. One or two optical diodes serve as optical amplifiers for a pair of counterpropagating optical pulses circulating in an optical ring resonator. The amplifiers are driven twice each round trip (once for each pulse) using pulses much shorter than the round trip time. The short optical pulses overlap in regions of the resonator generally isolated from light scattering elements. The pulses are produced by gain switching the optical amplifiers with an electrical current pulse train having a fundamental period synchronous with the optical round trip time in the resonator cavity. With this modulation scheme, the diodes can be thought of as gates that open twice each round trip-once for each of the counterpropagating pulses. During each on time, the diodes amplify only a clockwise or counterclockwise pulse. Backscattered light from any optical element, which is not coincident with either of the pulses, is absorbed by the amplifiers.

Ring laser gyroscopes of conventional design are limited in sensitivity at low rotation rates by the phenomenon of frequency locking. Frequency locking in ring laser gyroscopes results from the coupling of counterpropagating optical waves caused by backscatter from optical elements in the laser cavity. A variety of approaches, such as reducing the amount of light scattered from optical elements or mechanically dithering the cavity, have been used to diminish the effect of frequency locking. These techniques, however, have not been entirely satisfactory. Thus, measuring angular rates comparable to those of the Earth's rotational rate with an all-optical system remains a problem.
The subject matter of the present invention is related to that of U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 07/582,738 entitled "Dual Optical Amplifier Ring Laser Gyroscope with Reduced Phase Locking," filed on Sept. 14, 1990, by Gerald L. Vick and assigned to the same assignee as the present application. The teachings of the Vick application are incorporated herein by reference. Vick uses a pair of semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) spaced at a distance of 1/4 the length of the optical ring. The amplifiers are driven for one-half the light pulse round trip time. During the on time, each amplifier amplifies both a clockwise and a counterclockwise pulse, one after the other. This modulation scheme prevents counterpropagating light pulses from meeting in the amplifiers and eliminates coupling caused by backscatter from the amplifiers. However, the modulation scheme described by Vick does not address the problem of backscattering from optical elements other than the amplifiers, such as optical fibers or output couplers, which may also lead to frequency locking. Thus, there is a need for an improved ring laser gyroscope and an optical pulse modulation scheme to prevent frequency locking caused by residual backscatter.


A semiconductor device includes a plurality of high-voltage insulated-gate field-effect transistors arranged in a matrix form on the main surface of a semiconductor substrate and each having a gate electrode, a gate electrode contact formed on the gate electrode, and a wiring layer which is formed on the gate electrode contacts adjacent in a gate-width direction to electrically connect the gate electrodes arranged in the gate-width direction. And the device includes shielding gates provided on portions of an element isolation region which lie between the transistors adjacent in the gate-width direction and gate-length direction and used to apply reference potential or potential of a polarity different from that of potential applied to the gate of the transistor to turn on the current path of the transistor to the element isolation region.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor device and more particularly to a high-voltage transistor or the like provided in a core portion of the row decoder of a NAND flash memory, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, for example, in high-voltage transistors and the like, electric lines of force extend into the element isolation insulating film disposed between the adjacent transistors to make unstable the potentials of the gate and source/drain of the adjacent transistor. In this state, if a high-voltage is applied, an inversion layer occurs in the interface between the element isolation insulating film and the semiconductor substrate and extends to the adjacent transistor. As a result, a phenomenon that a current flows between the transistors, that is, a so-called field inversion occurs.
In order to prevent occurrence of the field inversion, it is necessary to increase the depth of the element isolation insulating film disposed between the high-voltage transistors and the distance between the transistors. Therefore, it is disadvantageous for miniaturization.
For example, in FIG. 3(d) of Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 4-199658, an example is disclosed in which an isolation transistor is provided between adjacent high-voltage transistors and elements are isolated by cutting off the isolation transistor to prevent occurrence of field inversion.
However, in the above example, it is necessary to provide the isolation transistors, and therefore, the area is increased due to the presence of the isolation transistors and it is still disadvantageous for miniaturization.

High-voltage transistor having shielding gate


Disclosed is a system and method for extending the web application root cause determination functionality to a web browser. In one aspect, the present invention plots the network topology diagram for the web application by executing network trace commands. In another aspect, the present invention allows user to upload their web application network topology diagram. In another aspect, the present invention allows user to build their web application network topology diagram using UI Devices Toolkit. The present invention collects the information relating to the web application issue from various entities such as network infrastructure devices, servers through ICMP, SNMP, TRAP, SYS/APPLOG, HTTP and Network traffic analysis. In one aspect, the present invention highlights the entity in the web application network topology diagram based on the collected information and provides the experts recommended suggestion for the issue through Internet web search query.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to extend the capability of a web browser to determine the root cause for an issue occurred in the web application more specifically pin-point which entity causes the issue in the network topology diagram presented in the web browser plug-in panel window and provide suggestion web search query for the issue occurred in the web application.
2. Description of Related Art
In a real-time production environment, it is hard to identify the root cause for any critical issues like performance, security threats, broken authentication, security mis-configuration, etc. While participating in the investigation for the root cause, technical support team validates the issues in production environment, using the structured monitoring, and operations processes according to the established frameworks such as Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), Information Technology (IT) Services Management, and Information Technology (IT) Operational Frameworks. The technical support team investigates the root cause by troubleshooting the possible devices, such as network infrastructure device, application servers and database server. Using common troubleshooting and diagnostic tools such as Performance Monitor and diagnostic approaches such as cause/effect diagrams, it is real hard for technical support team to identify the root cause and resolution for the issue.
In order to find where exactly issue is occurring or to find the root cause of web application issue, the web application support team needs to depend on multiple team members from network infrastructure team, database team and computer server team. The web application support team needs to look for their appropriate time to discuss the issue. In addition, they need to spend a lot of time doing information gathering about the web application and the issue prior to actually identifying the root cause and troubleshooting the issue. Thus, it could take several days to resolve a simple issue in production environment.
A traditional web browser does not provide the capability to find the root cause of web application issue. Although popular browser extensions such Firebug, HTTPWatch, Fiddler or Web Developer tools provides the ability to extend the web browser functionality for analyzing HTTP traffic and allowing inspect, edit and monitor CSS, HTML, JavaScript and Net requests in the web document. However, these extensions do not provide ability to pinpoint which component causes the issue and lack of providing information related to the issue outside of client computer.
However, there are multiple entities to be examined to determine the root cause of an issue, such entities are network infrastructure devices like Firewall, Load Balancer, Network Interface Card (NIC), and computer servers like web application server, Domain Name Server, Proxy Server and Database Server configuration, HTTP and Network Traffic analysis. There are multiple tools like network tracer, dump file analyzer, system log viewer, database profiler, log parser and HTTP analyzer that are available to intercept the issue in various aspects to find the root cause by the technical support team. Also, popular systems include OpenView® from Hewlett-Packard Corporation, Unicenter® from Computer Associates, IBM Tivoli® Framework exists for managing entire enterprise-level networks and application. Another example of such a system is the Solarwinds® Orion® Network Performance Monitor and Application Monitor. However, these systems does not provide the web browser extension that helps user to determine the root cause for an issue and does not pin-point on which component causes the issue and what are the recommended solution from internet experts for the specified issue.
In another aspect, these commercial systems provide a vast amount of information that requires special understanding of result codes. These codes cannot be interpreted easily by everyone and needs some additional knowledge. These systems show the time duration taken for the web pages to render, but does not provide the ability to show which device of the network infrastructure or computer server caused the delay or/and why it took that much amount of time to complete the web application request.
In addition, to determine the root cause, the web application support team needs to go the through log files of each network infrastructure device and the computer servers presented in the web application network topology diagram. Each log will be huge and may contain a lot of general logging information about the device. This general logging information is unrelated to the issue at hand. The vast content may make it harder for the web application support team to find and extract logging information related to the issue.
In order to use the diagnostic tools, web application support team needs to be trained to use these tools for finding the root cause. There is no such system or method to provide an easy and elegant way to identify the root cause of the issue at the client (i.e., application support team personnel) web browser plug-in panel without logging into the individual computer server or network infrastructure devices.
In order to overcome such problems, there is a need for a method or system to extend the web browser capabilities for identifying the root cause of web application issue and providing the experts recommendation for the issue through web search. Such systems disclosed in many U.S. patent applications and patent document but none of the system disclosed to provide the functionality via web browser plug-in.
In light of the shortcomings of the various currently available systems, there is still a need for a quick and simple method for identifying the issue occurred in a web application. In particular, there is an interest in a troubleshooting tool that allows a user to easily identify the issue and provide the possible workaround or resolution for the issue over the web browser.

System and method to extend the capabilities of a web browser of a web application issue root cause determination techniques


Hydrogen bis(oxalato)borate of the formula ##STR1## is used as a protonic acid catalyst in condensation reactions, such as Friedel-Crafts condensations, vinyl ether condensations of acetals with vinyl or propenyl ethers and acylations of phenols. The products of such condensations are, for example, dihydro-vitamin K.sub.1 monobenzoate, d,l-.alpha.-tocopherol, various intermediates in the synthesis of carotenoids as well as d,l-.alpha.-tocopherol acetate. As a result of the use in accordance with the invention of hydrogen bis(oxalato)borate various disadvantages associated with the use of other protonic acid catalysts, e.g. problems with corrosion, toxicity and environmental contamination, are avoided. The novel catalyst has advantages with respect to selectivity, yields, amounts required as well as working up after completion of the respective condensation.

The present invention is concerned with the use of hydrogen bis(oxalato)borate of the formula ##STR2## as a protonic acid catalyst in condensation reactions, such as Friedel-Crafts condensations, vinyl ether condensations of acetals with vinyl or propenyl ethers (for the production of intermediates in carotenoid syntheses) and acylations of phenols.
The reaction of 4-hydroxy-2-methyl-naphthalen-1-yl benzoate with isophytol to give 4-hydroxy-2-methyl-3-(3,7,11,15-tetramethyl-hexadec-2-enyl)-naphthalen-1-y l benzoate (dihydro-vitamin K.sub.1 monobenzoate) and of trimethylhydroquinone with isophytol to give d,l-.alpha.-tocopherol (vitamin E) can be mentioned as examples of Friedel-Crafts condensations, the reaction of acetaldehyde dimethyl acetal or (E)-1,1,4,4-tetramethoxy-but-2-ene with methyl propenyl ether or of 13-(2,6,6-trimethyl-cyclohexen-1-yl)-2,7,11-trimethyl-trideca-2,6,8,10,12- pentaen-4-yn-1-al diethyl acetal with ethyl vinyl ether can be mentioned as examples of vinyl ether condensations of acetals with vinyl or propenyl ethers for the production of intermediates in carotenoid syntheses, and the production of d,l-.alpha.-tocopherol acetate from d,l-.alpha.-tocopherol can be mentioned as an example of acylations of phenols.
Various processes for performing Friedel-Crafts condensations have already been described in the literature and are carried out using protonic acids, such as hydrohalic acids, e.g. hydrochloric acid, trichloroacetic acid and the like, Lewis acids, such as aluminium chloride, boron trifluoride, iron chloride, zinc chloride and the like, or mixtures of the two types of acid, such as a mixture of zinc chloride and a strong protonic acid and the like, as catalysts.
All of these previously known processes have serious disadvantages. For example, corrosion problems occur in all processes, and when boron trifluoride is used toxicity problems arise with the boron trifluoride adducts. Also, when iron or zinc is used there is a contamination of the waste water with iron or zinc ions which today is no longer acceptable.
Since vinyl ether condensations are usually carried out with Lewis acids, disadvantages as described above for the Friedel-Crafts condensations with Lewis acids also occur in the case of this type of reaction.

Method of catalyzing condensation reactions


A seal for a compressor for sealing a shaft includes a first seal part of a first material, a second seal part of a second material different from the first material, and a stiffening part. The second seal part is connected at least with a radially extending surface area to at least one of the other parts and the surface area of the second seal part opposite the aforementioned surface area is kept from making contact with the stiffening part. The first seal part is provided, toward the axial side, with a sealing lip which is adapted for sealing contact with the shaft, and the second seal part is made such that the radially inner area of the second seal part extends axially and is free from collision with the sealing lip when the seal is properly installed.

DE 102 24 175 A1 discloses a seal arrangement, specifically a lip seal, for sealing the intermediate space around the drive shaft of a compressor for use in an air conditioning system. The seal arrangement includes a stiff base element and an elastic element which adheres to the base element such that the elastic element covers essentially the entire surface of the base element. In addition to the elastic element, the seal arrangement includes a second seal element of PTFE which is supported by a backup ring. The second seal element is clamped so-to-speak between the backup ring and the elastic element.


Inflation pressure of an aircrew G-suit is set by a servo-pressure which controls movement of inflation gas supply and vent valves 126 and 127, respectively. Servo-pressure is regulated by a torque motor controlled valve 124, 125 which receives a servo-demand signal from an electronic control unit (ECU) 123. The ECU receives an inflation pressure demand signal P.sub.DEM from an aircraft systems computer 120 which stores schedules of G-suit inflation pressure against increasing acceleration and decreasing cabin ambient pressure. The computer is programmed to look-up and output the higher one of values for inflation pressure dependent upon values of acceleration signals G.sub.Z and cabin ambient pressure signals P.sub.AMB input to the computer by sensors 121 and 122, respectively. The ECU compares an existing G-suit inflation pressure P.sub.O signal with the inflation pressure demand signal and generates a compensated error signal which is combined with the inflation pressure demand signal to provide the servo-demand signal. The use of the ECU for the computationally intensive control task optimizes the use of the aircraft system computer. A combined breathing demand regulator and G-suit inflation pressure control valve which continues to function in the absence of electrical power after bail-out from an aircraft is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
THIS INVENTION relates to aircraft aircrew life support systems and is particularly concerned with integrated breathing demand regulator and garment inflation pressure control systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The enhanced agility of modern high performance aircraft designs give such aircraft the ability to perform very highly accelerative manoeuvres both at low altitude and at high altitudes, e.g. in excess of 12000 meters (40000 ft). To take advantage of this agility an aircrew member flying the aircraft must be protected against G-induced loss of consciousness, known as G-loc, as well as the effect of exposure to high altitude in the event of loss of cabin pressure. In this regard, unless otherwise specified, references to altitude are to be understood as references to the altitude equivalent to the pressure within an enclosure or cabin within which an aircrew member is situated and which is usually pressurised in relation to the external ambient pressure with the consequence that "cabin altitude" is related to but usually less than the actual altitude of the aircraft.
The partial pressure of oxygen in air decreases with increasing altitude (decreasing total pressure) so that the concentration of oxygen in breathing gas supplied to the aircraft aircrew member must be increased with increasing cabin altitude to maintain the oxygen partial pressure above the minimum value necessary for it to be able to diffuse through the lung tissue and pass to the haemoglobin or red corpuscles in the blood. If, at aircraft operating altitudes above 12000 meters, there is total or partial loss of cabin pressure which causes cabin pressure to fall below 12000 meters equivalent pressure then the overall pressure of the breathing gas delivered to the aircrew member must be increased to a value above cabin ambient pressure so that the minima critical oxygen pressure is maintained in the lungs, this being referred to as positive pressure breathing (PPB).
Positive pressure breathing at high altitude is aided by exerting pressure around the chest to give support and to assist the aircrew member in exhaling used gas from his lungs against the positive pressure in his breathing mask and to enable breathing to be sustained until the aircraft has descended to 12000 meters or below. To meet this requirement the aircrew member wears an inflatable counter-pressure garment ("jerkin") around his chest and back area which is inflated to the same pressure as the pressure in the breathing mask during positive pressure breathing, conveniently by being connected for inflation by breathing gas delivered to the breathing mask.
To counter the effects of high G-load the aircrew member wears an inflatable G-protection trouser garment ("G-suit") which is inflated from a source of high pressure gas, such as engine bleed air. Inflation of the trouser garment may be in response to signals from one or more accelerometers located in the aircraft for sensing accelerative forces, or in response to movement of an inertia mass provided as part of an inflation control valve assembly. When inflated, the trouser garment restricts the flow of blood into the lower extremities of the body where it tends to be forced under the action of the G-load to which the aircrew member is subjected.
It has been found that protection against G-loc is further enhanced by providing positive pressure breathing during periods when high G-loads are being experienced. The increase in breathing pressure causes an approximately equal increase in heart level blood pressure thereby increasing the flow of blood to the brain.
On exposure to altitudes which demand positive pressure breathing it is advantageous to inflate the trouser garment to a pressure three to four times that of the pressure in the breathing mask even at times when aircraft flight manoeuvres are not such as to give rise to high G-load. This inflation of the trouser garment counteracts the tendency for blood to be forced into the lower extremities of the body by the high pressure in the lungs and by the counter-pressure garment, which reduces the circulation of blood from the heart to the brain. However, when both altitude and G-load conditions give rise to a requirement for positive pressure breathing, the trouser garment should be inflated to a pressure appropriate to the higher of the prevailing G-load or altitude signals.
It is common practice now to provide oxygen-enriched air as breathing gas for an aircrew member of a high performance aircraft from an on-board oxygen generating system (OBOGS) which includes molecular sieve beds comprising zeolite material suited to the retention of nitrogen whilst permitting oxygen to pass through the beds.
A problem with respect to demand valve operation in a breathing regulator suitable for accommodating the lower range of breathing gas pressure available from an OBOGS is overcome by a breathing regulator disclosed in EP-A-0,263,677 (Normalair-Garrett) which provides positive pressure breathing when the cabin altitude exceeds 12000 meters and, also, when high G-loads are being experienced. Above 12000 meters cabin altitude, an aneroid valve expands to increasingly restrict the flow of gas from a breathing-pressure control chamber so that pressure in this control chamber increases thereby increasing the pressure of the breathing gas at the regulator outlet to which both breathing mask and counter-pressure garment or jerkin are connected.
When the aircrew member is subjected to high G-loads, i.e. between 3.5 G and 9 G a further valve regulating outflow from the breathing-pressure control chamber is signalled pneumatically by an anti-G valve to move towards increasingly restricting outflow of gas from the breathing-pressure control chamber so that pressure in that chamber increases to provide (increased) positive pressure breathing in the event that the cabin altitude is below that at which the same degree of positive pressure breathing would be provided. The anti-G valve is an electro-pneumo-mechanical device that controls a supply of inflation air to the G-suit in accordance with sensed G-loads and the signal to the further valve of the demand regulator is obtained by tapping the inflation air line from the anti-G valve to the G-suit.
Further disclosures of aircraft aircrew life support systems and apparatus which control inflation of a G-suit worn by the aircrew member and regulate delivery of breathing gas in accordance with the breathing demand of the aircrew member are to be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,097 (Intertechnique), U.S. Pat. No. 4,638,791 (Boeing) and GB-A-2,051,417 (Intertechnique), this last disclosing a unitary or integrated breathing demand regulator and G-suit inflation control valve in which, however, the demand regulator and the control valve are functionally separate.
These prior art systems (other than EP-A-0,263,677) treat breathing gas and jerkin pressure requirements and G-suit inflation pressure requirements as separate functions to be provided by individual sub-systems integrated, functionally, only to the extent of sharing input data (such as anticipated and/or realised G-loads) output from a common source.
A system having greater functional integration of such sub-systems to provide better control and coordination of their respective functions and, especially to provide optimised responses to abrupt change in aircraft flight conditions, is disclosed in EP-A-0 419 183 (Normalair Garrett).
This system comprises G-suit inflation control means and breathing demand regulator means disposed in a common housing. The G-suit inflation control means comprises a spool valve which is moved in an opening direction by a pneumatic actuator to allow inflation gas to flow to the G-suit, and a diaphragm mounted vent valve biased by a spring towards opening a vent port for deflation of the G-suit. An electronically controlled torque motor controls a valve member for regulation of a servo-pressure which acts to cause the pneumatic actuator to move the spool valve to an open position and to move the vent valve to close the vent port. The torque motor is signalled by a self-contained electronic control unit which receives and processes acceleration signals and cabin pressure signals. The control loop is closed by a feedback signal from a pressure transducer which senses G-suit inflation pressure.
Whilst certain advantages are offered by use of a self-contained electronic control unit dedicated to control of G-suit inflation, there are penalties in terms of cost, space and weight, because the design of the unit is complicated by the need to perform scheduling tasks.
A solution in an aircraft having an on-board utilities system computer is to use that computer to perform the control functions for the G-suit inflation control means. Whilst this would totally replace the dedicated electronic control unit and, possibly, provide the smallest, lightest package, a major disadvantage is that valve performance is directly limited by the update rate of the computer. Also, it may be considered inappropriate to use the computer to perform a computationally intensive control task which could more easily be satisfied by dedicated analogue electronics.
There is now a requirement in some high performance aircraft for the G-suit to be inflated to the higher of pressure requirements for protection against G-load and exposure to altitude above 12000 meters as might occur if the aircraft suffered a cabin decompression above such altitude when flying a highly accelerative manoeuvre. It is a further requirement that the G-suit be inflated to a pressure of three to four times breathing gas pressure in the event that the aircrew member has to eject from the aircraft above 12000 meters altitude.
Whilst the first mentioned requirement can be met by suitable software in the electronic control unit of the system disclosed in EP-A-0 419 183, there is no provision for continued functioning of the unit and the G-suit inflation control means when electrical power is lost following ejection from the aircraft, to give protection against exposure to altitude.


A learning aid is provided which allows the user to selectively mute one part of a prerecorded multipart drama and substitute his or her voice for that muted part. A recorded copy of a composite of the unmuted prerecorded portions of the drama, the user's voice, and additional sound effects may thus be created. A voice sensitive microphone allows the period of time for the user's part to be flexibly varied and prerecorded control signals provide visible cues to the user that the part selected is imminent.

A successful method of encouraging children to read and to enjoy the reading process allows the children to read a part of a multipart drama. The drama provides an entertaining setting for reading, allows the reader to practice expressive reading, and breaks the reading task up into easy to manage blocks of dialogue. The reader may also enjoy, like an actor, being a contributor to a larger creative whole.
Problems with such reading exercises is that they require a number of readers to be assembled in one location and further that each reader be patient and tactful with each other. For this reason, desirably the readers should be of comparable level, but if the proficiency of the group is low, the flow of the drama may be sufficiently broken so as to remove its intrinsic interest.