A method and an invoice analytics system (IAS) for analyzing an entity's business service transactional invoice data (BSTID) and performing invoice analytics (IA) in real time are provided. The IAS extracts contract line item (CLI) data from contracts and stores the CLI data in a CLI database. The IAS transforms the CLI data into a quick view format and generates a contract quick view interface that displays the CLI data on an entity device. The IAS extracts and segments invoice line item (ILI) data from aggregated BSTID, stores the ILI data in an ILI database, and reconciles the invoices in accordance with the contracts by identifying and rectifying errors and off-contract business service items. The IAS performs IA on the ILI data for computing cost savings and generates an interactive, dynamic, and searchable IA report including graphical data representations of purchase patterns, outliers, variations, and predictive analytics for the entity.

Most entities, for example, businesses, companies, organizations, etc., typically procure supplies and products from third parties, for example, vendors, suppliers, manufacturers, etc., for their business. An entity provides a list of products the entity desires to purchase from a vendor and issues a purchase order containing line item details for the desired products. The vendor issues an invoice for the products shipped to the entity and the entity checks the delivered products against the products ordered. The vendor validates the delivered products with the products ordered using a purchase order number and the line item details in the purchase order. Since the products are delivered based on the entity's initiation of the purchase order, there is a process validation of the line item details in the purchase order with the line item details in the invoice issued for the delivered products. The products are ordered first by line item and then delivered, utilized, and paid.
Furthermore, entities procure professional services, and/or purchased services, and/or outsourced services, hereafter collectively referred as "business services", from one or more third parties to conduct their business. Business services encompass a large demographic, for example, from temporary staffing and housekeeping, to laundry, document management, food service, lawn maintenance, transportation services, etc. For business services, an entity establishes a contract that indicates terms, conditions, and agreed prices for the business services with a vendor similar to an agreement for products between the entity and the vendor. However, the business services are not accounted in a detailed purchase order that is issued before the business services are provided. Since the vendor is acting on behalf of the entity, the business services, for example, legal services are provided based on the entity's requirement and cannot be pre-ordered. Moreover, the vendor typically provides the business services first and then accounts for the business services by submitting invoices to the entity based on utilization of the business services. Unlike products that are purchased, vendors provide business services first and then invoice the entity for payment. Also, when the vendor submits an invoice for payment to the entity for a business service such as a professional service, as the line items of the business service are specific to that vendor, the line items are not detailed in an operational system, for example, a business procurement system of the entity for validation or tracking but are instead rolled up or merged into one total invoice amount, that is, a total sum of the invoice in the entity's accounts payable system. As a result, the entity does not have visibility into the line item details of the business services other than by performing a manual process of physically examining the invoice. Hence, the entity can run only an internal report for the business services by vendor with a total sum of the invoice but not with the line item details of the business services. While the entity can run a report to show the total spend of the entity by month for the business services provided by the vendor, the entity does not have access to the line item details for the business services due to the nature of the spend. Therefore, if the entity wants to analyze their business services spend, then conventionally the entity must retrieve the actual paper invoices manually, review the retrieved invoices manually, and input the reviewed invoices manually into a spreadsheet or an electronic document, for example, a Microsoft® Word document or a Microsoft® Excel document of Microsoft Corporation. Hence, there is a need for a method and a system that automates analysis of business service transactional invoice data and reconciliation of business service transactions between an entity and a vendor.
An invoice is a commercial document provided by a vendor to an entity, relating to procurement of products and/or business services. The invoice indicates products and/or business services, quantities, and agreed prices for the products and/or business services provided by the vendor to the entity. The invoice for a business service, in general, indicates specific services performed, for example, a testing service, a cleaning service, a dietary service, a transportation service, etc., that may include a description of a job, number of people deployed for the job, number of man hours in performing the job, etc., unlike the invoice for purchase of products. The invoice for the business service comprises an extensive amount of service data present in the invoice that is sourced from the contract between the entity and the vendor. Vendor billing of the business service in accordance with the contract to the business entity is typically a manual task and as such has a substantial risk of billing errors that typically go unseen or are not identified by the entity.
The extensive amount of unique specific service data containing details of multiple business services provided by the vendor present in the invoice requires the entity, for example, a large organization, to spend a large amount of time and resources for reviewing the invoice. The entity receives and reviews the invoice to verify if any job under the contract is pending, and if no job is pending, the entity processes the invoice for payment. Moreover, the invoice has to be manually verified for pricing accuracy. In general, the entity only conducts a brief summary review of the invoice. If the invoice remains fairly constant on a month-to-month basis, the invoice is paid without any further detailed reconcilement. However, due to complexity of the contract and the manual aspect of billing for the business service, the invoice for the business service typically contains multiple billing errors. Consider an example where a vendor provides a legal service to an entity and a contract between the vendor and the entity states that free copies of a legal document will be provided to the entity. A reviewer of the invoice may overlook this statement in the contract and the entity may end up paying for the copies of the legal document. Conventional methods for reconciling an invoice do not provide a means for the entity to assess errors in the invoice in real time, resulting in the entity having to pay high prices or get fees assessed that are not in compliance with the entity's contract. Reconciliation of business services is difficult as business services vary, for example, by number of contracts, various locations within a business entity, number of people deployed for a job, number of man hours, over time of people deployed for the job based on the classification of tasks under the business service, payer mixes, etc.
Unlike supplies that are generally ordered using catalogs or through an internal item master data table of the entity, business services are outsourced and purchased throughout an entity. And rather than being delivered to a loading dock under the supervision of procurement, business services enter every access point of the entity, and in some cases, may actually occur outside of the entity. An entity may outsource and purchase services throughout the entity from multiple and diverse groups of vendors. For example, the entity may use a national service provider for a food service and use a local service provider for lawn services and/or housekeeping services. The entity procures the business services based on particular requirements of the entity, resulting in diverse and varied pricing, and based on various ways the vendor invoices for the business services with additional fees. There may not be a catalog or a price guide from which the associated costs are derived. Because benchmarks on business service costs are not readily available, the diverse and varied pricing of services makes it difficult to determine whether spending is too much or too little and prevents the entity from negotiating appropriate costs. The business services may enter the entity from multiple access points and/or may occur outside of the entity without any supervision. In conventional methods, the complexity involved in purchasing, delivering, contracting, and monitoring business services prevents the entity from identifying errors in the invoices and does not provide real time visibility into the business services procured by the entity. Moreover, the conventional methods do not provide automated, ongoing line item visibility, real time pricing analysis, and benchmarks for the business services.
Line item cost details in invoices are foundational in understanding and measuring true costs for an entity. Consider an example where an entity utilizes waste disposal services at an agreed upon price. In this example, when a vendor such as a waste disposal service provider invoices the entity for waste pick-ups during a week, the waste disposal service provider adds minimum pick up charges, energy surcharge, and other miscellaneous fees which add to the costs of the waste disposal services but are not recited in the agreed upon terms in a contract between the entity and the vendor. Since the invoices have to be manually reviewed, and in large organizations, could contain hundreds to thousands of pages per month, most of the miscellaneous fees, overcharges, pricing errors, etc., are not identified. There is a need for a method and a system that automates identification of billing pricing errors, contract compliance errors, and line item service costs that are not under a contract or are off contract in the invoices for the business services and performs invoice analytics for price and utilization optimization of the business services and benchmarking for cost savings of the entity. Moreover, there is a need for a method and a system that performs an automated historical analysis of invoices received over a predefined duration of time and an automated real time analysis of invoices received in real time, for example, on a monthly basis as the invoices are received from the vendor.
Billing pricing errors are rarely found on a monthly basis in invoices for business services. Only when the entity conducts a retrospective accounts payable audit or a performance improvement initiative, some billing pricing errors are found. Moreover, in the accounts payable audit or the performance improvement initiative, only if the entity pulls all the previous invoices for the business services and compares every entry in each of the invoices with a corresponding contract, the entity may identify all of the billing pricing errors. The entity would rarely compare every entry in each of the invoices with the contract due to complexity of the contract and enormous resources and time the entity would need to conduct this reconciliation by business services, by vendor, by month, by line item, etc. In the manual process, contracts typically cannot be located to compare with the invoices. If the contract is located, it is laborious to identify relevant pricing, utilization terms, and financial terms that may impact the invoice. Therefore, there is a need for an automated method and a system for reconciling invoices to contracts for business services using a quick view interface that abstracts a contract and displays terms in the contract corresponding to every entry in the invoice for enhanced review, interpretation, comparison, and statistical analysis of the invoice.
Typically, reconciled invoices for products or supplies allow an entity to gauge utilization of the products or supplies by the entity over a predefined duration of time, for example, a month. Invoices for business services are difficult to reconcile on a monthly basis for validating the utilization of the business services. Consider an example where a vendor such as a laboratory testing service provider provides a laboratory testing service as an outsourced and purchased service to the entity. The laboratory testing service provider sends an invoice based on the number of patients tested, the number of patients on whom blood work was conducted, and by the number of tests conducted per month on all the patients. Validating the utilization of the laboratory testing service by the entity requires a reviewer of the invoice to access an operational system, for example, a registration system, an accounts payable system, etc., of the entity to validate the utilization for each month. There is a need for a method and a system for generating a utilization validation interface that links to an operational system of the entity for validating the utilization of the business services.
When an entity enters an invoice for a business service into an operational system, for example, an accounts payable system of the entity, basic invoice information, for example, vendor details, date, subtotal, fees, etc., is typically entered into the operational system without line item details for the business service. The operational system does not analyze the spend on the business service as the operational system does for products or supplies as no line item details are provided. Using the operational system alone, the entity cannot perform invoice analytics and utilization reviews by line item detail. Therefore, there is a need for a method and a system that performs invoice analytics by line item detail for price and utilization optimization of the business services in communication with the operational system of the entity.
Moreover, entities typically do not utilize insight from their monthly invoices to optimize their purchase patterns or spend habits for business services in real time and also do not trend the purchase patterns of the business services in real time to identify the purchase patterns' or variation problems as they happen to take corrective action in real time for cost control and utilization. Furthermore, for entities that perform optimization and trending on an annual basis or a two-year basis, which is a manual process, the entities have to review every invoice for that period of time and the line item details would have to be manually reviewed and transcribed into an electronic document, for example, a Microsoft® Word document or a Microsoft® Excel document of Microsoft Corporation, etc., for the analysis. There is a need for generating an interactive, dynamic, and searchable comprehensive report that allows the entity to identify and analyze purchase patterns, outliers, and variations, and perform predictive analysis of metrics of the entity.
Consider an example where entities such as hospitals transact with multiple vendors for different business services. More hospitals have been focusing on cost reduction initiatives on the business services spend. One of the reasons for the hospitals to rationalize business service costs is that most service items within the business services have a larger cost reduction opportunity compared to that in supply and equipment spends. Utilization of the business services varies over time and can even vary among hospitals within the same health system. Close monitoring and analysis of business services utilization expose the largest hospital cost reduction opportunities. These cost reduction opportunities can be realized by optimizing and better controlling utilization of the business services. However, the hospitals face challenges in realizing the cost reduction opportunities. One of the challenges is that a monthly reconciliation of invoices is either never performed or is performed in a cursory manner with approval routinely granted if the invoice is within about 10% of the previous month's invoice. Typically, in hospitals, every month, about 50% of non-labor spend falls within business services. 50% of the non-labor spend is manually reviewed and reconciled for contract compliance, for example, by department directors, vice presidents, and chief nursing officers. This manual reconciliation is substantially labor intensive and proves costly to the hospital. Therefore, there is a need for automating reconciliation of invoices in accordance with corresponding contracts in hospitals. Moreover, cost analysis conducted for the business services is typically not in-depth and/or not holistic. The typical cost analysis involves benchmarking only the contract pricing terms and reviewing invoices of only the current month. Furthermore, many business services cost reduction initiatives require subject matter experts to perform walk-throughs and a comprehensive reimbursement analysis for validating profitability. Another cost analysis approach is to request for a utilization spend report from the vendor. However, the utilization spend report typically prepared by vendors do not reflect what the paid invoices show and omit vendor fees, service charges, shipping charges, and other costs. Therefore, there is a need for performing a rigorous and comprehensive cost analysis for the business services provided to hospitals.
A majority of hospital business services spend is not addressed even by leading healthcare consulting firms that are specifically engaged to perform business services cost reductions. A reason for not addressing business services spend is that business services spend areas, for example, revenue cycle, finance, legal, marketing, and real estate leases are typically presumed to be beyond the scope of benchmarking or a utilization improvement review because expertise required to conduct an analysis is either unavailable or is subject to privacy concerns of sensitive relationships between vendors and entities. For example, a legal bill audit is an opportunity to measure contract compliance and benchmark legal fees, and potentially improve utilization of an entity such as a hospital. Hourly rates charged by attorneys and their staff need to be benchmarked and have pricing consistency throughout the hospital. The charges of a law firm for their time are used to determine overall legal expenses of the hospital. Minimum billing increments of quarter hours will lead to significantly higher billing amounts in invoices than tenth of an hour billing increments. Beyond billing rates, there are multiple other areas for cost improvement that a legal bill audit can uncover, for example, pyramiding, that is, charging for clerical work at attorney or accountant rates, changing hourly rates without prior approval, changing staffing for the convenience of the law firm without prior approval, billing for time spent creating or reviewing bills, using multiple attorneys to accomplish the work of a single attorney, billing improbably long days, billing in large minimum time segments such as 15 minutes for leaving a voicemail, billing for time in excess of what was actually spent, duplicate time charges, over staffing, inefficient procedures such as indecipherable invoice descriptions, excessive minimum time charges, bundling of described functions, markup on costs that should be passed through to clients, expert witnesses, other support services, etc. Therefore, there is a need for a method and system for auditing contract compliance and benchmarking fees for the business services.
Unlike medical items, supplies, and equipment that a hospital orders under a purchase order number, while each business services line item is consumed by the hospital, the utilization and invoicing are accounted for by the vendor. Because the vendor has disproportionate invoice accountability in the relationship between the hospital and the vendor, business services invoices need significant scrutiny and detailed data analytics. All cost savings take place at a line item detail level. A hospital cannot directly achieve cost savings from monthly category spend alone. While monthly spend by business services category can be indicative for cost savings opportunities, there is a need for examining and trending substantial detail from accounts payable spend by month, month over month to observe variability of the accounts payable spend. If an unusual monthly spend variance is identified, for example, an unusual spike in monthly spend, there is a need for analyzing invoice line item details during that month to identify the cause. However, spend variances are not easy to identify. Spend variances can increase gradually or are masked by countervailing other factors. In cases where monthly increases in category spend data takes place, an accounts payable department of the hospital pays two months of invoices in one month or capital or one time spend in a month. Therefore, there is a need for providing monthly invoice line item spend details to an entity for uncovering necessary insights for better spend decisions primarily around utilization of specific business services and identifying and rectifying invoice pricing errors and off-contract spend.
Hence, there is a long felt need for a method and a system for analyzing business service transactional invoice data of an entity and performing invoice analytics for the entity in real time for price and utilization optimization of business services and benchmarking in real time for cost savings of the entity. Moreover, there is a need for a method and a system for extracting and storing contract line item data from contracts and invoice line item data from invoices to identify, detail, and outline billing pricing errors, contract compliance errors, and off-contract business service items by line item for reconciliation of the invoices in accordance with the contracts by line item. Furthermore, there is a need for a method and a system for generating interfaces that allow optimal review, interpretation, comparison, and statistical analysis of the invoices in accordance with the contracts, and validation of utilization of the business services in communication with the operational system of the entity. Furthermore, there is a need for a method and a system for generating an interactive, dynamic, and searchable invoice analytics report that provides an enhanced visualization of purchase patterns, outliers, variations, and predictive analytics of metrics of the entity.


Material reserving, dispensing and planing devices for a stone fruit biscuit machine comprising a meterial reserving device, a material dispensing device, a material planing device and a sucking device, to automatically prepare planed stone fruit pieces to drop on dough orderly placed on baking plate by receiving material stone fruit, reserving and dispensing predetermined quantity for planing, sucking planed flat pieces on to a sucking plate, and then dropping them down on the dough placed orderly on a baking plate.

A known stone fruit biscuit machine of Japanese Patent No. 61195991 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,166 has flowing operations of material reserving, material restoring, planing, sucking, baking and cooling. However, this machine has been found to have many drawbacks as follows.
1. A reserve chamber has an excessive height, more than two meters, quite inconvenient to pour a heavy bag of material stone fruit into the chamber.
2. The reserve chamber is shaped long and rectangular and the upper surface has to be flattened in order to equally force the stone fruit therein to be sent out of a plurality of tubes.
3. The reserve chamber is located very high and an examination windown for checking the content material is liable to reflect light, difficult to check the volume of material therein.
4. The reserve chamber has not a complete structure to dispensing material in definite pressure and definite volume.
5. A blade in a planing device has a large dimensions and thin, and an intermediate portion of a blade frame produces disfigurement caused by large pressure coming from many material conveying tubes, and consequently planed stone fruit pieces are not all equally thin.
6. A sucking plate cannot suck all of planed stone fruit pieces to cause finished products incomplete with cavities and notches.
7. The planing device is too complicated and large, hardly cooperative in different processes, so that planed stone fruit pieces may drop down in the process of sucking to scatter around on the ground or in the bottom of the machine.
8. Cleaning scattered stone fruit pieces increases producing cost, not economical.
9. Planed stone fruit pieces are sucked mainly in the middle portion, and those in both sides are not sucked with sufficient force, liable to drop down.
10. A sucking plate and cone-shaped sucking holes do not function as planned to permit planed stone fruit pieces drop down when a fan is stopped, but in practical operation oil coming out of stone fruit can block up the sucking holes and they stick there.
11. A fan blowing the sucking holes will have growing load and produce noise by repeated blockage of the sucking holes.


Technologies are generally described for providing a transition between predictive and mobile-assisted spectral allocation. In some examples, wireless devices may be enabled to determine adequacy of theft allocated spectral path to meet their communication needs by analyzing signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of their assigned sub-carriers. If a wireless device determines a current sub-carrier to be inadequate based on the analysis, it may send information associated with preferred sub-carriers to a base station. The base station may determine one or more nearby good clusters based on a comparison of a sequence of received preferred sub-carriers and the spectral paths represented by the nearby cluster centers, and select a re-allocated spectral path with shortest information distance to the sequence of preferred sub-carriers.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Transmission from a base-station to a mobile device may be spread across in time and frequency using a spreading technique, such as orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA). A spreading technique may be used in many modern mobile standards, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), assigning time and frequency slots to individual user devices.
A wireless environment is a moving target. Although multipath profiles, which may depend on scattering geometry, and interference patterns, which may depend on neighboring cell activity, may indeed show location- and time-specific patterns, these patterns may be quasi-stationary, and may be expected to change over periods of time. Base stations may determine spectral allocations (time slots and frequencies or channels) for mobile devices within their coverage area to provide better signal-to-noise performance for the devices. However, a spectral allocation for a particular mobile device may not provide a satisfactory communication environment for that device. Tasking the mobile device to determine a better communication environment may be overburdening potentially limited computational resources of the mobile device. On the other hand, decision making on spectral allocation by the base station without any input from the mobile device may not be accurate.

Smooth transition between predictive and mobile-assisted spectral allocation


The present invention provides polypeptides including MCP1 fused, optionally, by a linker, to an immunoglobulin. Methods for using the polypeptides to treat medical disorders are also covered.

Monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP1, also known as HC11, MCAF, CCL2, SCYA2, GDCF-2, SMC-CF, HSMCR30, MGC9434, GDCF-2 and HC11) is a highly selective, high-affinity chemokine ligand for chemokine receptor CCR2. It is secreted locally by inflammatory tissues to attract CCR2-bearing cells such as monocytes and memory T cells. Upon binding to CCR2, MCP1 induces calcium flux and cell migration toward the gradient of MCP1.
There is substantial biological and genetic evidence for the critical involvement of MCP1 and CCR2 in inflammatory diseases including arthritis, atherosclerosis, multiple sclerosis, and fibrosis. Mice deficient in either MCP1 or CCR2 were protected from developing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) (Huang et al., 2001, J. Exp. Med. 193:713; Izikson et al., 2000, J. Exp. Med. 192:1075; Mahad and Ransohoff, 2003, Semi. Immunol. 15:23). CCR2-deficient mice were also protected from collagen-induced arthritis (Quinones et al., 2004, J. Clin. Invest. 113:856). Furthermore, CCR2-knockout mice were resistant to the development of atherosclerotic plaques (Charo and Taubman, 2004, Circ. Res. 95:858).
There exists a need in the art for anti-inflammatory agents that target CCR2-mediated inflammation.


Oxazolidone ring-containing epoxy resins (a) produced by the reaction between a diglycidyl ether or ester and an organic diisocyanate are reacted with (b) a first active hydrogen compound such as mono- or diols, mono- or dicarboxylic acids in less than a stoichiometric amount in terms of the active hydrogen atom relative to the epoxy group, and then with (c) a second active hydrogen compound such as amines or sulfide-acid mixtures or polycarboxylic acids in a stoichiometric amount relative to the remaining epoxy group. The resulting hydrophilic modified resin has an oxazolidone ring-containing backbone terminated with an ionizable group. A water-borne paints are formulated from the hydrophilic modified resin by dispersing in an aqueous medium containing a crosslinker and a neutralizing agent.

This invention relates to a novel hydrophilic resin which has an oxazolidone-ring containing backbone and an ionizable group at the terminal end of the backbone. It also relates to a water-borne paint composition containing said resin.
It is known from Iwakura et al., J. Polymer Sci. Part A-1, 4 , 751 (1966) that an oxazolidone ring-containing modified epoxy resin may be produced by reacting a diglycidyl compound and a bisurethane, namely a monoalcohol-capped organic diisocyanate. The same resin may be produced by directing reacting a diisocyanate and the diglycidyl compound. Sander et al., J. Appl. Polymer Sci., 9 1984(1966). Since the resin is terminated with an epoxy group at each end and thus does not possess any ionizable or hydrophilic group, it is not usable in formulating electrodeposition paints and other water-borne paints.
European Patent Application Publication No. 0449072 discloses a method for producing epoxy resin-amine adducts used for the formulation of cathodic electrodeposition paints. According to this method, an oxazolidone ring containing compound produced by the reaction between a mono- or diglycidyl compound and an organic mono- or diisocyanate is directly subjected to a ring-opening reaction with an amine in conjunction with a conventional diepoxy resin. In use the electrodeposition pant containing this binder resin requires a relatively high voltage as high as 300 volt. When applied to the electrodeposition coating of galvanized steel sheets, the paint often fails to give a film of practical film thickness without occurrence of a number of pinholes due to the application of such a high voltage. This, of course, tends to degrade not only the appearance but also protective performance of the resulting finish. This European Patent also discloses a method Of producing the Oxazolidone ring-containing compound by directly reacting an organic diisocyanate and a glycidyl compound in the presence of lithium bromide catalyst. When directly reacting with the glycidyl compound, the diisocyanate tends to undergo a trimeization side reaction. If this side reaction occurred, the resulting modified resin would become too viscous and of less oxazolidone content. The alkali metal halide catalyst still remains in the modified resin. This is undesirable particularly when used in the electrodeposition coating because the presence of any electrolyte in the coating bath would adversely affect not only its electrodeposition performance such as coulomb efficiency and throwing power but also the corrosion resistance of films made therefrom.
The present invention is intended to eliminate or ameliorate these and other defects of the prior art resins and compositions.

Hydrophilic resin containing oxazolidone rings and coating composition containing same


Disclosed here are methods, systems, paradigms and structures for incrementally compiling scripts at runtime to generate executable code. The incremental compilation generates executable code corresponding to basic blocks of a script in various phases and at various scopes. In a first phase, an executable code for a basic block of the script is generated for a set of types of variables of the basic block. The generated executable block is stored and executed for subsequent requests. In a second phase, a set of executable blocks whose profiling information, such as frequency of (a) execution, (b) transition between two executable blocks, or (c) execution of a particular path, satisfies an optimization criterion is identified. The identified set of executable blocks are combined to generate an executable control region, which is more optimal than the executable blocks generated in the first phase. The executable control region is executed for subsequent requests.

Scripting languages offer simplicity and ease of development to software developers. Script code is easy to write since scripting languages are often based on a small set of expressions and statements that are simple to learn. Software developers often use scripting languages for rapid development of applications, for example, web applications. Scripting languages may be used for server side programs or for client side programs. Examples of server side scripting languages include PHP (Personal Home Page) and examples of client side scripting languages include JAVASCRIPT.
Server side script code can be used for executing a user request received at a web server by dynamically generating web pages. Server side scripting is often used for implementation of interactive websites that interface with data stores for retrieving and storing information. The PHP scripting language allows embedding of script code with hypertext markup language (HTML). Client side script code is often used for performing simple computations on the client side rather than sending a request to the server for simple computations.
Conventional approaches to execute script code include executing the script code using an interpreter. However, an interpreter may not be able to perform several optimizations that a compiler that generates executable code can perform. Therefore, interpreting script code can be inefficient compared to running executable code obtained by compiling the script code. Furthermore, scripting languages often allow simplified syntax that makes it easier for a user to write script code. For example, scripting languages often support untyped variables that do not require a user to provide type information of the variable. As a result, a compiler processing script code may not have the required information for performing certain optimizations. For example, compiler optimizations often require knowledge of types of the variables that is not available in script code based on untyped variable. Even if the knowledge of types is available, the compilation techniques, especially just-in-time compilation techniques, do not generate optimal executable code.

Enlarging control regions to optimize script code compilation


An output transistor in an output buffer in a semiconductor memory device is formed in a well region which is electrically isolated from the substrate by a triple well structure. When the output transistor conducts, the potential of the well in which the output transistor is formed is controlled to follow the source potential of the output transistor, so that the increase in the threshold voltage caused by a substrate biasing effect can be prevented, and larger output current results.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to semiconductor memory devices, and more particularly, to a semiconductor memory devices including an output buffer circuit which outputs a signal corresponding to storage data.
2. Description of the Background Art
As semiconductor memory devices capable of operating at higher speeds have been developed, there is a need to increase the driving capability of an output buffer circuit in such a semiconductor memory device.
FIG. 14 is a circuit diagram of a first example of the basic configuration of an output buffer circuit for use in a conventional semiconductor memory device.
The output buffer circuit shown in FIG. 14 includes an output terminal OUT, a level changing circuit 220 which receives a first internal control signal HOUT generated based on storage data to output, and changes its "H" level from the level of an internal lowered potential Vcc lowered from an external power supply potential Vdd to the level of an internal boosted potential Vpp produced in the semiconductor device, inverters 216 and 218 connected in series to receive the output of level changing circuit 220, an N channel MOS transistor 210 coupled between external power supply potential Vdd and output terminal OUT to receive the output of inverter 218 at its gate, and an N channel MOS transistor 212 coupled between output terminal OUT and a ground potential Vss to receive a second internal control signal LOUT generated based on storage data to output at its gate.
Level changing circuit 220 includes an N channel MOS transistor 206 which receives first internal control signal HOUT at its gate, an inverter 214 which receives and inverts first internal control signal HOUT, and an N channel MOS transistor 208 which receives the output of inverter 214 at its gate.
The sources of N channel MOS transistors 206 and 208 are both coupled to ground potential Vss.
Level changing circuit 220 further includes a P channel MOS transistor 202 coupled between internal boosted potential Vpp and the drain of N channel MOS transistor 206 to receive the potential of the drain of N channel MOS transistor 208 at its gate, and a P channel MOS transistor 204 coupled between internal boosted potential Vpp and the drain of N channel MOS transistor 208 to receive the potential of the drain of N channel MOS transistor 206 at its gate.
Level changing circuit 220 outputs, to inverter 216, an output signal from a node N102 to which the drain of N channel MOS transistor 208 is connected, in other words, outputs a signal which is in phase with first internal control signal HOUT and attains the level of internal boosted potential Vpp at its "H" level.
The configurations of N channel MOS transistors 210 and 212 serving as output transistors in the conventional output buffer circuit shown in FIG. 14 will be now described.
FIG. 15 is a diagram for use in illustration of cross sections of output transistors 210 and 212 in the conventional output buffer circuit in FIG. 14.
Referring to FIG. 15, a first P well region 266 and a second P well region 268 are formed on a main surface of a P type silicon substrate 270 in the conventional semiconductor memory device, and N channel MOS transistors 212 and 210 are formed in the first and second P well regions 266 and 268, respectively.
N channel MOS transistor 212 includes N type impurity regions, i.e., a source 252 and a drain 256 and a gate electrode 254. N channel MOS transistor 210 includes N type impurity regions, i.e., a source 258 and a drain 262 and a gate electrode 260.
In the Dynamic Random Access Memory (hereinafter simply referred to as "DRAM"), the P type silicon substrate is normally provided with a potential lower than a ground potential. In FIG. 15, a P type impurity region 264 is formed on the main surface of P type silicon substrate 270, and P type silicon substrate 270 is provided with a negative potential Vbb through P type impurity region 264.
It is quite significant in the DRAM to thus provide a negative voltage to the P type silicon substrate in order to prevent charges from coming into the substrate at the time of the undershoot of an input signal, thereby to prevent data destruction of data in a memory cell, and to reduce a PN junction capacitance to be the floating capacitance of a bit line for the purpose of increasing the operation speed of the circuit.
FIG. 16 is an operation waveform chart for use in illustration of the operation of the output buffer circuit shown in FIG. 14.
Referring to FIGS. 14 and 16, let us now assume that second internal control signal LOUT is in an "L" state, wherein N channel MOS transistor 212 is in a non-conductive state.
If the level of output terminal OUT is initially 0V, first internal control signal HOUT is at an "L" level at time t1, and N channel MOS transistor 206 is in a non-conductive state.
Inverter 214 applies the inverse of first internal control signal HOUT to the gate of N channel MOS transistor 208, which then attains a conductive state, and node N102 attains an "L" level.
P channel MOS transistor 202, upon receiving the potential of node N102 at its gate, conducts and applies boosted potential Vpp to the gate of P channel MOS transistor 204. As a result, P channel MOS transistor 204 attains a non-conductive state, and the potential of node N102, in other words the level of the output of the level changing circuit is determined at an "L" level. As a result, the gate potential VG of N channel MOS transistor 210 attains an "L" level by the function of the series-connection of inverters 216 and 218.
As first internal control signal HOUT rises from 0V to internal lowered potential Vcc at time t2, N channel MOS transistor 206 conducts accordingly, while first internal control signal HOUT is inverted by inverter 214, and N channel MOS transistor 208 receiving the inverse at its gate attains a non-conductive state. Therefore, an "L level is applied to the gate of P channel MOS transistor 204 through N channel MOS transistor 206 which turns on P channel MOS transistor 204, and the potential of node N102 is raised to internal boosted potential Vpp.
P channel MOS transistor 202 attains a non-conductive state, because its gate potential, in other words, the potential of node N102 attains an "H" level. As a result, the output of level changing circuit 220, in other words the potential of node N102 is determined at the level of internal boosted potential Vpp, and the "H" level of first internal control signal HOUT is changed from the level of internal lowered potential Vcc to the level of internal boosted potential Vpp. The potential is transmitted through inverters 216 and 218, which raises the gate potential VG of N channel MOS transistor 210 from 0V to internal boosted potential Vpp. N channel MOS transistor 210 conducts accordingly, and starts raising the potential of output terminal OUT.
At time t3, a load capacitance connected with output terminal OUT outside the semiconductor memory device is sufficiently charged, and the potential of output terminal OUT is stabilized.
Herein, the current from the semiconductor memory device which charges the externally connected load capacitance through output terminal OUT is supplied by N channel MOS transistor 210 and given by the following expression: EQU IDS=K'(Vgs-Vth).sup.2 (1)
wherein Vgs is a gate-source potential difference, Vth a threshold voltage, and K' a constant. The current supplied outside the semiconductor memory device from output terminal OUT is affected by the threshold voltage Vth of N channel MOS transistor 210, and the larger Vth, the smaller supplied current IDS.
At time t3, however, the threshold voltage Vth of N channel MOS transistor 210 increases by a substrate biasing effect, which will be now described.
At time t3, the source potential of N channel MOS transistor 210 is Vout, the potential of output terminal OUT, while the substrate portion of N channel MOS transistor 210 is at negative potential Vbb as described above, and therefore the source-substrate potential difference Vsb of N channel MOS transistor 210 is extremely large at time t3.
In general, the larger the source-substrate potential difference Vsb of a MOS transistor, the larger the threshold voltage Vth of the MOS transistor by a substrate biasing effect. Therefore, the Vth of N channel MOS transistor 210 increases at time t3 at which source-substrate potential difference Vsb is large.
Herein, based on expression (1), if threshold voltage Vth is large, output current IDS may be increased by increasing the gate-source potential difference Vgs of the MOS transistor by the corresponding amount. According to a conventional technique, a large output current is secured for output terminal OUT by setting the gate potential VG of N channel MOS transistor 210 at a sufficiently high level in other words setting boosted potential Vpp at a sufficiently high level, when output terminal OUT outputs an "H" level.
In recent years, however, as further high density integration of semiconductor devices and associated down sizing of MOS transistors have proceeded, the thickness of a gate oxide film in such a MOS transistor tends to be reduced every year accordingly. As a result, the breakdown voltage of a gate oxide film is lowered, and the reliability of a MOS transistor may be affected by setting the gate voltage at a high level. Consequently, raising boosted potential Vpp to a high level is most unlikely in the future.
Internal boosted potential Vpp is generated by a charge pump circuit in the semiconductor memory device based on external power supply potential Vdd.
The charge pump circuit produces a high potential by pumping up charges to the internal boosted voltage node at a prescribed frequency, using a capacitor formed on the semiconductor device.
If current consumption by internal boosted potential Vpp increases, the capacitance of the capacitor should be increased, or the prescribed frequency should be set higher. Thus increasing the capacitance of the capacitor requires a large area on the semiconductor substrate, which gives rise to increase in the cost of the semiconductor memory device. Meanwhile, the prescribed frequency may be increased to only a limited level, and the efficiency of transferring charges is lowered.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 9-139077 proposes a pre-boost circuit which provides a load with current both from an external power supply and an internal boosted voltage node.
FIG. 17 is a circuit diagram showing the configuration of the pre-boost circuit. Referring to FIG. 17, an N channel MOS transistor QN1 is coupled between an external power supply potential Vdd and a node OUT1, and provided with an internal control signal IN1 at its gate. A P channel MOS transistor QN2 is coupled between internal boosted potential Vpp and node OUT1, and provided with an internal control signal IN2 at its gate, and the substrate portion is coupled to internal boosted potential Vpp.
When node OUT1 is boosted to the level of internal boosted potential Vpp, the circuit first turns on N channel MOS transistor QN1, previously boosts node OUT1 to the level of external power supply potential Vdd, and then turns on P channel MOS transistor QN2 to reduce current passed from internal boosted potential Vpp to node OUT1, in order to restrict current consumption with internal boosted potential Vpp.
In the circuit as shown in FIG. 17, however, when the level of boosted potential Vpp is instable, particularly at the time of turning on the power supply to use a DRAM, for example, the operation may be instable. Such a state will be further described.
FIG. 18 is a cross sectional view of the configuration of the pre-boost circuit in FIG. 17 used in a DRAM.
Referring to FIG. 18, an N well region 366 and a P well region 368 are formed on a P type silicon substrate 370, a P channel MOS transistor QN2 is formed in N well region 366 and an N channel MOS transistor QN1 is formed in P well region 368.
P type silicon substrate 370 is supplied with a negative potential Vbb through a P type impurity region 364, and N well region 366 is supplied with an internal boosted potential Vpp through an N type impurity region 372. A P type impurity region 352, the source of P channel MOS transistor QN2 is coupled with internal boosted potential Vpp, and a P type impurity region 356, the drain of P channel MOS transistor QN2 and an N type impurity region 358, the source of N channel MOS transistor QN1 are connected together to node OUT1.
A gate electrode 354, the gate of P channel MOS transistor QN2 is provided with internal control signal IN2 as an input, and a gate electrode 360, the gate of N channel MOS transistor QN1 is provided with internal control signal IN1 as an input.
Herein, immediately after turning on the power supply of the semiconductor memory device, or a terminal is affected by a disturbance, the charge pump circuit generating internal boosted potential Vpp becomes instable, which may cause internal boosted potential Vpp to be lower than external power supply potential Vdd.
In such a case, if internal control signal IN1 can turn on N channel MOS transistor QN1, node OUT1 is pulled to the level of external power supply potential Vdd, and a forward biasing is imposed on the PN junction between P type impurity region 356 and N well region 366. Then, a parasitic PNP type bipolar transistor formed of P type impurity region 356, N well region 366 and P type silicon substrate 370 is turned on, which could pass current from P type impurity region 356 to P type silicon substrate 370. Such a state could lead to a loss of data in a memory cell in the DRAM, and to a latch up.
Thus, if the potential of a well is pulled to the level of a potential generated in the semiconductor device, countermeasure should be provided in the circuit configuration to cope with an unpredictable undesirable situation as described above.

Semiconductor memory device permitting large output current from output buffer


Water-soluble azlactone activated polyalkylene oxides having improved hydrolytic stability and conjugates of the azlactone activated polyalkylene oxides with biologically active nucleophiles are disclosed. Methods of forming and conjugating the activated polyalkylene oxides with biologically active nucleophiles are also disclosed.

The present invention relates to azlactone activated polyalkylene oxides (PAO's) having improved hydrolytic stability, and to water-soluble polyalkylene oxide conjugates prepared therefrom.
The conjugation of water-soluble polyalkylene oxides with useful molecules such as proteins and polypeptides is well known. The coupling of peptides and polypeptides to polyethylene glycol (PEG) and similar water-soluble polyalkylene oxides is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,337 to Davis et al.
Davis et al. discloses that physiologically active polypeptides modified with PEG exhibit dramatically reduced immunogenicity and antigenicity. Also, the polyalkylene oxide conjugates, when injected into a living organism, have been shown to remain in the bloodstream considerably longer than the corresponding native proteins. Examples of such therapeutic protein conjugates include tissue plasminogen activator, insulin, interleukin II and hemoglobin. In addition, PAO's have also been conjugated to oligonucleotides. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,582.
To conjugate polyalkylene oxides, the hydroxyl end-groups of the polymer must first be converted into reactive functional groups. This process is frequently referred to as "activation" and the product is called an "activated polyalkylene oxide."
Until recently, covalent attachment of the polyalkylene oxide to an appropriate nucleophile was effected by activated polyalkylene oxides such as polyalkylene oxide succinoyl-N-hydroxysuccinimide ester, as disclosed by Abuchowski et al., Cancer Biochem. Biophys., 7, 175-86 (1984). This polyalkylene oxide derivative is desirable because it is reactive under mild conditions.
A shortcoming associated with this derivative, however, is the fact that it is relatively hydrolytically unstable when no nucleophile is present. Recently, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,614, polyalkylene oxide-N-succinimide carbonates were disclosed having improved hydrolytic stability over the polyalkylene oxide succinoyl succinates. Even so, the pH conditions necessary to deprotonate the .epsilon.-NH.sub.2 groups of polypeptide lysines for conjugation subject the activated polyalkylene oxide to hydrolysis. This does not affect the reaction end product, other than to reduce its yield. While reduced yields ordinarily affect product cost, the hydrolysis becomes even more costly for several reasons. Firstly, reaction mixtures cannot be prepared significantly in advance. Additional purification of the end product is required to remove the hydrolytic degradation products. Furthermore, the reduction in yield is compensated for by increasing the amount of activated polyalkylene oxide starting material. This increases the viscosity of the reaction mixture, thereby further increasing the processing cost, and potentially interferes with downstream purification of the polymer and conjugate.
A need exists, therefore, for polyalkylene oxides that are unreactive towards weak nucleophiles such as water but react readily with stronger nucleophiles such as polypeptides. While azlactones have been reported to react readily with amines and less readily with water, azlactone activated PAO's are unreported. Unsaturated azlactones, in particular, are not altered by long contact with water. See, Carter, Organic Reactions, Vol. III (Adams, ed., John Wiley & Sons, New York 1946) pp. 198-239. The disclosed unsaturated azlactones have the following structures ##STR1## in which R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are independently selected from hydrogen, phenyl rings and lower alkyl moieties. R is the residue of an .alpha.-acyl amino acid.


The present invention pertains generally to the field of therapeutic compounds, and more specifically to crystalline forms of 4-(5-(4,7-dimethylbenzofuran-2-yl)-1,2,4-oxadiazol-3-yl)benzoic acid (referred to herein as “BHBA-001”), which, inter alia, is a (selective) retinoic acid receptor beta (RARβ) (e.g., RARβ2) agonist. The present invention also pertains to pharmaceutical compositions comprising such crystalline forms, and the use of such crystalline forms and compositions, both in vitro and in vivo, to (selectively) activate RARβ (e.g., RARβ2), to cause or promote neurite development, neurite outgrowth, and/or neurite regeneration, and in the treatment of diseases and conditions that are mediated by RARβ (e.g., RARβ2), that are ameliorated by the activation of RARβ (e.g., RARβ2), etc., including, e.g., neurological injuries such as spinal cord injuries.

A number of patents and publications are cited herein in order to more fully describe and disclose the invention and the state of the art to which the invention pertains. Each of these references is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety into the present disclosure, to the same extent as if each individual reference was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.
Throughout this specification, including the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise," and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising," will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.
It must be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a pharmaceutical carrier" includes mixtures of two or more such carriers, and the like.
Ranges are often expressed herein as from "about" one particular value, and/or to "about" another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by the use of the antecedent "about," it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment.
This disclosure includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Nerve Injury
As yet, there are no effective treatments for nerve injuries including spinal cord injuries (SCI), stroke, and peripheral nerve injuries. The inventors have identified a novel signalling mechanism—the retinoid signalling pathway—that can be stimulated in models of nerve injury leading to axonal outgrowth and functional recovery. See, for example, Maden and Corcoran, 2000. This pathway is activated by retinoic acid (RA) binding to the retinoic acid receptor (RAR) that acts in the nucleus to drive the synthesis of RNA and hence produces proteins for axonal outgrowth. The inventors have shown that the RARβ2 subtype is specifically involved in this process.
Retinoid Signalling and Neurite Outgrowth
There are at least three causes for the lack of axonal outgrowth of central nervous system (CNS) neurons after spinal cord injury. First: the presence of growth inhibiting molecules, including Nogo-A, myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) and oligodendrocyte myelin glycoprotein (Omgp) (see, e.g., He and Koprivica, 2004). Second: insufficiency of growth-promoting factors, which are well-known for their ability to promote neurite outgrowth in vitro and to induce some axonal outgrowth when administered to injured cord (see, e.g., Schnell et al., 1994; Lu et al., 2004). Third: the lack of an appropriate 'growth programme' by damaged neurones (see, e.g., Kwon and Tetzlaff, 2001). One factor that can induce such a growth programme is RA signalling (see, e.g., Quinn and De Boni, 1991). This is mediated by RARβ and retinoid X receptors (RXRs), both of which have three subtypes (α,β, and γ and various isoforms) (see, e.g., Bastien and Rochette-Egly, 2004). Transcription occurs when RA binds to an RAR/RXR heterodimer which then binds to retinoic acid response elements (RAREs) located in the regulatory regions of target genes (see, e.g., Bastien and Rochette-Egly, 2004).
RARβ2 Signalling Mediates Neurite Outgrowth
Retinoid signalling is important for the development of the embryo. When the nervous system is deprived of RA during development, neurite outgrowth fails, for example, in the RA deficient embryo (see, e.g., Maden et al., 1996; White et al., 1998). By using a panel of RAR agonists, the inventors have shown that RARβ signalling is required for retinoid mediated neurite outgrowth of neurons, whereas RARα or RARγ signalling has no effect (see, e.g., Corcoran et al., 2000). More specifically it is the activation of RARβ2 that mediates this effect (see, e.g., Corcoran et al., 2000) and this is auto-regulated by its ligand (see, e.g., Leid et al., 1992). Activation of RARβ2 by retinoids results in neurite outgrowth of cultured embryonic dorsal root ganglia (DRG), spinal cord, and adult DRG (see, e.g., Corcoran et al., 2000; Corcoran and Maden, 1999; So et al., 2006; Corcoran et al., 2002). When RARβ2 is transduced into cultured adult rodent spinal cord explants, which do not normally express this receptor, neurite outgrowth occurs (see, e.g., Corcoran et al., 2002).
RARβ2 Signalling Mediates Axonal Outgrowth
A test of the importance of RARβ signalling in axonal outgrowth comes from gene-deleted RARβ null mice. In a peripheral nerve crush model, axonal outgrowth is impeded compared to normal mice which express RARβ2 in their DRG neurons (see, e.g., Corcoran and Maden, 1999; So et al., 2006).
Furthermore, it can be demonstrated that RARβ2 expression is essential for axonal outgrowth in vivo by overexpressing it in models of spinal cord injury. In rodents, models of avulsion (where the axons of the peripheral sensory axons are damaged leading to forelimb paralysis), the overexpression of RARβ2 into the neurons of the injured DRG leads to axonal outgrowth across the dorsal root entry zone (DREZ) and back into the spinal cord leading to functional recovery (see, e.g., Wong et al., 2006).
Another model of spinal cord lesion is one that severs the corticospinal tract (CST). The cell bodies of these CST neurons are located in the brain. The CST forms the major descending pathway in the dorsal columns of the spinal cord and their damage results in functional impairments of some motor tasks. The CST lesion can be achieved by the crush of the spinal cord at the level of C4 in rodents. This results in loss of function of the forelimbs. Recently, it has been demonstrated that overexpression of RARβ2 by lentiviral vectors in adult CST neurons results in outgrowth of CST axons and functional recovery of the forelimb (see, e.g., Yip et al., 2006).
The inventors have now shown that RARβ agonists are likely to be useful in the treatment of nerve injury. RARβ agonists initiate axonal outgrowth in models of nerve injury and functional recovery occurs. Studies demonstrating these findings are described in more detail in the Examples below.    Lund et al., 2005, describes certain 4,4′-biphenylcarboxylic acid compounds that allegedly have RARβ2 agonist activity.    Kikuchi et al., 2000, describes certain tetrahydro-tetramethyl-2-quinoxaline compounds that allegedly have RARα agonist activity.    Yoshimura et al., 2000, describes certain benzofuranyl-pyrrole and benzothiophenyl-pyrrole compounds that allegedly have RARα agonist activity.    Seino et al., 2004, describes the use of an RARα agonist, ER-38925, in the prevention of acute and chronic allograft rejection.    Tagami et al., 2000a, Tagami et al., 2000b, and Tagami et al., 2002 all describe certain compounds allegedly exhibiting retinoic acid receptor agonism.    Kikuchi et al., 2001 describes certain compound allegedly having the activity of retinoic acid.    Tsuda et al., 1999, describes certain compounds which allegedly are useful in the treatment of pollakiuria and urinary incontinence.    Cai et al., 2003 and Cai et al., 2005 describe certain compounds which allegedly are activators of caspases and inducers of apoptosis.    Olsson et al., 2009, describes certain compounds that allegedly have activity at RARβ2 receptors.BHBA-001
Borthwick et al., 2016 describes certain bicycloheteroaryl-heteroaryl-benzoic acid (BHBA) compounds, their activity in (selectively) activating RARβ2 (e.g., RARβ2), and their use in the treatment of diseases and conditions that are mediated by RARβ (e.g., RARβ2), including, e.g., neurological injuries such as spinal cord injuries.
Borthwick et al., 2016 describes the preparation of BHBA-001 in Synthesis 1 therein. In the last step, the methyl ester was deprotected by treatment with aqueous LIOH. The resulting mixture was cooled to room temperature, acidified with HCl, and the resulting solid was collected by filtration. The solid was dissolved in MeOH and evaporated to dryness to give BHBA-001 as "a white solid".

Crystalline forms of 4-(5-(4,7-dimethylbenzofuran-2-yl)-1,2,4-oxadiazol-3-yl)benzoic acid and processes for their preparation


The pneumatically actuated core chuck described and shown has a compression ram movable with respect to a sleeve to force jaws to expand outwardly for engagement of the interior of a core of web material. The jaws are pivotally mounted by means of links extending from the compression ram. The ram is mounted on a piston movable in a cylinder for actuation by the introduction of air under pressure into a chamber behind the piston.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to pneumatically or hydraulically actuated expanding chucks for supporting cores of web material during winding.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to reduce the time required for loading and unloading of winding and unwinding apparatus for rolls of web material such as paper, film, foil, textiles and the like, stub shafts or chucks have been provided for insertion into the ends of roll cores. The chuck is made to fit the inside diameter of the roll core and is expansible to grip the core.
Various mechanisms have been employed in expanding mechanical chucks. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,584,714 shows a core plug which acts by squeezing of elastomeric material in response to torque applied to the core. This solution is not effective for dealing with high torque conditions. U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,451 relates to an air-actuated chuck in which a tapered arbor pushes apart a plurality of wedges for engagement with the interior of a core. Such an arrangement can be subject to jamming.


A battery pack to improve assembling reliability in a battery with a cover frame. The battery pack according to the present invention includes a rechargeable battery having at least one rounded lateral side; a cover frame including a frame surrounding each of lateral sides of the rechargeable battery, wherein more than at least one groove is formed at both ends of the frame covering the rounded lateral side of the rechargeable battery. Therefore, it is possible to couple the cover frame to the rechargeable battery via the groove without deforming the cover frame. Also, the rounded battery and the rounded cover frame closing each other is an effect that assembly error of a battery to cover frame can be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relates to a secondary battery and, more particularly to a structure of a battery pack for coupling a secondary battery.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, compact, light-weight and portable electronic devices, such as cellular phones, notebook computers, camcorders, and the like, are being developed and produced briskly. These portable electronic devices include a battery pack so that the devices can be operated even where additional power sources are not provided. Currently, the battery pack employs a secondary battery in which charging/discharging can be executed when taking the economic aspects into consideration. A Ni—Cd battery, a Ni-MH battery, a Li battery and a Li-ion secondary battery are examples of typical secondary batteries. The operation voltage of the Li-ion secondary battery is approximately three times higher than those of the Ni—Cd battery and the Ni-MH battery, which are widely used as the power sources of the portable electronic devices. In addition, Li-ion secondary batteries are widely used since the energy density per unit weight for Li-ion secondary batteries is very high.
The secondary battery usually employs a Li-based oxide as positive electrode active material and a carbonic material as negative electrode active material. Generally, the secondary battery is classified into a liquid electrolyte battery and a high-polymer electrolyte battery according to the kind of electrolyte. A battery using the liquid electrolyte is called a lithium ion battery, and a battery using the high-polymer electrolyte is called a lithium polymer battery. A lithium secondary battery is formed in various kinds of shapes, such as a cylindrical shape, a square shape, and a pouch shape.
Among the secondary batteries having these shapes, the edges of the secondary battery in a square shape may be crushed due to shocks during assembly and/or use. In order to prevent this problem, the secondary battery may be used after coupling a cover frame to a battery that covers the edges of the secondary battery.
The secondary battery has a rounded lateral side surface, and thus assembling the secondary battery with the cover frame is difficult due to the lateral rounded side surface. The assembly workers push the battery into the cover frame, and as a result, the cover frame is deformed inelastically. Moreover, because the cover frame does not return to the first shape due to the deformation, reassembling the secondary battery with the cover frame is difficult.
Also, a rounded side surface of the secondary battery with which the cover frame is in contact is depressed, affecting assembling reliability of the cover frame.

Battery pack having a cover with at least one cut portion formed therein


A catheter includes a cryoablation tip with an electrically-driven ablation assembly for heating tissue. The cryoablation tip may be implemented with a cooling chamber through which a controllably injected coolant circulates to lower the tip temperature, and having an RF electrode at its distal end. The RF electrode may be operated to warm cryogenically-cooled tissue, or the coolant may be controlled to conductively cool the tissue in coordination with an RF treatment regimen, allowing greater versatility of operation and enhancing the lesion size, speed or placement of multi-lesion treatment or single lesion re-treatment cycles. In one embodiment a microwave energy source operates at a frequency to extend beyond the thermal conduction depth, or to penetrate the cryogenic ice ball and be absorbed in tissue beyond an ice boundary, thus extending the depth and/or width of a single treatment locus. In another embodiment, the cooling and the application of RF energy are both controlled to position the ablation region away from the surface contacted by the electrode, for example to leave surface tissue unharmed while ablating at depth or to provide an ablation band of greater uniformity with increasing depth. The driver or RF energy source may supply microwave energy at a frequency effective to penetrate the ice ball which develops on a cryocatheter, and different frequencies may be selected for preferential absorption in a layer of defined thickness at depth in the nearby tissue. The catheter may operate between 70 and minus 70 degrees Celsius for different tissue applications, such as angioplasty, cardiac ablation and tissue remodeling, and may preset the temperature of the tip or adjacent tissue, and otherwise overlay or delay the two different profiles to tailor the shape or position where ablation occurs or to speed up a treatment cycle.

The present application relates to cryocatheters and wands, i.e. to catheters and wands which are used to locally ablate tissue by extreme cooling contact. Such implements, henceforth generically referred to herein as "cryocatheters" or simply "catheters" may, for example, have an elongated body through which a cooling fluid circulates to a tip portion which is adapted to contact and freeze tissue. The invention also relates to cold-mapping catheters. In general, such catheters may be used to lower the temperature of tissue, such as cardiac wall tissue, to an extent such that signal generation or conduction ceases and allows one to map or confirm that the catheter is positioned at a particular lesion or arrhythmia conduction site. Cryocatheters, however, operate at lower temperatures, and are configured for ablation treatment, to cool the tissue to a level at which freezing destroys the viability of the tissue, and, in the case of cardiac tissue, permanently removes it as a signal generating or signal conducting locus. Such devices are also useful for tissue destruction in other contexts, such as the ablation of tumorous, diseased, precancerous or congenitally abnormal tissue. The invention also relates to electrically driven catheters, such as RF ablation catheters. These catheters have an arrangement of one or more electrodes at their tip configured to contact tissue and apply RF energy thereto so that the tissue heats up due to resistive heating, creating an ablation lesion that may extend to a depth of several millimeters or more. Such catheters have sometimes been equipped with coolant supplies in the prior art to cool the tip and prevent electrode charring, or to cool adjacent tissue and perform cold-mapping and ablation with the same instrument.
Cryo and RF ablation catheters create lesions of different characteristics, and in a cardiac setting, one type may be preferred for treating lesions. Thus, freezing lesions may take longer to generate, allowing the operator to terminate the ablation to avoid adverse effects, and the lesions may be of lesser extent, so that they heal more quickly. These factors may dictate choosing a cryoablation catheter when the treatment sites are located in a thin cardiac wall. For open surgery the particular limitations or benefits of one or the other catheter may be addressed by special constructions, such as providing two-sided tissue contacting plates for cooling or for providing RF energy through the target tissue. However, for endovascular use each type of catheter remains subject to distinct limitations.
Cryocatheters may be adapted for endovascular insertion, or for insertion along relatively confined pathways, for example through a body lumen, or through a small incision to and around intervening organs, to reach an intended ablation site. As such, they are characterized by a relatively elongated body through which the cooling fluid must circulate, and a tip or distal end portion where the cooling is to be applied. The requirement that the coolant be localized in its activity poses stringent constraints on a working device. For example when the catheter contact must chill tissue to below freezing, the coolant itself must attain a substantially lower temperature. Furthermore the rate of cooling is limited by the ability to supply a sufficient mass flow of coolant and to circulate it through the active contact region, and the efficacy of the contact region itself is further limited by geometry and physical properties that affect its ability to conduct heat into the tissue. The rate of cooling may change depending upon the effectiveness of thermal contact, e.g. upon the contact area and contact pressure between the catheter and the tissue, and may be further influenced by ice accumulations or other artifacts or changes due to the freezing process itself. Moreover, it is a matter of some concern that proximal, adjacent or unintended tissue sites should not be exposed to harmful cryogenic conditions. These somewhat conflicting requirements make the actual implementation of an effective cryocatheter complex. One such device treats or achieves a relatively high rate of heat transfer by providing a phase change coolant which is pumped as a liquid to the tip of the catheter and undergoes its phase change in a small chamber located at the tip. The wall of the chamber contacts adjacent tissue directly to effect the cooling or ablation treatment. By employing a phase change refrigerant injected at ambient temperature along the body of the catheter to undergo expansion at the tip, the cooling effect may be restricted to the localized treatment region surrounding the tip portion of the device. The dimensions of catheter construction, particularly for an endovascular catheter, require that the phase change coolant be released from a nozzle or tube opening at a relatively high pressure, into a relatively small distal chamber of the catheter. After the fluid vaporizes and expands in the distal chamber and cools the walls, it is returned through the body of the catheter to a coolant collection system, preferably in the form of a recirculation loop.
For such a cryocatheter, coolant is released at high pressure in a relatively small chamber at the tip of the catheter and recirculates back via a return conduit from the tip region. For cardiac ablation, the injection is controlled from a low rate of delivery for cold mapping or treatment site confirmation, to a higher rate of delivery used for tissue ablation at the mapped or confirmed sites. Thermal transfer may vary as ice accumulates on the tip. For other applications such as thermal angioplasty, proper treatment may require precise control of the cooling in other temperature ranges. The wide range of required energy transfer rates as well as differences in size, shape or construction of different catheters increases the difficulty of achieving uniform or repeatable catheter cooling rates. This has resulted in instruments that operate in restricted temperature ranges and with wide variations in their cooling characteristics.
RF ablation catheters for ablating tissue and cardiac treatment by the localized application of RF energy are of similar size, and typically employ a catheter tip construction in which a monopolar or a bipolar (split) electrode tip applies an AC electrical signal to tissue in contact with the electrode. In this technology, cooling fluid may also be applied to prevent excessive heating of the electrode itself, or to chill tissue and allow cold-mapping during a treatment regimen. Other special constructions such as the use of an electrically conductive saline irrigant, may be used to extend the size of the lesion, and cardiac signal sensing electrodes may also be spaced along the length of the tip, allowing a single instrument to detect and map cardiac signals during treatment. However, RF catheters typically operate quite locally. Resistive tissue heating falls off with the fourth power of distance, and while electrode cooling may somewhat change their heating characteristics, their limited range of operation often necessitates lengthy treatment procedures involving many iterations of cold mapping, ablative lesion forming, and re-mapping or checking steps. The necessary number of steps may require over an hour to perform.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a catheter construction that achieves an extended range of thermal transfer.
There is also a need for a cryocatheter construction that ablates tissue more effectively, or to a greater depth.
There is also a need for a cryocatheter construction that is controllable to provide uniform and repeatable thermal treatment over a wider range of thermal energy transfer conditions.

Catheter with cryogenic and heating ablation


The present invention comprises a system and method for auditing loan compliance with state and federal laws and regulations. The invention comprises allowing a user to display and enter loan audit compliance data and to interactively build a set of loan compliance rules. The loan compliance rules are built for all loan licenses available within a locality. The applicable licenses are then associated with a loan originator to form a list of applicable licenses for the loan originator. In response to a loan audit request, the system identifies the loan type and the loan originator, retrieves the applicable license for the loan type and the loan originator and then retrieves the loan compliance rules associated with the applicable licenses. The system compares the loan compliance rules to the loan data to determine loan audit compliance.

Lending money, that is, granting credit and borrowing money dates back many hundreds if not thousands of years. Throughout the history of lending, there have been many lessons learned that have been passed on in the way of laws that serve to protect the parties involved in credit transactions. Many laws are in effect to protect the borrower and to establish transactional standards and requirements. The Federal government, as well as the individual States, has enacted laws and regulations that impose requirements on companies in the business of originating and closing loans. The Federal government and many States also have government agencies to enforce the compliance of these laws. These laws provide guidance and requirements for businesses acting as lenders within the various jurisdictions involved.
Inclusive in these laws are clearly defined requirements for a consistent, complete and timely disclosure of transactional details. The requirements include but are not limited to costs and fees, the parties involved and their relationships, the cost of credit using standardized calculations, limits and restrictions on repayment details, limits and restriction on penalties along with many requirements.
The lending requirements are varied and complex. So complex that the only method that has been used to verify a business's compliance with the requirements is a tedious manual operation involving a person looking through all of the data in a loan file and trying to find and identify any violations. Because of the large amount of time it takes to review a loan for compliance, not all loans are reviewed. Usually loan review is performed only on a statistical sampling of the loans. Not only is this process subject to the hit or miss proposition of sampling, it is also subject to varying degrees of individual understanding biases in interpretation. Because the requirements are complex and interrelated, errors in the audit process can occur. In summary, the current process is inefficient, time consuming, subject to errors, non-standardized and also subject to the problems of small sampling.

Loan compliance auditing system and method


In a transmission network including multiplex transmission units A, F, G, D and E, when the line breakage has occurred on the OC-12 transmission path of the direction from unit A to unit F, the unit F detects the signal coming in from the OC-12 path indicative of the line breakage. The unit F inserts the APS bytes which comes in from the unit A into the undefined area of the OC-192 transport overhead which is reserved for the through-transport of APS bytes, and transports it to the unit G. On receiving the through-transport APS bytes, the unit G inserts it intact into the defined area for the APS bytes in the OC-12 transport overhead, and sends it to the unit D. In this manner, protection switching between the units A and D is carried out.

In today's digital transmission networks, the technology of synchronization has been advanced to such a degree that a communication network is synchronized with faster transmission apparatuses employing optical transmission. For functions and configurations of the digital transmission networks and transmission apparatuses, worldwide standards have been established such that a transmission apparatus and/or a communication network may be introduced in conformity to the standards to provide high quality transmission anywhere in the world. Examples of specific standards may include the standard (established in 1988) on a transmission system referred to as "SDH" (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) defined in Recommendation G.707 and so on by International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication Sector ("ITU-T"), and the standard (established in 1991) on a transmission system referred to as "SONET" (Synchronous Optical Network) defined in Standard T1.105 American National Standard Institute ("ANSI"), both of which define the configuration of optical synchronous communication systems and functions of transmission apparatuses.
The SDH and SONET standards are intended for the process (for transmission or multiplexing/demultiplexing) of synchronous multiplex signals (frames) which are the main signal section of digitized and multiplex main signals called "payload" added by signals called "transport overhead" used for the operation, administration, maintenance and provisioning (OAM&P) of the transmission equipment and communication network. The transport overhead has a pointer, which is used for the stuff control of phase accommodation and frequency justification. Based on this scheme, it becomes possible to provide a transmission system which is less susceptible to transmission delay and is superior in the OAM&P ability.
Transmission techniques based on this kind of transport overhead are disclosed in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 4-79628 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,257 for example. In regard to the transmission scheme with the intention of enhancing the latitude of SDH or SONET-based network organization, there is known suggestive article T1X1.5/96-085 addressed to ANSI for example.
The synchronous digital transmission network of this type uses the bidirectional line switched ring (BLSR) which is the ring-wise connection of OC-12 transmission paths for example. The transmission paths have their protection switching made conformable to the protocols of the Bidirectional Line Switched Ring stated in the ANSI Recommendation T1.105.01 and the MS Shared Protection Rings stated in the ITU-T Recommension G. 841. Specifically, the protection switching operation is carried out among plural multiplex units which constitute the ring network by use of the K1 byte and K2 byte, which are called "automatic protection switching (APS) bytes", placed in the transport overhead of synchronous-multiplex signals.
For grading up a transmission network, OC-12 paths in ring-wise connection are replaced partially with OC-192 paths which have a larger transmission capability. In this case, transaction of the above-mentioned K1 and K2 bytes needed for the protection switching operation is shut off at the multiplex transmission unit located between the OC-12 path and OC-192 path, causing the OC-12 ring network to fail to retain its protection switching operation. The reason is because the APS bytes sent over the OC-12 path is terminated by the multiplex unit connected at one end of the OC-192 path, and is not propagated to the counterpart of another end, as stated in the SONET and SDH standards. The APS bytes sent over the OC-192 path is used solely for the protection switching operation of the OC-192 path. Therefore, it is not easy in general to accomplish a network in which a section of the BLSR (Bidirectional Line Switched Ring) network of OC-M is multiplex to a network of OC-N (N is greater than M) having a larger transmission capability.
The sole feasible manner for this accomplishment is to send by through-transport the OAM&P information inclusive of the APS bytes, which comes in from the OC-12 path, through the OC-192 section. For example, it is assumed that multiplex units A, F, G, D and E form a BLSR network of A ⇄F ⇄G ⇄D ⇄E ⇄A, of which the F ⇄G is a high-speed OC-192 path section and the rest are low-speed OC-12 path sections. If a fault arises in the OC-12 path section E ⇄A, the multiplex units A and E detect the fault and transact the APS bytes which are coded in accordance with the BLSR protocol over the paths A ⇄F ⇄G ⇄D ⇄E by transporting through the OC-192 path section E ⇄G, thereby implementing the protectionswitching. This scheme allows a OC-12 ring network, even though it includes a OC-192 path, to retain the protection switching operation, and enables the network organization at a relatively high latitude.
However, the above-mentioned scheme can possibly fail to implement the protection switching in need in case a fault arises at a specific position of transmission paths. For example, if a fault arises in the transmission path section A ⇄F of the above-mentioned BLSR network, it is expected according to the above-mentioned scheme that the OAM&P information inclusive of the APS bytes from the OC-12 path should be sent by through-transport through the OC-192 path section and protection switching should be carried out. However, it does not take place this time. This fault differs from the above-mentioned case in that the faulty OC-12 path has its one end connected with the multiplex unit F which is connected to the OC-192 path. In such a case, even if the fault of the upstream path is indicated to the downstream multiplex unit D, BLSR switching (span switching or ring switching of BLSR) does not take place in the multiplex unit D. The following will explain the reason in detail.
In the SONET and SDH standards, it is stated that in response to the detection by a multiplex unit of a fault of transmission path such as the loss of signal, loss of frame, or AIS-L (or MS-AIS in the SDH), AIS-P (or AU-AIS in the SDH) which is the alarm for the STS path layer is transported to the downstream unit. The AIS-P is to set a "1"s bit string to the STS synchronous payload envelope and STS pointers (H1, H2 and H3 bytes). The OC-12 receiver of the unit F detects the loss of signal and transports the AIS-P to the downstream unit G. On receiving the AIS-P, the unit G further transports the AIS-P to the downstream unit D. However, in the SONET and SDH standards, the reception of AIS-P does not cause the BLSR switching of OC-12 paths.
Accordingly, any alarm information, either for transport overhead or payload, which causes the BLSR switching will not be transported depending on the faulty section, and therefore the BLSR switching of OC-12 paths which is needed for the unit D for example will not be implemented. Consequently, the OC-12 network is left unrecoverable. This signifies that the path which runs between the multiplex units A and D by way of the units F and G, for example, is left in the defective state, causing the OC-12 network to be inoperative.
A conceivable preventive manner against this impropriety is the multiplex units F and G installing the protection switching, i.e., BLSR switching, function for the OC-12 network, so that the units F and G are treated as nodes of the OC-12 network equally to the A and other multiplex units. Accordingly, the units F and G implement the BLSR switching of OC-12 paths in accordance with the APS bytes of the transmission frame of OC-12. At that time, the APS bytes for the BLSR switching of the OC-12 paths is sent through the OC-192 path section between the units F and G by being inserted into the undefined area of the line overhead of the OC-192 transmission frame. The BLSR switching is implemented by the unit G instead of F since a partial band of the OC-192 path cannot be operated for the OC-12 BLSR. This manner, however, necessitates the BLSR switching function for a maximum of 16 low-speed OC-12 paths, and it is not realistic from the viewpoints of system scale and cost.
The foregoing is an example of a fault occurring on the OC-12 path of the direction from unit A to unit F, and it is also relevant to a fault occurring on the OC-12 path of the direction from unit D to unit G. Moreover, in the event of a fault which is irrecoverable by the protection switching, e.g., simultaneous switching failure of the working line and protection line, on the OC-192 path between the units F and G, which is the case of demand of BLSR switching by the units A and D, switching does not take place by the same reason as described above.
A problem involved in the art stated above is that at the occurrence of a fault on a OC-M transmission path which is immediately preceding the multiplexing to a high-speed OC-N signal (N is greater than M), or at the occurrence of a fault which is irrecoverable by the protection switching on the OC-12 path, the protection switching which is inherently the case of demand by the OC-M network is not implemented and moreover the system is left in a state in which the OC-M signal is treated to be normal.

Method and apparatus for multiplex transmission


A user of a personal computing device may interact with a network-based travel service with respect to one or more travel items. The network-based travel service may monitor the users' interactions, determine user's travel interests, and provide relevant travel item provider devices information for generating user-specific offers. For example, anonymized user statistics, suggested terms for a user-specific offer, or estimated likelihood of acceptance may be provided to the travel item provider. The network-based travel service may receive and evaluate user-specific offers submitted by the travel item provider, cause presentation to corresponding users, and enable the users to accept, decline or propose modifications to the offers.

Computing devices and computing networks are frequently employed by users to make purchases. For example, a user may purchase an item from a network-based retailer using his or her personal computing device. In particular, the practice of purchasing travel items has been made significantly easier with the advent of network-based travel services. By employing network-based travel services, users may browse or search for travel items, compare travel items offered for sale by multiple providers, and purchase travel items via his or her own computer. Network-based travel services, however, usually serve as a passive intermediary between travel item provider devices (e.g., hotels, restaurants, airliners, car rental agencies, etc.) and users. In most cases, network-based travel services merely relay travel items or their combinations, and present them in a uniform way to all users.


The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of the Compositae family, Osteospermum fruticosum (L.) Norl., common name Cape Daisy, denominated `Seaside.`. The new variety is distinguished from its parents and all other members of the genera known to the inventor by: the ability of its flower heads to remain open in low light conditions, its distinctive coloring--the ray florets being pink and white and the disk florets being violet blue; its strong peduncles; and its dwarf, vigorous, broad-spreading growth habit.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of the Compositae family. The new variety is named Osteospermum fruticosum (L.) Norl. `Seaside`. A common name for the species to which the new variety belongs is Cape Daisy. The inventor is Mr. Masao Kanno, a Japanese citizen.
This new variety originated as a seedling from a controlled hybridization by the inventor. The starting material for the hybridization were Osteospermum fruticosum (L.) Norl. `Burgundy Purple` and Osteospermum fruticosum (L.) Norl. `White`, these two varieties being selected from the inventor's breeding stock in Japan. The objective of the breeding program was to develop a variety suitable for pot culture whose flower heads would remain open under low light conditions. The species Osteospermum fruticosum (L.) Norl. normally only remains open in bright sunlight.
In 1986, the inventor crossed Osteospermum fruticosum (L.) Norl. `Burgundy Purple` with Osteospermum fruticosum (L.) Norl. `White`. From this first cross, the inventor selected two seedlings designated Osteospermum fruticosum (L.) Norl. `Dwarf Pink` and Osteospermum fruticosum (L.) Norl. `Dwarf White` for further development. `Dwarf Pink` and `Dwarf White` were selected for their compact growth habit. The inventor then crossed, the variety `Dwarf Pink` with the parent `Burgundy Purple`, producing the seedling designated Osteospermum fruticosum (L.) Norl. `No. 24`. The variety designated `No. 24` possessed the desired characteristic: its flower heads did not close in late afternoon or under low light conditions. Variety `No. 24` remained partially open even at night. In 1989, the inventor crossed `No. 24` with `Dwarf Pink` and `No. 24` with `Dwarf White`. Seedlings from these crosses ranged in habit from dwarf to tall. The color of the ray florets of these seedlings included burgundy purple, white, pink and bicolor varieties. Six seedlings from the crosses of `Dwarf Pink` and `Dwarf White` with `No. 24` were selected for further investigation and were propagated by self-pollination. In the spring of 1990, the inventor propagated the six selected varieties by cuttings to determine if the color and other characteristics where fixed. Four varieties were determined to have fixed distinguishing characteristics after asexual propagation, one of which is the new cultivar described herein named `Seaside.` The controlled hybridization was conducted at the Sakata Seed Chogo Research Station, 2633 Kamiyadai Chogo, Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture 252, Japan, under usual commercial nursery conditions.
The new variety is particularly suitable for commercial pot culture because of its strong peduncles; dwarf, spreading, compact growing habit; all day blooming habit; profusion of flower heads; and long blooming season (recurrent the year round at Salinas, Calif.).
The characteristics of the new variety which in combination distinguish it from its parents and all other varieties known to the inventor are: the ability of its flower heads to remain open in low light conditions; its distinctive coloring -- the upper sides of the petals of the ray florets having pink tips (R.H.S. 73B Red -- Purple Group) and white bases (R.H.S. 155C White Group), and the disk florets being R.H.S. 89C Violet -- Blue Group; its strong peduncles; and its dwarf, vigorous, broad-spreading growth habit.
The distinguishing characteristics are retained through successive generations when asexually reproduced by vegetative cuttings of terminal shoots. Since the inventor's discovery and initial asexual propagation of the new variety in Japan, the assignee, under the direction and control of the inventor, has also asexually reproduced the new variety through successive generations by means of cuttings at its commercial nursery in Salinas, Calif., and has found that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed remain firmly fixed.
The following table compares the new variety to the closest varieties known to the inventor. These are Osteospermum fruticosum (L.) Norl. `Moire`, and Osteospermum fruticosum (L.) Norl. `Burgundy Purple`.
______________________________________ New cultivar `Burgundy `Seaside` `Moire` `Purple` ______________________________________ Response to low flower heads flower heads flower heads light conditions remain open close close Color of mature Tips: R.H.S. 73B pink purple ray florets (upper Base: R.H.S. side) 155C Growth habit of strong weak strong peduncles. General growth dwarf, vigorous, tall, vigorous, tall, narrow habit. broad medium ______________________________________
The following table compares the new variety with the selected members of its generation of the inventor's hybridization along selected distinguishing characteristics:
______________________________________ New cultivar New cultivar `Brightside` `Seaside` U.S. Ser. No.: U.S. Ser. No.: 08/707,927 08/707,928 ______________________________________ Color of mature pure white Tips: R.H.S. 73B ray florets (upper side) Base: R.H.S. 155C Color of disk florets R.H.S. 90C R.H.S. 89C General growth habit. dwarf, vigorous, dwarf, vigorous, broad spreading broad spreading ______________________________________ New cultivar New cultivar: `Highside` `Wildside` U.S. Ser. No.: U.S. Ser. No.: 08/707,926 08/711,481 ______________________________________ Color of mature R.H.S. 72B R.H.S. 71A ray florets (upper side) Color of disk florets R.H.S. 89C R.H.S. 90C General growth habit. dwarf, vigorous, dwarf, vigorous, medium spreading medium spreading ______________________________________