A water jet edge trimming station for trimming the edges of coated paper during on-machine operation includes backsplash compensating features. The edge trimming station has a cutting station over which the web travels to be cut. The water jet travels along a water jet axis to a point of impingement at the cutting station to cut the web. The cutting station has an effluent receiving aperture at the point of impingement. A negative pressure mixing zone located below the aperture draws effluent by-products or backsplash associated with cutting of the web below the cutting surface of the web. The water jet axis is offset a first predetermined angle chosen relative to a normal axis passing at right angles through the point of impingement to reduce backsplash. The water axis jet is rotated about the normal axis by a second predetermined angle to direct the effluent by-products away from the water jet nozzle and the traveling web. The water jet cutting apparatus has positive air pressure chamber surrounding the nozzle head of the water jet to maintain an air flow over the nozzle head driving effluent backsplash away from the nozzle head.

In the papermaking industry certain applications require edge trimming of the paper web during web travel in the papermaking machine. One such application occurs in the manufacture of coated paper. Coating can be done "on-machine" or "off-machine". Coating on-machine means that the paper is made in the normal fashion and an additional coating station is provided such that the paper is coated as it travels in the papermaking process.
During the coating process the "raw stock" paper is coated across the width of the web except for the edges of the paper where a trim of 0.5 to 3 inches of the paper web is not coated. Both sides of the paper web may be coated with plastic or paint products which can make up a significant part of the paper weight. The uncoated edges must be trimmed off before processing the paper further, such processing involving calendering or supercalendering, for example. This trimming step is typically done by means of a mating pair of rotary slitting knives. Slitting knives, or "slitters" are used to trim paper edges after the coating station thereby removing un-coated edges of the paper from the traveling web. Slitters are also employed upstream of the coating station to cut the paper web prior to coating preventing cracked edges from entering the coater because coating of cracked edges leads to further complications.
There are disadvantages associated with the use of knives. Knives require high maintenance due to abrasive wear of the coating filler material, i.e. calcium carbonate or titanium dioxide. Further, slitter knives have a tendency to separate (jamming) when flying splices of overlapping paper sections joined together by tape having triple the basis weight pass by the knife slitters. Jamming leads to paper breaks. Also, slitter knives are very sensitive to paper wrinkles that enter the slitting zone resulting in edge tearing of the paper. Further, it is very difficult to enter the running paper web into the paired slitter knives without crimping the edge which can lead to web breaking.
For the above stated reasons, it is standard practice in the paper making industry to avoid cutting the trim on the on-machine coater, because one paper break may cost up to $8000 in lost production time. To avoid the potential hazards associated with on-machine trimming, trimming is usually done off-machine on a re-reeler machine which is a separate machine used to un-reel, edge trim and re-reel the paper web. Such a re-reeler operation requires significant labour costs to operate in addition to the capital costs of purchasing such a machine. Clearly, on-machine trimming of the edge of the paper web during the coating section of the machine would be the preferred choice of manufacture if the risks associated with web breakage by edge trimming after the coating station could be avoided or reduced.
If a water jet could be used to trim the edge of the coated paper, then the disadvantages associated with the use of rotary knives in the on-machine edge trimming would be avoided. The pressure of the water jet is sufficient to cut through flying splices of triple basis weight on the coated paper. Further, changes in tension which can cause paper wrinkling have no apparent effect on the water jet cutting ability to provide a clean cut without tearing.
While it is known to use water jets to cut a paper web, the general teaching in the art is to cut the web with the water jet impinging the web surface in a direction normal to the web surface to maximize the cutting efficiency of the waterjet. However, when this teaching was applied by the applicant to coated paper webs, some disturbing problems were experienced which adversely affected the cutting performance of the water jet.
One problem experienced with using such a normal directed water jet to effect trimming of the coated paper is backsplash. It should be understood that the water jet pressure and nozzle orifice can be chosen such that the water jet impinges the paper web at speeds in excess of 2000 feet/second or about 615 meters/second. The energy of this impact transforms the fluid into a gaseous state. This represents expansion in volume in the order of 1250 times. Consequently the gas stream formed by the water jet impinging the web results in a cloud of fumes when the paper is of sufficient weight and thickness to backsplash minute portions of the water jet spray. The fumes and atomized paper particles backsplash towards the nozzle head of the water jet. The coating mass on the paper which contains calcium carbonate is splashed from the cutting surface back to the nozzle head and is also sprayed on other parts of the paper. During use, the fine particles of calcium lump together to form and build up extending down from the nozzle to the surface of the paper in a gummy "stalacite" type of deposit. Eventually this "stalactite" type of deposit breaks off in a lump and travels on the boundary layer of the good paper web to the wind up station where the lumped particles are glued to the next layer of paper. Upon un-winding, the glued together layers are ripped at the edge leading to complete web breaks across the paper web. Clearly, this will result in down time to re-splice and feed the tail of the paper web through the machine. Furthermore, splattering of the calcium deposits on the boundary edge of the coated paper deteriorates paper quality.
The use of water jets to perform slitting, tail cutting and trimming has been disclosed in the patent literature, but there is no disclosure as to how to use the water jets to cut an "unfriendly" paper web such as coated paper during on-machine operation. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,996,825 issued Dec. 14, 1976 to Rupert Terry discloses a water jet cutter for cutting and trimming a web. A first water jet impinges the web from below the web at a normal angle of 90.degree. to the plane of the web. A second water jet impinges the web from above the web at the same point as the lower water jet impinges the web. The upper or second water jet is angled relative to the vertical axis or axis normal to the plane of the web to direct the second water jet towards the outside edge of the paper web such that the water jet forces the cut web edge away from the existing web to the outside of the cutting station. The patent teaches that various angles relative to the vertical can be used by the second water jet as long as the jet is emitted directly downwardly and toward the outside edge. A suitable angle is typically about 45 degrees. Such a trimmer would not work in cutting coated paper because splashing from each water jet onto the other water jet is subject to the problems associated with the above noted trimming of coated paper on-machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,068,513 issued Nov. 26, 1991 to Donald Gangemi teaches a water jet cutter that is used with a laser as a slitter. In one embodiment, the water jet cutter is angled rearwardly or upstream with respect to the direction of web travel. However, the patent teaches that the relative orientation of the water jet nozzle and the laser is not deemed to be of critical importance so long as the water jet nozzle and the laser are focused at the same general spot on the traveling web. Also, DE patent application 4,28,272 laid open Oct. 29, 1992 in the name of J. M. Voith GmbH discloses the use of either rotary cutters, water jets or lasers to cut a tail in a paper by angling the resultant cut with a vector component in opposing direction to the direction of web travel and in a second direction into the center of the web away from the edge of the web. Again these patents are not concerned with backsplash and would be subject to waste deposit build upon the nozzle heads and laser heads.
While prior art water jet cutters for use in tail cutting, slitting and to a lesser extent trimming are known in the paper making industry, none of these patents addresses the problems associated with backsplash and the effects of backsplash on clotting the nozzle and effecting paper quality as a result of cutting through coated paper on-machine. There is a need for a water jet edge trimming system which is not subject to the disadvantages associated with the knife edge trimmers of the prior art.

Water jet edge trimming station for use in papermaking machine


Novel inocula for administration to ruminant animals such as cattle or sheep are provided in order to immunize the animals and lessen the incidence of liver abscesses and/or foot rot therein. In one aspect, the invention pertains to an A. pyogenes-derived vaccine including an inactivated cell culture product (e.g., cell-elaborated supernatant) from A. pyogenes cell culture in a suitable carrier. In another aspect, the invention relates to a multivalent vaccine including at least first and second bacterial components in a carrier; the first component comprises an inactivated cell culture product of A. pyogenes whereas the second component comprises an inactivated cell culture product of F. necrophorum. The inocula of the present invention find particular utility in incidences where ruminant animals are particularly subject to A. pyogenes infection leading to liver abscesses and/or foot rot, e.g., where the animals are regularly treated with an antibiotic or where cattle are fed a high grain content concentrate diet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with novel inocula for administration to cattle or sheep in order to lessen or prevent the incidence of liver abscesses and/or foot rot. More particularly, the invention pertains to such inocula, methods of preparing the same and methods of lessening the incidence of liver abscesses and/or foot rot in cattle or sheep via administration of the inocula. In one aspect, the invention relates to an A. pyogenes-derived inoculum, and in another aspect to a multivalent inoculum comprising a first bacterial component in the form of an inactivated cell culture product of A. pyogenes and a second bacterial component in the form of an inactivated cell culture product of F. necrophorum.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Liver abscesses in feed lot cattle are a serious economic problem, causing condemnation of over 3 million livers and an estimated loss of $15 million annually in the United States. This estimate is based primarily on condemnation of liver and other organs, and does not include economic losses stemming from reduced feed efficiencies and lowered weight gains. A number of studies have confirmed that cattle with abscessed livers gain less (average 4-5%) and have reduced feed efficiencies (average 7%) compared with cattle having healthy livers. The average incidence of abscessed liver in grain-fed cattle approximates 25-30%.
Liver abscesses in cattle are part of a disease complex where the abscessation is secondary to primary foci of infection in the rumen epithelium. The pathogenesis can be summarized as follows: (1) ruminal lesions are induced by acidosis that follows rapid change in diet from high-roughage to high grain, prolonged feeding of high grain diet (sometimes referred to as an all-concentrate diet), or occasionally by foreign body penetration of the rumen epithelium; (2) bacteria present in the rumen invade the epithelium and form focal abscesses in the rumen wall; and (3) bacteria enter the portal circulation, and are carried to the liver where they localize in the parenchyma with subsequent abscess formation.
F. necrophorum is the primary etiologic agent of liver abscesses in ruminant animals. The organism has been recognized as an animal and human pathogen since the late 1800s, and is associated with numerous necrotic disease conditions in domestic and wild animals. In addition to liver abscesses, the organism is also the primary etiologic agent of foot rot, foot abscesses, calf diphtheria, and is frequently isolated from cases of mastitis, metritis, and necrotic lesions of the oral cavity.
The ability of F. necrophorum to establish in the liver is attributed to the production of a toxin called leukotoxin (or leucocidin). The toxin is soluble, proteinaceous and has specificity for bovine leukocytes. The leukotoxin is believed to aid in the establishment of F. necrophorum in the liver by directly impairing the normal defense mechanism and indirectly by the damage caused by cytolytic products released from neutrophils and macrophages to the hepatic cells. Therefore, the leukotoxin elaborated from F. necrophorum plays a critical role in F. necrophorum infection of the liver.
F. necrophorum is a gram-negative, nonsporeforming, nonmotile, strictly anaerobic and pleomorphic organism. Morphologically, the organism varies from short rods to filamentous with pointed and rounded ends. Cell lengths range from coracoid bodies of 0.5-0.7 .mu.m in diameter to filaments over 100 .mu.m. Surface colonies are 1-2 mm in diameter, circular, transparent to opaque, and with some strains producing .alpha. or .beta. hemolysis. The organism ferments glucose, fructose and maltose only weakly with final pH around 5.0-6.3. It ferments lactate to acetate, propionate, and butyrate. Butyrate is the major product from lactate fermentation. Indole is produced from peptone. F. necrophorum has been isolated from the normal flora in the oral cavity, gastrointestinal cavity, and genitourinary tract of humans and animals. The organism is also known to survive in the soil.
Four biotypes (A, B, AB and C) of F. necrophorum have been described. Biotype A, most frequently isolated from liver abscesses, is more pathogenic than biotype B, which predominates in ruminal wall abscesses. Biotype AB is rarely isolated, and has pathogenicity intermediate that of biotypes A and B. Biotype C is non-pathogenic.
It has been suggested in the past to utilize F. necrophorum bacterin as an agent for immunizing cattle and sheep against liver necrosis, EPO Application No. 460480 of Dec. 11, 1991. Specifically, virulent F. necrophorum isolates are inactivated using .beta.-propiolactone, followed by addition of adjuvants. In addition, Abe et al. (Infection and Immunity, 13:1473-1478, 1976) grew F. necrophorum for 48 hours. Cells were obtained by centrifuging, washing three times with saline, and were inactivated with formalin (0.4% in saline). The inactivated cells were then injected into mice to induce immunity. Two weeks after the last booster injection, each mouse was challenged with viable cells of F. necrophorum. The mice immunized with killed cells and challenged with live cells had no detectable bacteria in the liver, lung or spleen for up to 28 days. It was concluded that immunization of mice with formalin-killed F. necrophorum conferred protection against infection. Garcia et al. (Canadian J. Comp. Med, 38:222-226, 1974) conducted field trials to evaluate the efficacy of alum-precipitated toxoids of F. necrophorum. The vaccine preparation consisted of washed cells (unlikely to contain leukotoxin) that were ruptured by sonication. The most promising result was achieved with the injection of 15.5 mg protein of cytoplasmic toxoid. In this group, the incidents of liver abscesses was reduced to 10% from an average 35% in the control group. Finally, Emery et al., (Vet. Microbiol., 12:255-268, 1986) prepared material by gel filtration of 18-hour culture supernate of F. necrophorum. This elicited significant immunity against challenged from viable F. necrophorum. The injected preparation contained endotoxin and the majority of the leukotoxic activity.
PCT Publication WO 94/00556 published Jan. 6, 1994 describes novel F. necrophorum leukotoxid vaccines as well as methods of enhancing the elaboration of leukotoxin from F. necrophorum and of producing a leukotoxin vaccine. In particular, this publication discloses that F. necrophorum bacteria are advantageously cultured in growth media at a temperature of from about 35.degree.-41.degree. C. and a pH of from about 6.5-8 for a period of from about 4-10 hours in order to maximize the production of leukotoxin. Thereafter, culturing is terminated and the leukotoxin-bearing supernate is separated and inactivated to form a vaccine.
Actinomyces pyogenes is a gram-positive, cocco-bacillary shaped, facultative organism that is associated with a number of pyogenic conditions (termed "Pyobacillosis") in animals and humans. It is frequently isolated in mixed culture with other bacteria including F. necrophorum. In liver abscesses and foot rot in cattle, A. pyogenes is the second most frequent pathogen isolated. In addition to liver abscesses and foot rot, the organism is also a frequent isolated from pyogenic infections of a number of organs such as lungs, mammary glands, joints and the uterus. The pathogenic mechanism of A. pyogenes is not well understood. Some of the factors that contribute to pathogenicity include exotoxins (hemolysin or leukotoxin) and enzymes such as proteinase, DNases, and neuraminidase. There is also evidence that A. pyogenes in cattle synergistically interacts with other bacteria including F. necrophorum and the combination may be more virulent than individual species. However, no A. pyogenes-derived vaccines or inocula for immunizing cattle and sheep against liver abscesses and/or foot rot have been prepared in the past.

Multivalent inocula for lessening incidence of liver abscesses in cattle

Kansas State University Research Foundation


An underbody crash device for a vehicle. The underbody crash device comprises a pillar member attached to the vehicle. The vehicle has a primary load path for absorbing crash energy in a collision. The pillar member is movable to a deployed position for supporting the vehicle directly on the ground and positioning the primary load path to increase crash energy absorbed therein.

Automotive manufacturers are investigating devices that prevent a car from riding under a taller-profile truck during a collision. One known device is a movable bumper for a truck. Typically, this bumper can be moved to a lower position on the truck for blocking a shorter-profile car. Also, the bumper typically is located in a forward-most or a rearward-most location on the truck. In this way, the taller and typically heavier truck does not ride over and intrude farther into the car.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an underbody crash device for a short-profile car that prevents the car from submerging under a taller-profile truck.


A method and system for providing a client (102) with a copy of the authorization data that can be accessed and used by the client. The method is well-suited to key management protocols that utilize the concept of tickets. Two copies of the authorization data, a client copy and a server copy, are included within and forwarded to the client where the client is requesting a ticket for a specific application server (106). The client is capable of accessing the client copy of the authorization data such that the client can verify requests, and determine authorization of use for content and/or services requested.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to network security, and more specifically to a method and system for providing client privacy when requesting content from an application server.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The Internet is an insecure network. Many of the protocols used on the Internet do not provide any security. Data that is transmitted over the Internet without using encryption or any other type of security scheme is said to be transmitted "in the clear." Tools are readily available that allow hackers to "sniff" data, such as passwords, credit card numbers, client identity and names, etc., that is transmitted over the Internet in the clear. Thus, applications that send unencrypted data over the Internet are extremely vulnerable.
Kerberos is an example of a known network authentication protocol that is designed to provide authentication for client/server applications by using secret-key cryptography. The Kerberos protocol, which is available from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, uses cryptography so that a client can purportedly prove its identity to a server (and vice versa) across an insecure network connection. After a client and server have used Kerberos to prove their identity, they can also encrypt all of their communications to purportedly assure privacy and data integrity as they conduct their business.
It is with respect to these and other background information factors relevant to the field of network security that the present invention has evolved.

System and method for providing key management protocol with client verification of authorization


A canopy structure comprising a framework which includes a pair of spacedly disposed, curved tubes, a connecting member disposed between the respective forward ends of the two tubes, and a cross-member connectedly disposed between the two tubes at the highest point thereof. A forward horizontal beam is mounted on the cross-member and a rear horizontal beam is mounted at a position between the two tubes and to the rear of the forward horizontal beam. An adhesive strip is disposed upon each tube by enveloping means, and forward and rear glass panels are fixedly arranged on the canopy structure by means of said adhesive strips and by the forward and rear horizontal beams respectively. Also disclosed are a canopy assembly structure using a fixed column to fixedly connect one component having a metallic spacer with spacing holes to another component having mounting holes, and a cradle-type vehicle frame having a backrest framework.

In order that electrical bicycles can also be used by consumers under adverse weather, electrical bicycles experience new development. For example, the electrical bicycle further adds a canopy structure on top of the vehicle frame for avoiding wind and rain so as to bring greater convenience to the consumers.
The canopy structure may include a bracket and a glass or a awning fabric mounted on the bracket etc. However, the conventional canopy structure is not compact and may include a metal round tube framework, a plastic horizontal beam and a plastic inner plate. The plastic horizontal beam and the plastic inner plate are usually attached to the round tube framework through glue. As a result, the operating process is complex. Besides, the fixation performance is not reliable so that the overall strength of the structure is not enough to meet the demand. Furthermore, the function of the canopy structure is single and cannot meet growing consumer demands.
The conventional electrical bicycle includes a main vehicle frame, a front assembly located at the front of the main vehicle frame and a rear wheel assembly located at the rear of the main vehicle frame. The main vehicle frame usually includes a plurality of metal tubes soldered or fastened together for connecting the front assembly and the rear wheel assembly. The main vehicle frame also undertakes the weight of the vehicle body and the human body. Since the weight capacity and the pressure capacity of the metal tubes is limited, the vehicle frame consisting of such metal tubes is easily broken, which may affect the service life thereof. Besides, the conventional seat of the electrical bicycle usually lacks of a backrest and may bring uncomfortable driving feelings of the driver.
Hence, a new canopy structure and a cradle-type vehicle frame are desired to solve the above problem.

Cradle-type vehicle frame and canopy structure

Suzhou Eagle Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


An elasticized sock (22) is formed from a cowling of elastomer material which is so limp in the normally relaxed state thereof as to be essentially formless; and the sock is stretched about the outer periphery (18) of a movable boss, i.e., the welt of a shoe sole (2), the flange of a brake pedal, or the tire of a car wheel, and tightly engaged with the boss so as to interpose a portion of the sock between the boss and an interactive surface there opposite. Part of the elasticity with which the sock is stretchable about the boss, arises from the fact that the portion of the sock interposed between the boss and the interactive surface, comprises a network of elongated strands of elastomer material which lends elasticity to the portion. However, the portion also has an exoskeleton of elongated resiliently flexible coils of hard durable traction material loosely helically wound about strands of the network to carapace the network against abrasive action of the footprint of engagement between the boss and the interactive surface, and form a gallery of elongated protective cavities for the strands, i.e., the bores of the coils, within which the network can flex resiliently during the step of stretching the sock about the boss, and during any subsequent movement of the sock in relation to the boss and the interactive surface at the footprint of engagement therebetween.

The traction augmentation art is crowded with a wide variety of devices for the purpose. And many of the devices have seen commercial use. Many have also functioned well for the purpose. But all have suffered from the fact that mounting them on the boss has been a cumbersome process, usually involving a plurality of steps, including a step in which two or more components of the device are fastened together to releasably secure the device about the boss. In the so-called "tire chain art" in particular, this has always been a troublesome problem inasmuch as each tire is commonly engaged with a ground surface thereunder, and to mount the device, it is often necessary either to first lift the tire away from that surface, using a jack under the vehicle, or to first interengage the device between the tire and the surface, by driving the vehicle over it, and then to reach around the outer periphery of the tire to the posterior side thereof, to fasten or otherwise secure the device about the tire before the vehicle can be driven away on that tire. Often too, a further adjustment must be made in the device after the vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance, to assure that the device is tightly engaged about the tire and coaxially aligned with the axle of the wheel. Further adjustments may also be needed at a later time to assure that the device remains tightly engaged about the tire, and is still coaxially aligned with the axle of the wheel.
What is needed then is a device which is mountable so simply on the tire, or on some other boss, as to be engageable about the boss from a position opposite the face thereof, without the use of fasteners. What is needed too is a device of this nature which is both self-tightening and self-aligning once it is mounted on a boss, such as through self-adjustment thereon when the boss is moved in engagement with the interactive surface. Furthermore, the device should be something which is engageable about the boss without an undue amount of strength being needed to engage it on the boss; and also something which should be long lasting and durable in use after it is mounted on the boss. Ideally, it should also be quiet and smooth running when in use on a boss, and as quick and simple to remove as it was to mount on the boss. It should also be highly compactible when removed from the boss and placed in storage.
One object of my invention is to provide a traction augmentation device which meets these requirements, and which in particular, is readily mountable from a position opposite the face of the boss without fasteners, and both selftightening and self-aligning on the boss when the boss is moved in relation to an interactive surface thereopposite. In this way, the user need not do any fastening, tightening, or aligning of the device before he or she can initiate movement of the boss. Another object is to provide a device of this nature which can be mounted on the boss in the same fashion as a pair of rubbers is mounted on a pair of shoes to protect them against mud and snow when walking thereon. Anyone who has mounted a pair of rubbers on his or her shoes, knows that each rubber is commonly mounted on one of the shoes by first gripping one section of the rim extending about the top opening of the rubber and hooking it either about the toe or heel of the shoe, and then stretching the remainder of the rubber away from that point until the whole of the rubber opposes the face of the sole of the shoe, and can be slipped axially upwardly about the body of the shoe and then released to snap engage on the shoe and position the traction augmenting portion of the rubber, i.e., the bottom thereof, opposite the face of the sole of the shoe. He or she also knows that some final adjustment may be needed in the positioning of the bottom of the rubber, to bring it into total registry with the face of the sole, but that often in walking about on the rubber and shoe composite, the rubber will actually self adjust on the shoe until the bottom of it is disposed in full registry with the footprint of engagement between the shoe and a ground surface therebelow. This follows from the tendency of the rubber material to shimmy about on the body of the shoe until it has found a state of equilibrium or stability with the shape of the shoe.
Still other objects will become apparent from the disclosure of my invention which follows hereafter.


A network management system includes a main network management station and a backup network management station. Different physical and logic addresses are assigned to the two stations. The data packet(s) containing network management information has/have the physical and logical addresses assigned to the main network management station. Thus, only the main network management station can receive the data packet(s) containing network management information when it is in a proper operational condition. When the main network management station is about to fail, a packet (or packets) containing operational status information is/are sent to the backup network management work station, via a network. Upon receiving the operational status information, the physical and logical addresses assigned to the backup network management work station is modified as the physical and logical addresses assigned to the main network management station. Thus, the backup network management station can receive the data packet(s) containing the network management information after the main network management station has failed.

This invention generally relates to network management systems, and more particularly to a network management system having more than one network management work station with at least one of which being used as a backup management work station that may remotely communicate with a main network management station.
In selecting a specific type of computer system for a network management system, reliability is a key concern.
Usually, a smaller computer system, such as SUN Sparc work station, HP 3000 work station or AT&T GIS 3350 work station, is less reliable than a larger computer system, such as HP 9000 computer or IBM 3090 computer, because a smaller computer system may lack built-in redundancy features.
To enhance the reliability when small computers are used, network management systems store data in Redundant Array Inexpensive Disks (RAID), where several inexpensive disks contain the same data and operate in parallel fashion. In operation, even if one or more inexpensive disks fail, the network management systems can still properly function.
To further enhance the reliability, more than one network management station can be connected to the RAID.
FIG. 1 depicts a network management system including work stations 102 and 104, RAID 118, and front-end processor 122. Work stations 102 and 104 are connected to RAID 118 and front-end processor 112. Terminals 1-n are connected to network 126 and able to send data packets to station 102 or 104 via front-end Processor 122. Work station 102 or 104 can receive and store incoming data packets into RAID 118.
In operation, work station 102 can be chosen to serve as a main network management station, and work station 104 as a backup network management work station. When work station 102 is in proper operational condition to receive the incoming data packets containing network management information, it is not desirable for station 104 to receive the same incoming data packets, since the network management system requires only a single control station to collect and store the necessary network management information. Thus, front-end processor 122 can be used to direct incoming data packets containing network management information from network 126 to work station 102 when the station is in proper operational condition. Front-end processor 122 switches the incoming data packets containing network management information to work station 104 when work station 102 fails. By using work station 102 as the backup network management station, the reliability of the network management system is improved.
One disadvantage of the scheme shown in FIG. 1 is that a front-end processor is needed, which can be relatively expensive. For example, the current price of a typical front-end processor IBM 3780 is around 100 thousand US dollars.
Another disadvantage of the scheme shown in FIG. 1 is that each of the incoming data packets containing network management information has to be switched by the front-end processor, thus slowing data transmission speed.
The invention reflected in U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,719, filed on Oct. 19, 1995 and entitled METHOD FOR ACTIVATING A BACKUP NETWORK MANAGEMENT STATION IN A NETWORK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, can overcome these two disadvantages. Applicants incorporate this patent into the present application by reference.
FIG. 2 depicts a network management system (200) that can overcome the two disadvantages in the scheme shown in FIG. 1.
As shown in FIG. 2, the network management system includes work station 202 (chosen as a main network management station) and work station 204 (chosen as a backup network management station). Being both connected to RAID 218, work stations 202 and 204 can both get access to RAID 218. The data packets from terminals 1-n can be simultaneously delivered to work stations 202 and 204 via link 224.
When work station 202 is in proper operational condition, work station 204 is set in an inactive mode. Thus, even the data packets from Terminals 1-n are simultaneously delivered to work stations 202 and 204 via network 326, only work station 202 acts upon the incoming data packets with the IP and MAC addresses matching these assigned to work station 202.
When work station 202 is about to fail, a fault condition signal is sent from work station 202 to work station 204 via physical link 206. The fault condition signal invokes a routine (which can be stored in station 204) to set network management station 204 in an active mode. Thus, after work station 202 has failed, work station 204 will act upon the incoming data packets with the IP and MAC addresses matching these that have been assigned to station 202.
One disadvantage in the scheme shown in FIG. 2 is that there requires a physical link between the main network management station and the backup network management station. Especially when the two network management stations are located in two remote sites, the physical link may entail a substantial cost for installation and materials.
Therefore, there has been a need to provide a reliable network management system with reduced cost and improved speed.


Disclosed is an apparatus and method for treating and preventing urethral stricture following surgery. The apparatus comprises a hollow cylindrical stent having a normally-expanded, contractible locating member attached at one end and a retrieving string attached at the other end. The contractible locating member is attached to the tube by two flexible strings. The contractible locating member is adjusted to its contracted condition by a cylindrical pusher prior to insertion into the bladder through the urethra. Once the contractible locating member is located in the bladder, the pusher is removed to permit the contractible locating member to return to its normally-expanded condition to provide an anchor in the bladder neck. The two strings connecting the stent and the contractible locating member are placed in the prostate and external sphincter, allowing the patient to remain continent. After healing is completed, the assembly can be retrieved by pulling the retrieving string.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a urethral stent assembly. More specifically, the invention relates to a continent urethral stent assembly which can be used for treating and preventing urethral stricture following surgery, without the disadvantage of losing control on urination that all other types of catheter stents would have.
2. Related Art
The male urethra is a narrow membranous canal, extending from the neck of the bladder to the meatus urinarius at the end of the penis. The neck of the bladder is the point of commencement of the urethra. There is no tapering part, which would constitute a true neck. The bladder suddenly contracts to the opening of the urethra. The sphincters are located immediately below the neck of the bladder and around the commencement of the urethra. Their function is to shut off the bladder when the person is not urinating.
Urethral stricture is one of the oldest ailments reported to afflict man. Historically, the predominant cause was gonococcal urethritis, a disease presently enjoying a resurgence. With increased awareness of its danger, and with earlier and more appropriate treatment, the impact this disease has on the urethra has lessened in modern communities. The modern surgical era, particularly in recent years, has seen a significant change in the management of the disease.
After surgical correction of urethral stricture, followed by rejoining of the ends of the urethra, as well as after other similar surgical procedures affecting the urethra, there is a great natural tendency for the affected part of urethra to collapse and heal with scar tissue. Some patients will develop strictures again and require further surgery.
Urethral stents have long been used as a non-surgical alternative to the treatment of the symptoms of obstructive prostatism. U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,898 issued to Rosenbluth et al discloses an apparatus comprising an expandable dilatation catheter 18, a sheath 12, a dilatation balloon 62, a locating balloon 60, a flexible distal tip 14, a stylet 154, etc. The catheter is inserted into the urethra and remains within the irrigation conduit until the locating balloon is disposed within the bladder, at which time the stylet is removed. The locating balloon is inflated by an inflation conduit coupled to a source of pressurized fluid to force open the affected prostatic urethra and eliminate the obstruction.
Urethral stents have also been used to facilitate bladder drainage in individuals who are unable to initiate or control such drainage due to organic disability, immobility, or other physical impairment. U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,938 issued to Goldberg et al discloses a urethral indwelling catheter with incontinence control having a manually-manipulable control valve for controlling bladder drainage.
A stent placement instrument and method is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,720 to Burton et al. The Burton instrument comprises an elongated inner tube having an outer tube disposed along its axis adapted to carry and retain a self-expanding stent adjacent its proximal end, and an arrangement for releasing the stent, in combination with at least one of the following components: (a) a location member for positioning and fixing the instrument so that the stent is released at a desired location in the body canal, and (b) a member for releasing the stent in a retrograde manner. A method for placing a self-expanding stent in a body canal is also disclosed.
Other stents developed for use in urethra include the Urolume Wallstent developed by Medinvent and supplied by American Medical System, and an intra-prostate stent sold by Advance Surgical Intervention. However, these stents are made of metal wire mesh. They are left in the urethra permanently and therefore are subject to inherent complications resulting from leaving a foreign object in the body.
Structurally related to urethral stents is a gastrostomy tube disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,171 to Shermeta. The gastrostomy tube is intended for insertion into the stomach to supply and remove fluid. The device comprises a conduit 45, first retention bulb 25, 35, second retention bulb 40, first closure means 20 and second closure means 47. The two bulbs structurally embrace the two walls to prevent leakage from the stomach and from and into the abdominal cavity. The device is preferably made entirely from medical grade silicone rubber.
The insertion and operation of the prior art stents are very cumbersome. Special instruments are required to insert and remove the stents. Additional apparatus has to be attached to inflate the balloon commonly used to retain prior art stents in place in the bladder. Users of the prior art stents cannot have normal control over urination. Thus, there is a need for a simple method and apparatus to effectively treat and prevent urethral stricture without the loss of normal control over urination.

Continent urethral stent for treating and preventing urethral stricture after surgery


When a mobile station communicates with a base station by way of one or a plurality of other mobile stations, the mobile station acting as a relay station determines whether the data demodulated after being received is reception data for the mobile station or transfer data to be transmitted to the other mobile station or the base station, decides a modulation mode suitable for transmitting sum data of the transfer data and transmission data if the transmission data is generated in the mobile station, and transmits the sum data while modulating the sum data according to the modulation mode decided. The base station demodulates a reception signal relayed by the mobile stations according to the modulation mode of the mobile station having directly communicated with the base station, and identifies each user data multiplexed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile communication system, a mobile communication method and a mobile communication program in which a mobile station such as a cellular phone communicates with a base station by way of at least one other mobile station.
2. Related Background Art
Various communication schemes have conventionally been employed in digital mobile communication systems. In a system adopting the TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) scheme, for example, the whole bandwidth is used, a predetermined time period (frame) is divided into a plurality of unit times (time slots), and each time slot is used as a communication channel. The CDMA/TDD (Code Division Multiple Access/Time Division Duplex) scheme in which each time slot is subjected to code division multiplexing has also been proposed.
Modulation modes used in mobile communication systems include those of phase shift modulation such as BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying), QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) and 8PSK, and those of quadrature amplitude modulation such as 16QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) and 64QAM. By way of example, FIG. 4 shows signal points in the QPSK, whereas FIG. 5 shows those in the 16QAM.
The QPSK is a modulation mode for converting digital data to analog signals. It is used for efficiently transferring data in a limited bandwidth, since it expresses information by using both the amplitude and phase of a wave. As shown in FIG. 4, using two amplitude states and two phase states enables 2×2=4 values be represented in a single symbol.
As shown in FIG. 5, the 16QAM is one kinds of multiple value quadrature amplitude modulation capable of transmitting 4-bit (16-value) information with a single symbol. It can transmit a greater amount of information per symbol than the other digital modulation modes do, thereby being able to realize high-speed digital communications with a narrow bandwidth.
In conventional mobile communication systems, one of modulation modes may be set fixedly for each system or a plurality of modulation modes may be used adaptively. In the adaptive modulation mode in general, the amount of information that can be sent at once is increased by using a modulation mode having a greater number of modulation values if the communication quality is favorable, whereas a modulation mode having a smaller number of modulation values is used in order to reduce the influence of noise if the communication quality is unfavorable.
Also known as a transmission scheme is ODMA (Opportunity Driven Multiple Access). The ODMA is a communication scheme in which, as shown in FIG. 6, communications between a base station 50 and a mobile station 51, for example, are carried out by way of other mobile stations 52, 53. In this case, the mobile station 51 located in a low bit rate region can attain a higher bit rate communication by communicating with the base station 50 by way of the other mobile stations 52, 53.

Mobile station used as a repeater station when communicating with a base station


There is disclosed an apparatus and a method for feeding articles, the apparatus containing a tape transporting apparatus, including a transporting member having plural containing portions in succession, a cover tape for covering the apertures of the containing portions of the transporting member, a first reel for simultaneously winding the transporting member and the cover tape, a second reel for winding the transporting member only, a third reel for winding the cover tape only, a drive assembly for rotating the first, second and third reels, intermittent drive unit for driving the transporting member, control unit for driving the drive assembly and intermittent drive unit, an aperture for loading or removing the articles into or from the containing portions of the transporting member, a first detector for detecting the presence or absence of the article in the containing portion, and a guide member for defining the position to an article assembling apparatus or an article manufacturing apparatus, wherein each of these apparatus is provided with a robot hand and a main control unit to be connected to the control unit mentioned above.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for supplying an automatic apparatus for assembling or working such as a robot with articles therefor, and more particularly such supply method in which said articles are stored or supported in a tape-shaped supply member and said supply member is supplied in the form of a reeled cassette.

Method for supplying articles and apparatus therefor


A display system includes a display panel having matrix electrodes with scanning lines and information lines, a display information storage memory for storing display information, and a controller for comparing the information read out from the display information storage memory with write display information to be written in the display information storage memory. The controller stores address information for designating a scanning line corresponding to write display information different from the readout information and controls the matrix electrodes such that only scanning lines whose number is less than a predetermined number are scanned when the number of scanning lines corresponding to the stored address information is smaller than a predetermined number.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display system which realizes an intrawindow smooth scroll display and a cursor/mouse display on a ferroelectric liquid crystal display panel.
2. Related Background Art
A multiplexing driving scheme for a ferroelectric liquid crystal display panel is disclosed in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,561 to Kanbe. According to this driving scheme, a pulse of one or the other polarity having a peak value and a pulse width enough to satisfactorily cause one or the other of bistable aligning states must be applied at the time of selecting one scanning line. For example, if a selection interval of one scanning line is 150 .mu.sec, one vertical scanning interval (one frame scanning time) for 400 scanning lines is 60 msec and a frame frequency is 16.7. When the number of scanning lines is increased, the frame frequency is decreased
For this reason, when a shift displays of a cursor or mouse is applied to a ferroelectric liquid crystal display panel, an updating (rewrite) time of one frame is required to be 60 msec for 400 scanning lines. The shift of the cursor or mouse cannot be smoothly displayed. In this manner, an increase in the number scanning lines results in difficulty in a shift display using the cursor or mouse on the ferroelectric liquid crystal display panel.


Methods are provided that diminish UDPGdH expression in plant cells as compared to wild-type plant cells. These methods find use in increasing the nutritional value of animal feed and improving processes for extraction of starch from plant seeds. Also provided are expression vectors capable of diminishing UDPGdH expression in plant cells, and transgenic plants expressing diminished levels of UDPGdH.

Polysaccharides produced by plants are useful for a variety of home and industrial applications. Plant gums and starches, for example, are used extensively in food and pharmaceutical industries, due to their emulsifying, stabilizing, thickening, and gel-forming properties (see, for example, Sandford and Baird, in The Polysaccharides (Aspinall, ed.), 2:411 (Academic Press 1983); Azczesniak, in Gums and Stabilisers for the Food Industry (Phillips et al., eds), 3:311 (Elsevier Applied Science Publishers 1986)). It would therefore be beneficial to alter plant polysaccharide synthesis to improve the quantities of polysaccharides or to provide new types of polysaccharides. Modifications of polysaccharide synthesis also can lead to improved plants. For example, increasing the amount of cell wall polysaccharide during development would improve resistance of developing seeds to pathogens and insects resulting in improved crop yields.
UDP-glucose is a nucleotide sugar that occupies a central position in plant metabolic pathways, including the synthesis of polysaccharides. UDP-glucose serves both as a precursor in sucrose synthesis and in the formation of those sugar nucleotides required for the synthesis of cell wall components. For example, UDP-glucose metabolism leads to amino sugars, cellulose, sucrose, fructans, and other non-cellulosic polysaccharides. In addition, UDP-glucose can substitute for ADP-glucose as a starch synthase substrate, at least in the waxy maize phenotype.
UDP-glucose dehydrogenase (UDPGdH) [EC 126.96.36.199] is an NAD+-linked, four-electron transferring oxidoreductase that converts UDP-D-glucose (UDP-G) to UDP-D-glucuronic acid (UDP-GA) by two oxidation reactions in which UDP-6-aldehydo-D-glucose is an intermediate (Hempel et al., Protein Science 3:1074, 1994). UDP-GA is a precursor for sugar nucleotides, which are required for the biosynthesis of various components of hemicellulose, including arabinans, arabinogalactans, glucuronoarabinoxylans, rhamnogalacturonans, xylans, and xyloglucans. Evidence indicates that UDPGdH catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the synthesis of these cell wall precursors (Witt, Journal of Plant Physiology 140:276, 1992). UDPGdH is also centrally involved in the production of a variety of exopolysaccharide gums including xanthan gum and a variety of non-commercial gums produced by Streptococci (Ashtaputre and Shah, Current Microbiology 31:234, 1995); Lin et al., Biochemical & Biophysical Research Communications 207:223, 1995).
Since it is difficult to control the quantity and composition of hemicellulosic substances, there are problems with extraction of other useful plant-derived fibers and substances. Further, many naturally-occurring hemicellulosic substances and other polysaccharides derived from UDPGdH products are not useful commercial products due to their insufficient quantity and varying composition. Accordingly, there is a need for a means to improve and regulate the production of plant polysaccharides.
The present invention exploits novel genes that are highly and specifically expressed in developing plants to alter the regulation of UDPGdH activity, thus providing control of plant polysaccharide synthesis.

Plant uridine diphosphate-glucose dehydrogenase genes, proteins, and uses thereof


The improved billiard rack is an invention that allows a user to quickly and easily rack or position a set of billiard balls without the inconvenience or necessity of actuating an auxiliary ball positioning device. The rack includes NEOPRENE or the like compressible members that cause a compressive load to be placed upon a group of billiard balls when the rack is positioned on a set of balls which further causes the group of balls to be tightly and properly grouped or racked. The rack further includes angled walls that provide for removal of the rack from a group of balls without the walls colliding with the balls. The rack further includes feet upon which the rack may be rotatingly removed from a set of balls by rotating the rack in an upwards rearwards rotation motion away from the group of balls. The feet preferably include alignment marks that may be aligned with corresponding marks on a playing surface so as to properly, accurately, and consistently position the rack.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to racks and like devices for use in "racking" or position balls such as billiard balls into a proper formation such as a triangular formation in preparation to initiate a game such as a game of billiards.
2. Description of the Related Art
In playing the game of billiards or pool or the like, it is important to achieve "tight rack" of balls or balls that have been tightly racked, so that when breaking the rack of balls such as with a cue ball, the balls will efficiently transmit energy into surrounding balls and such that a good break is achieved. A good break would for instance be defined as significant separation and movement of the balls upon impact of at least one previously racked ball by a cue ball. A poor break would for instance be defined as little separation and movement of the balls upon impact of at least one previously racked ball by a cue ball. Such a poor break is often due to a loosely or improperly racked set of balls. A loosely or improperly racked set of balls may be due to a combination of factors including dimensional variation among the balls to be racked, inexperience of the user of the rack, and a rack that is not adapted to providing a properly and tightly racked set of balls. The disclosed invention seeks to overcome the noted problems with racking balls.
Many improvements to racks or rack like devices have been devised to improve the racking of balls. For instance, the following list of US patents and applications all disclose inventions related to billiard type racks and are incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Pat. Nos. 916,193, 1,052,461, 2,405,677, 2,422,939, 3,253,826, 3,672,671, 3,992,005, 4,005,861, 4,307,881, 4,452,450, 4,476,781, 4,903,965, 5,376,054, 5,556,341, 5,601,495, 5,735,750, 5,916,032, 5,997,404, 6,312,342, 6,595,862, 7,166,033, 20010044343, 20050009614, and 20050159230. However, the inventive concepts disclosed in the preceding list of patents include several deficiencies. Problems with the prior art include for instance complicated racks having moving parts, racks requiring the user to manually actuate a rack mechanism once a rack is placed on a set of balls to tighten the rack of balls, racks having tightening or compression members of inferior, non-resilient, or low elasticity materials, and racks being void of handles for use in removal of the rack from the racked set of balls. Furthermore, a rack that overcomes all of the above cited problems in a single product is heretofore unknown.


Gas influx into a wellbore, which is commonly referred to as a "kick", is detected during active drilling of the borehole. In a preferred embodiment of the invention a determination of mud pump noise round trip transit time T by evaluating a function T=(n-.PHI./2.pi.)f where .PHI. is the phase between standpipe and annulus signals and f is the frequency of a drill fluid oscillation caused by a mud pump and n is an integer which is incremented or decremented until the rate of change of T with respect to frequency is zero. An alarm signal is generated when the rate of change of T with respect to time exceeds a predetermined threshold. In another embodiment of the invention a determination of the Doppler frequency shift of a mud pump signal expressed as a ratio signal, .DELTA.f/f.sub.0 where .DELTA.f is the change in frequency measured at the annulus from the frequency f.sub.0 of the mud pump signal measured at the standpipe. The ratio is compared with a threshold signal to determine whether or not gas influx has entered the annulus.

Normally, hydrostatic pressure of the drilling fluid column in a well is greater than pressure of formation fluids, thus preventing flow of formation fluids into the wellbore. When the hydrostatic pressure drops below the formation-fluid pressure, the formation fluids can enter the well. If this flow is relatively small and causes a decrease in the density of the mud as measured at the surface, the drilling fluid is said to be "gas cut", "salt-water cut", or "oil cut" as the case may be. When a noticeable increase in mud-pit volume occurs, the typical prior art method of gas influx detection, the event is known as a "kick". An uncontrolled flow of formation fluids into the wellbore and up to the surface is a "blowout".
As long as hydrostatic pressure controls the well, circulation is accomplished by using a flowline, or the well may be left open while the bit is removed. If a kick occurs, blowout-prevention equipment and accessories are needed to close the well. This may be done with an annular preventer, with pipe rams, or with master (blind) rams when the drill pipe is out of the hole.
In addition, means are necessary to pump drilling fluid into the well and to allow controlled escape of fluids. Injection is accomplished either down the drill pipe or through one of the kill lines, and flow from the well is controlled by a variable orifice or choke attached to a choke line. Choke lines are arranged so that well effluent can be routed to either a reserve pit where undesired fluid is discarded, or to a mud/gas separator, degasser, and mud pit where desired fluid is degassed and saved. By using this equipment, the low-density fluids are removed and replaced with a higher-density fluid capable of controlling the well.
As mentioned above, kick detection while drilling in the past has typically been indicated by observing and monitoring the mud return flow rate and/or mud pit volume. Accordingly, most rigs which use drilling mud to control the pressure in the borehole have some form of pit-level indicating device to indicate a gain or loss of mud. A mud pit-level indicating and recording device such as a chart is usually located in a position so that the driller can see the chart while drilling is occurring. When a kick occurs, the surface pressure required to contain it will largely depend upon closing in the BOP's quickly and retaining as much mud as possible in the well.
A flow meter showing relative changes in return-mud flow has also been used as a warning device, because mud hold-up in solids control devices, degassers, and mixing equipment affects average pit-level. Such fluctuations in pit-level due to such factors recur periodically during drilling and may occur simultaneously with a kick. When such conditions are present, a return-flow rate may be the first indication of a kick.
To determine kicks as early as possible while drilling, the driller typically uses instantaneous charts of average volume of the mud pit, mud gained or lost from the pit, and return-flow rate. Preferably, the pit volume and return flow rate are recorded on the drilling floor so that trends can be established. As soon as an unexpected change in the trends of such parameters occurs, the driller checks for a kick condition.
Because a kick can lead to a blowout with possible disastrous results to the well, prior attempts have been made to obtain information as to a gas influx into the borehole before such influx affects pit mud volume or return flow rate. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,733,233 to Grosso and Feeley and 4,733,232 to Grosso describe a technique by which a pressure transducer at the surface senses annulus acoustic variations in the returning mud flow and another pressure transducer at the surface senses drill string acoustic variations in the entering mud flow. In the '232 patent, a downhole "wave generator" produces an acoustic signal in the sonic range. The signal is measured at the surface in the drill string and in the annulus. Changes in the measured difference between amplitude and phase of the annulus and drill string signals are said to indicate that fluid influx into the annulus has occurred.
In the '233 patent, a downhole MWD transmitter produces a train of pulses in the sub-sonic or sonic frequency range. The pulse trains are sensed at the surface in the annulus and in the drill string or standpipe with pressure transducers. A change in the amplitude of the annulus signal where no change occurs in the amplitude of the drill string signal is used to indicate the presence of a borehole fluid influx. A change in phase angle between the surface received annulus signal and the surface received drill string signal is also used to indicate a borehole fluid influx.
Such amplitude and phase comparisons of annulus and drill string surface signals which travel upwardly through the annulus and drill string respectively from an MWD communication transmitter are believed to be inaccurate under many circumstances. Amplitude comparisons of such signals are difficult in the real world environment of a drilling rig and deep borehole due to noise which is simultaneously measured in the annulus and drill string, and also due to variations between annulus and drill string mud temperature. The phase difference between the annulus and drill string signals is inherently ambiguous because the phase of the annulus signal may be less than or greater than 360.degree. (2.pi.) from that of the drill string.
The '233 patent suggests that a correlation function may be obtained between the annulus and drill string signals and that such signals have a fixed time relationship .tau.. The patent further suggests that characteristics of the annulus and drill string may be precisely determined on a continuous basis while drilling and that if characteristics of the annulus and drill string signals are disturbed in excess of a predetermined limit, an alarm may be energized. Unfortunately, a direct correlation process as suggested by the '233 patent has been found to be useless without an explanation as to how the annulus and drill string signals are to be "conditioned" prior to the correlation process.
Another technique for determining fluid influx into the borehole while drilling is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,212. This patent discloses energizing a transducer to propagate an acoustic signal down the annulus between the borehole and the drill string. A receiver is provided to receive reflected acoustic energy at the surface. Such acoustic energy is reflected from the bottom of the hole and also from the interface between drilling fluid in the annulus and fluid influx. This technique is believed not to be feasible in a real drilling rig environment due to the difficulty of distinguishing reflections from the bottom of the hole, reflections from discontinuities in borehole casing, and reflections from true mud density changes caused by fluid influx. Moreover, the technique of the '212 patent suffers from a practicality viewpoint because it requires circulation through the choke.
In light of the above, a major object of the present invention is to provide a practical fluid influx system for an operating rotary drilling rig.
Another object of the invention is to provide a practical way during drilling to determine fluid influx into a borehole by comparing transit time to the surface via the annulus and with that of the drill string of an MWD communication mud pulse train.
Another object of the invention is to provide a practical way of determining fluid influx into a borehole while it is being drilled by comparing transit time to the surface via the annulus with that of the inside of the drill string of drilling noise generated by the interaction between the bit and the rock.
Another object of the invention is to provide a practical way of determining fluid influx into a borehole while it is being drilled from a standing wave analysis of the magnitude and phase of periodic acoustic signals caused by the mud pumps of the drilling rig.
Another object of the invention is to provide a practical way of determining fluid influx into a borehole while it is being drilled from the analysis of the total transit time of mud pump beats down the drill string and up in the annulus in the case where two or more mud pumps are being used.
Another object of the invention is to provide a practical way of determining fluid influx into a borehole while it is being drilled from the analysis of total transit time of mud pump(s) pressure waves down the drill string and up in the annulus.
Another object of the invention is to provide a practical way of determining fluid influx into a borehole while it is being drilled from the analysis of a frequency or Doppler shift of the acoustic signals generated by the mud pumps between a standpipe and annular transducer.
Another object of the invention is to simultaneously require a fluid influx determination (1) from a mud pump standing wave analysis (2) from a mud pump beat propagation analysis and (3) from a transit time analysis of an MWD communication mud pulse train or a downhole noise source associated with the interaction between the bit and the formation before a fluid influx alarm is provided to a driller.
Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for informing a driller as to the location and size of a gas slug that has entered the borehole.

Method of and apparatus for detecting an influx into a well while drilling


A human body support, such as a chair, has a plurality of support segments that are arranged in an array. Each support segment has a protrusion elevation that is independently variable and controllable in its distance of protrusion elevation against the supported human body. A sensor is connected to a human body on the support and senses a human body parameter that can indicate the presence of drowsiness. A controller analyzes the sensed parameter to detect whether the sensed parameter is within a range indicating the presence of drowsiness. The controller applies a wave of varying segment protrusion elevation against the human body in response to the detection of drowsiness. The wave progresses in a direction from an inferior location on the human body toward a more superior location. Alternatively, a wave of electrical stimuli is applied by similarly positioned electrodes and causes periodic tightening and relaxing of proximate muscles.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for improving and protecting the health and alertness, particularly cardiovascular and mental functions, of individuals who are engaged in reduced physical activity, particularly when seated. More particularly, the invention is directed to sensing the drowsiness of such individuals by sensing a parameter of the individual's body that, at known values of the parameter, indicates a drowsiness condition and then applying stimulations to the body of such individuals to counteract the drowsiness, particularly by reversing the pooling of blood in the lower extremities of the individual's body. The applied stimulations are in the form of a wave applied to the body of the individual. The wave progresses from a more inferior location on the individual toward a more superior position. The crests of the wave cause a compression or contraction of the individual's muscles which pushes blood from the lower extremities into the upper body.
When a person remains in a seated posture for a period of time, the person's venous blood shifts disproportionately away from the brain and into the lower extremities. This pooling of the blood in the legs results in a reduced blood flow to the brain which, in turn, causes drowsiness and reduced attentiveness. When a person is engaged in normal physical activity, such as walking or other physical exercise, the normal periodic contraction of the leg and other muscles assists in pumping the blood upwardly in the body away from the lower extremities. However, when a person is seated, the person is engaged in reduced muscle activity so the muscles, especially those in the lower extremities, are less often or never contracted. Consequently, while gravity continues to attract blood downward into the lower extremities, the muscles are not assisting in moving the blood upward in the body.
There are several undesirable consequences of this pooling of the blood in the lower extremities. One consequence is that a person driving an automobile or other vehicle or operating other machinery becomes drowsy, inattentive and less vigilant. All of these consequences have an obvious undesirable effect upon the person's ability to operate a vehicle or machinery in a safe manner. Unfortunately this problem sometimes leads to increased operator error, not only for persons operating machinery, but also for others such as persons sitting at and operating a computer or a student taking a test in school.
There are also additional long term health consequences that result from excessive occurrences and lengthy time intervals of such blood pooling.
For example, blood pooling in the lower extremities contributes significantly to sleep apnea because the blood pooling causes retained fluid. The sleep apnea itself contributes to further drowsiness and inattentiveness because it results in less effective rest. The retained fluid results in an exponential decrease of airflow with resultant disturbed sleep, increased risk of obstructive sleep apnea and cardiovascular sequelae. The disturbed sleep results in drowsy driving, operator error and an increased risk of vehicular accidents. Disrupted sleep can also lead to some form of Attention Deficit Disorder. A method and apparatus that would reduce the pooling of blood in the lower extremities, of for example a truck driver, would not only improve attentiveness by reducing drowsiness and increasing attentiveness during operation of the truck, but would also improve the quality of rest and the improved alertness gained from the better rest.
Another health consequence example is that blood pooling as a result of physical inactivity can contribute significantly to the development of varicose veins. Prolonged inactivity from sitting causes blood pressure to rise in the veins of the lower extremities. If the pressure rises above the structural limits of the veins, a likelihood that increases with age, the increased pressure causes stretching of the vessel walls (varicose veins). Simultaneously, fluid is expressed through the venous walls into the soft tissue of the legs resulting in fluid retention and edema
It is therefore an object and feature of the invention to provide an apparatus and method for reducing the blood pooling while a person is seated and relatively inactive and thereby reducing the undesirable health and safety problems that blood pooling can cause. The invention is applicable to persons confined in a wheelchair, truck and motor vehicle drivers and occupants, aircraft pilots and occupants, heavy equipment operators, bedridden individuals, computer operators and students of all ages.

Human performance enhancement method and apparatus


The present invention discloses a dual beamsplitting element based excimer laser pulse stretching device comprising two beam splitting elements and one confocal resonator. The first beamsplitting element splits incident laser beam into two beams, one beam enters the confocal resonator, generates a certain time delay and then is incident on the second beamsplitting element, and the second beam is directly incident on the second beamsplitting element. The second beamsplitting element further splits each of the incident laser beams into two beams, one of the two beams enters the confocal resonator, generates a certain time delay and is returned back to the first beamsplitting element to be further split, and the other of the two beams is combined with other beams which are direct outputs after being split by the beamsplitting elements or being optically delayed by the confocal resonator to form a stretched output beam. The present invention may effectively enhance the efficiency of the pulse stretching, decrease the peak power of the stretched beam, and increase the lifetime of optical elements used in the excimer laser photolithography systems.

In manufacturing of very large scale integrated circuits, photolithography by excimer laser is one of the most important processes. At present, the primary laser source used for photolithography device for semiconductor integrated circuits manufacture is an excimer laser of Argon Fluoride (ArF) or Krypton Fluoride (KrF) with output wavelengths of 193 nm or 248 nm, respectively. In a photolithography device, a large number of deep ultraviolet optical elements are utilized, including reflective optical elements, transmissive optical elements, attenuating optical elements and the like, to shape, transmit and control the laser beam with wavelength of 193 nm or 248 nm. Among these optical elements there is a large number of elements for the imaging objective lens. The manufacturing of these elements for the imaging objective lens is difficult and expensive. On the other hand, when these deep ultraviolet optical elements are under long-term irradiation of excimer laser beam at wavelength 193 nm or 248 nm, color centers or other physical or chemical processes may occur within these elements, which leads to a slow degradation of their optical property until a disastrous damage occurs and the lifetime of these optical elements ends. Previous researches show that the degree of degradation of the optical property of these optical elements is directly related to the power density of the laser beam irradiation (P=E/τ, wherein P is the power density, E is the energy of the pulse, and τ is the pulse width). The higher the power density, the faster the degradation, and the shorter the lifetime. On the other hand, in order to enhance the yields of the photolithography devices, energy of the output pulse of excimer laser for photolithography is continuously increasing in recent years, from 5 mJ at the early stage to 10 mJ and 15 mJ at present. However, the pulse width of the output pulse of the laser is basically not changed, and is still around 20 ns. The increase of the pulse energy may greatly shorten the lifetime of the optical elements used in the photolithography devices, especially that of the expensive optical elements of the imaging objective lens.
One effective means for increasing the yields of photolithography devices with the increasing output pulse energy of the excimer laser but without decreasing (but on the contrary even extending) the lifetime of the optical elements is to stretch the width of the output pulse of the excimer laser. For example, if the output energy of laser pulse is increased from 5 mJ to 15 mJ and at the same time the pulse width of the laser beam is extended from 20 ns to 60 ns, the power density of the laser beam in the optical photolithography system is kept the same, so it does not affect the lifetime of the optical elements. On the other hand, if the pulse width is extended to 120 ns, the power density is reduced to be one half, the lifetime of the optical elements may be effectively extended and the use cost of the photolithography system can be reduced.
Since the output pulse width of the excimer laser is kept to be basically constant (around 20 ns), a pulse stretching device can be utilized to extend the pulse width. The method for stretching the pulse width of the excimer laser is mainly based on beam splitting by splitting elements and time delaying by optical resonators. In this method, one pulse is divided into overlapping of a plurality of pulses with different time delays, overall the pulse is extended in duration. A conventional pulse stretching device generally utilizes one beamsplitting element and one confocal resonator to achieve a ratio of pulse stretching (the ratio of the width of the stretched output pulse to that of the original input pulse) of around 2.5-3.0. If a higher ratio of pulse stretching is required, a plurality of pulse stretchers (in series) are utilized. For example, a Chinese Patent application with an application number 201010178364.9 and entitled "Pulse stretcher with a decreased power density within optical components" discloses a pulse stretching device based on one beamsplitting element and one confocal resonator constituted of two spherical reflective mirrors. The basic configuration of this pulse stretching device is identical to that of the conventional pulse stretching device except for that a folded reflective mirror is added to implement a compact configuration and a beam expander is added to decrease the probability of damaging the optical elements in the device. Other possible alternatives mainly include configuration modification of the optical resonator, for example a resonator having three reflective mirrors (U.S. Pat. No. 7,035,012 "Optical pulse duration extender"), a resonator with four reflective mirrors (U.S. Pat. No. 7,415,056, "Confocal pulse stretch"), and so on. In order to increase the ratio of pulse stretching, Burkert et al. [A. Burkert, J. Bergmann, W. Triebel, and U. Natura, "Pulse stretcher with variable pulse length for excimer laser applications", Review of Scientific Instruments 81, 033104(2010)] put two pulse stretching devices in series. In other methods for further increasing the ratio of pulse stretching, for example, a retro-reflective mirror is employed to reflect the stretched output beam back into the pulse stretching device for twice stretching so to implement a quadratic stretching (US2006/0216037: "Double-pass imaging pulse-stretch"). In these methods and devices, the pulse stretching systems based on one beamsplitting element and one optical resonator either have a lower ratio of pulse stretching, or the stretched output pulses have a poor temporal waveform. The methods and devices based on two pulse stretching devices in series or quadratic stretching by utilizing a retro-reflective mirror lead to a larger energy loss since there is reflection loss for every reflection (e.g. the typical reflectivity of a reflective mirror at 193 nm is around 98%).

Dual beamsplitting element based excimer laser pulse stretching device

The Institute of Optics and Electronics, The Chinese Academy of Sciences


An economical hypodermic syringe is provided. A retractable needle head is provided to slide along longitudinal grooves in the barrel of the syringe. Notches in the grooves engage teeth provided on tabs of the needle head, and lock the needle head in a predetermined position. The tabs are resilient, and if squeezed against the resilient bias, will disengage from the notches in the grooves. In this way, the needle may be partially or fully withdrawn into the barrel. In addition or alternatively, a needle cover is included which is adapted to serve as the plunger of the syringe. The outer diameter of the needle cover is narrower than the inner diameter of both the barrel and an ampoule.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hypodermic syringes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Plastic hypodermic syringes are mass-producible, and are intended to be sterilized or discarded after only one use to prevent the spread of blood-borne diseases such as hepatitis and AIDS from one user to the next. For example, if an individual using a syringe is carrying a blood-borne disease, a subsequent user of the syringe or a person inadvertently stuck with the needle runs a great risk of contracting the disease.
Plastic hypodermic syringes which are not pre-filled are usually loaded by the action of a reciprocable plunger which creates a reduced pressure in the barrel and results in the intake of fluid (medication) into the barrel. Such syringes depend on a rubber seal attached to the plunger to insure that a reduced pressure can be effected because of the wider tolerances experienced in plastic molding, in contrast to precisely ground glass syringes which do not require a seal. Withdrawal of the plunger with seal attached is now messy since the seal has been covered with fluid. Also, the syringe requires a separate needle cover to protect individuals from accidental and potentially hazardous puncture wounds and inadvertent disease transmission. Separate needle covers drive up the cost of the unit.
There is another type of conventional syringe that can be used with pre-filled ampoules. The syringe is provided with a needle having points at both ends, where one end of the needle extends into the barrel of the syringe. When an ampoule is inserted into the barrel, the internal point of the needle punctures the seal of the ampoule, and medicine is placed in fluid communication with the needle. Thereafter, a plunger is placed in the open end of the barrel; when the plunger is depressed, it forces down the stopper of the ampoule, which forces medicine out of the ampoule and through the needle.
There is a drawback to this type of syringe as well. Typically, the needle extends into the barrel (and thus into an inserted ampoule) so much that a significant distance exists between the fluid entry point of the opening in the needle and the bottom of the ampoule. As a result, any medicine in the ampoule below the point of the opening in the needle will not be forced out of the ampoule when the plunger is fully depressed. This "dead space" created at the bottom of the ampoule wastes medicine.
Moreover, typical syringes possess a needle mounted in the bottom wall of a barrel. The amount the needle extends from the barrel is fixed, and may not be altered. This reduces the flexibility of the use of the syringe, as some injections are supposed to be made deeper into the tissue of the patient than others (i.e., intramuscular injections are usually deeper than intravenous injections). Accidents may occur when performing an injection that is meant to be close to the surface of the skin, such as inadvertent extra penetration and related tissue damage.

Hypodermic syringe having retractable needle


Compositions of high and low performance elastomer are formed using a process that chemically reacts some of the high and low performance elastomers together to form a graft copolymer. The elastomeric compositions provide intimately mixed elastomeric compositions which are thermodynamically stable and do not phase separate. The elastomeric compositions exhibit a variety of improved properties compared to simple blends of the same high and low performance elastomers in the same weight proportions. The elastomeric compositions are useful for producing films, fabrics, and laminates for use in a wide variety of personal care and medical articles.

High performance thermoplastic elastomers are elastomers which, when formed into a film, strand or similar article, can be extended to a stretched length and retracted without experiencing a substantial loss in retractive force at an intermediate (lower) stretched length. While these elastomers typically have useful properties of high strength, low hysteresis, low creep and low stress relaxation, they are expensive relative to other elastomers and thermoplastic polymers in general.
Low performance thermoplastic elastomers are elastomers which, when formed into a film, strand or similar article, can be extended to a stretched length and retracted, but substantially lose their retractive force at an intermediate (lower) stretched length. While these elastomers are typically less expensive than high performance elastomers, they exhibit higher levels of hysteresis, creep and stress relaxation when stretched.
High and low performance elastomers have been blended together in various attempts to create blends which retain the performance characteristics of high performance elastomers to the extent possible, while saving on material costs. The blending has not resulted in elastomer blends having suitable hysteresis, creep, stress relaxation, or other properties. One reason for this is that the Gibb's free energy of mixing is positive, due to high interfacial tension between the molecules of high performance elastomer and low performance elastomer. The Gibb's free energy of mixing, or ΔG, is defined as the Gibb's free energy of the elastomer blend minus the sum of the Gibb's free energies of the components prior to blending, at a reference temperature.
When the Gibb's free energy of mixing is positive, thermodynamics favor phase separation over intimate mixing of the two elastic polymer components. Often, one of the components forms a continuous phase, while the other component forms a discontinuous phase of droplets or domains dispersed within the continuous phase. The phase separation adversely affects the elastic properties of the blend, and can result in melt instability during processing, and non-uniform gauge and physical appearance of the film or filament structure being produced. The tendency to phase separate diminishes as the Gibb's free energy of mixing approaches zero, and intimate mixing is favored when the Gibb's free energy of mixing is less than zero.
Accordingly, there is a need or desire for an elastic polymer composition including a high performance elastomer and a low performance elastomer, which combines the performance properties of the high performance elastomer with the cost benefits of the low performance elastomer. More specifically, there is a need or desire for an elastic polymer composition including a high performance elastomer and a low performance elastomer, which has a lower Gibb's free energy of mixing than a simple blend of the same high performance elastomer and the same low performance elastomer, in the same weight proportions, at ambient (storage) and elevated (mixing and processing) temperatures. There is also a need or desire for film and fabric layers formed using such an improved elastic polymer composition.

Elastomer compositions and method of making them


There are described a system, apparatus and/or method according to which collected history data from monitorable and/or manageable entities within a server estate or data center is used to tailor a model to the past behavior and/or loading upon individual ones or parts of ones of the entities. The tailored model can then be used to predict a future value for one or more metrics included in the history data for an entity or part of an entity under consideration. The predicted value can then be used to determine whether some form of corrective action is required in respect of the entity, entity part or some other entity or entity part. Alternatively or in addition, predicted values for more than one entity or entity part can be aggregated to determine whether some form of corrective action is required in respect of the entity, entity part or some other entity or entity part. A corrective action can be applied on an automated or on a manual basis.

Within data processing systems, it is commonly required to manage the physical elements that provide data processing services of some form to monitor the performance of the system and/or to spot errors or failures in the system and/or to provide efficient behaviour of the system.
The present invention has been conceived in the light of known drawbacks of existing systems.


A method of producing a nitride compound semiconductor component includes providing a growth substrate having a silicon surface, growing a buffer layer containing an aluminum-containing nitride compound semiconductor onto the silicon surface, growing a stress layer structure that produces a compressive stress, and growing a functional semiconductor layer sequence onto the stress layer structure, wherein the stress layer structure includes a first GaN semiconductor layer and a second GaN semiconductor layer, a masking layer is embedded in the first GaN semiconductor layer, an Al(Ga)N-intermediate layer that produces a compressive stress is disposed between the first GaN semiconductor layer and the second GaN semiconductor layer, and the stress layer structure does not contain further Al(Ga)N-intermediate layers.

Nitride compound semiconductors are frequently used in LEDs or laser diodes which generally emit in the blue spectral range. Depending on the composition of the semiconductor material, e.g., emission in the ultraviolet or green spectral range is also possible. By reason of luminescence conversion by luminescent substances, shortwave radiation can be converted to longer wavelengths. In this manner, it is possible to produce mixed-colored light, in particular white light. Therefore, LEDs based upon nitride compound semiconductors are of considerable importance for LED illumination systems.
During the production of optoelectronic components, the nitride compound semiconductor layers are generally epitaxially grown onto a growth substrate which is adapted to the lattice constant and the crystal structure of the nitride compound semiconductor material. Suitable substrate materials are in particular sapphire, GaN or SiC. However, these substrate materials are comparatively expensive.
Growth of nitride compound semiconductors on comparatively inexpensive silicon substrates is hindered by a comparatively large difference in the coefficients of thermal expansion of the silicon and the nitride compound semiconductor material. In particular, when the layer system is cooled from the growth temperature of about 1000° C., which is used for the growth of nitride compound semiconductors, to room temperature large tensile stresses are produced in the GaN.
DE 10 2006 008 929 A1 and WO 2011/039181 A1 each describe methods of producing nitride compound semiconductor components on silicon substrates. Those publications incorporate a layer structure between the silicon surface of the growth substrate and the functional layer sequence of the optoelectronic component to produce a compressive stress which counteracts the tensile stress produced by the silicon during cooling.
It could nonetheless be helpful to provide a further improved method of producing an optoelectronic nitride compound semiconductor component on a substrate having a silicon surface by which particularly small defect densities can be attained in the functional semiconductor layer sequence to achieve particularly high levels of efficiency.

Method for producing an optoelectronic nitride compound semiconductor component


In a key telephone system in which a plurality of data terminals 37l . . . 37n such as personal computers are connected to a key service unit 1 connected to a plurality of ISDNs 23l . . . 23m, a terminal adapter (TA) 41 is pooled so as to be usable in common for the plural data terminals 37l . . . 37n. In response to a setup signal from an ISDN (e.g. 23l), the key service unit 1 selects a single data terminal designated by a subaddress included in the setup signal from among the data terminals 37l . . . 37n, and closes a communication channel between the selected data terminal (e.g. 37l) and the TA 41, so that a status equivalent to that where the selected data terminal 37l and the TA 41 are directly connected to each other can be established. Thereafter, the key service unit 1 transmits a setup signal to the TA 41, and the TA 41 transmits a call to the selected data terminal 37l. When the selected data terminal 37l responds to the call from this TA 41, the key service unit 1 closes a communication channel between the TA 41 and the ISDN 25l, so that a communication link between the selected data terminal 37l and the ISDN 23l can be established via the TA 41. During the process until this communication link can be established, since the selected data terminal 37l and the TA 41 are in the status equivalent to direct coupling, the key service unit 1 is not concerned in the communications between the selected data terminal 37l and thus TA 41, thus reducing the operational load applied to the key service unit 1.

The present invention relates to a terminal adapter pooling system for pooling a so-called terminal adapter so that the adapter is usable in common for a plurality of data terminals, where the adapter converts a digital interface provided for a conventional data terminal into a user-network interface for an ISDN (integrated service digital network).
The user-network interface for the ISDN is prescribed by a new standard (CCITT Recommendation 1,430/TTC Standard JT-1430). Therefore, it is necessary to provide the interface for the terminals in subscription to the ISDN. In other words, the conventional terminal provided with a V-series digital interface such as RS-232D cannot be directly connected to the ISDN, so that a terminal adapter (referred to as TA, hereinafter) is required as an additional apparatus for converting functions of the digital interface into other functions. By use of this TA, the user having the conventional data terminal such as a computer can enjoy the ISDN merits such as high speed and high reliable communications. This TA is also required when data terminals connected to key telephone sets or extension telephone sets of a PBX (private branch-exchange) via the RS-232D interface are connected to the ISDN. In this case, since it is not economical to provide a relatively high-costly TA for each data terminal, a single or several TAs are pooled, and the pooled TA is selectively connected to the data terminal only when the data terminal is required to communicate with the ISDN. In this specification, the above-mentioned system is referred to as a terminal adapter (TA) pooling system. In the system, conventionally, when a calling party number signal is transmitted from the data terminal or a called party number signal from the ISDN is received by the data terminal, a central control unit for controlling the call processing and the exchange operation transmits or receives control commands between the TA and the data terminal via the RS-232D interface, respectively, analyzes transmit/receive data to/from the RS-232D, and controls various call processing such as TA mode control, data terminal alerting, communication channel connection between the TA and the data terminal, etc. on the basis of the analyzed results. In parallel to the above processing, additionally, the communication channel connection between the TA and the ISDN is controlled. In this case, the TA automatically receives a called party number signal and transmits a calling party number signal in accordance with the procedure prescribed by V. 25 bis of CCITT Recommendation. In the above automatic operation, it is also required to finely control the sequence or the timing of the communication channel connection, for prevention of data emission.
In the conventional TA pooling system, since the processing executed by the central control unit at the calling party number signal transmission or the called party number signal reception is complicated, there exists a problem in that a large load is applied to the central control unit.

Terminal adapter pooling system for ISDN