A medical probe device comprises a catheter having a stylet guide housing with one or more stylet ports in a side wall thereof and a stylet guide for directing a flexible stylet outward through the stylet port and through intervening tissue at a preselected, adjustable angle to a target tissue. The total catheter assembly includes a stylet guide lumen communicating with the stylet port and a stylet positioned in said stylet guide lumen for longitudinal movement from the port through intervening tissue to a target tissue. The stylet can be an electrical conductor enclosed within a non-conductive layer, the electrical conductor being a radiofrequency electrode. Preferably, the non-conductive layer is a sleeve which is axially moveable on the electrical conductor to expose a selected portion of the electrical conductor surface in the target tissue. The stylet can also be a microwave antenna. The stylet can also be a hollow tube for delivering treatment fluid to the target tissue. It can also include a fiber optic cable for laser treatment. The catheter can include one or more inflatable balloons located adjacent to the stylet port for anchoring the catheter or dilation. Ultrasound transponders and temperature sensors can be attached to the probe end and/or stylet. The stylet guide can define a stylet path from an axial orientation in the catheter through a curved portion to a lateral orientation at the stylet port.

Treatment of cellular tissues usually requires direct contact of target tissue with a medical instrument, usually by surgical procedures exposing both the target and intervening tissue to substantial trauma. Often, precise placement of a treatment probe is difficult because of the location of a target tissue in the body or the proximity of the target tissue to easily damaged, critical body organs, nerves, or other components.
Benign prostatic hypertrophy or hyperplasia (BPH), for example, is one of the most common medical problems experienced by men over 50 years old. Urinary tract obstruction due to prostatic hyperplasia has been recognized since the earliest days of medicine. Hyperplastic enlargement of the prostate gland often leads to compression of the urethra, resulting in obstruction of the urinary tract and the subsequent development of symptoms including frequent urination, decrease in urinary flow, nocturia, pain, discomfort, and dribbling. The association of BPH with aging has been shown to exceed 50% in men over 50 years of age and increases in incidence to over 75% in men over 80 years of age. Symptoms of urinary obstruction occur most frequently between the ages of 65 and 70 when approximately 65% of men in this age group have prostatic enlargement.
Currently there is no proven effective nonsurgical method of treatment of BPH. In addition, the surgical procedures available are not totally satisfactory. Currently patients suffering from the obstructive symptoms of this disease are provided with few options: continue to cope with the symptoms (i.e., conservative management), submit to drug therapy at early stages, or submit to surgical intervention. More than 430,000 patients per year undergo surgery for removal of prostatic tissue in the United States. These represent less than five percent of men exhibiting clinical significant symptoms.
Those suffering from BPH are often elderly men, many with additional health problems which increase the risk of surgical procedures. Surgical procedures for the removal of prostatic tissue are associated with a number of hazards including anesthesia associated morbidity, hemorrhage, coagulopathies, pulmonary emboli and electrolyte imbalances. These procedures performed currently can also lead to cardiac complications, bladder perforation, incontinence, infection, urethral or bladder neck stricture, retention of prostatic chips, retrograde ejaculation, and infertility. Due to the extensive invasive nature of the current treatment options for obstructive uropathy, the majority of patients delay definitive treatment of their condition. This circumstance can lead to serious damage to structures secondary to the obstructive lesion in the prostate (bladder hypertrophy, hydronephrosis, dilation of the kidney pelves, etc.) which is not without significant consequences. In addition, a significant number of patients with symptoms sufficiently severe to warrant surgical intervention are poor operative risks and are poor candidates for prostatectomy. In addition, younger men suffering from BPH who do not desire to risk complications such as infertility are often forced to avoid surgical intervention. Thus the need, importance and value of improved surgical and non-surgical methods for treating BPH is unquestionable.
High-frequency currents are used in electrocautery procedures for cutting human tissue especially when a bloodless incision is desired or when the operating site is not accessible with a normal scalpel but presents an access for a thin instrument through natural body openings such as the esophagus, intestines or urethra. Examples include the removal of prostatic adenomas, bladder tumors or intestinal polyps. In such cases, the high-frequency current is fed by a surgical probe into the tissue to be cut. The resulting dissipated heat causes boiling and vaporization of the cell fluid at this point, whereupon the cell walls rupture and the tissue is separated.
Destruction of cellular tissues in situ has been used in the treatment of many diseases and medical conditions alone or as an adjunct to surgical removal procedures. It is often less traumatic than surgical procedures and may be the only alternative where other procedures are unsafe. Ablative treatment devices have the advantage of using a destructive energy which is rapidly dissipated and reduced to a non-destructive level by conduction and convection forces of circulating fluids and other natural body processes.
Microwave, radiofrequency, acoustical (ultrasound) and light energy (laser) devices, and tissue destructive substances have been used to destroy malignant, benign and other types of cells and tissues from a wide variety of anatomic sites and organs. Tissues treated include isolated carcinoma masses and, more specifically, organs such as the prostate, glandular and stromal nodules characteristic of benign prostate hyperplasia. These devices typically include a catheter or cannula which is used to carry a radiofrequency electrode or microwave antenna through a duct to the zone of treatment and apply energy diffusely through the duct wall into the surrounding tissue in all directions. Severe trauma is often sustained by the duct wall during this cellular destruction process, and some devices combine cooling systems with microwave antennas to reduce trauma to the ductal wall. For treating the prostate with these devices, for example, heat energy is delivered through the walls of the urethra into the surrounding prostate cells in an effort to kill the tissue constricting the urethra. Light energy, typically from a laser, is delivered to prostate tissue target sites by "burning through" the wall of the urethra. Healthy cells of the duct wall and healthy tissue between the nodules and duct wall are also indiscriminately destroyed in the process and can cause unnecessary loss of some prostate function. Furthermore, the added cooling function of some microwave devices complicates the apparatus and requires that the device be sufficiently large to accommodate this cooling system.
Application of liquids to specific tissues for medical purposes is limited by the ability to obtain delivery without traumatizing intervening tissue and to effect a delivery limited to the specific target tissue. Localized chemotherapy, drug infusions, collagen injections, or injections of agents which are then activated by light, heat or chemicals would be greatly facilitated by a device which could conveniently and precisely place a fluid supply catheter opening at the specific target tissue.


A transparent thin film transistor is fabricated on a substrate by first depositing a concentrated aqueous metallic carbon nanotube solution using an inkjet printer on the substrate to form source and drain electrodes with a channel therebetween. The deposited metallic carbon nanotubes are then cleaned in mild acid; and the source and drain electrodes are cured by heating. An aqueous semiconducting carbon nanotube solution is then deposited in the channel on the substrate using an inkjet printer on the substrate to form a channel semiconductor. The channel semiconductor is then cleaned using a mild acid. A dielectric gate of ionic gel dielectric is then deposited on the cleaned channel semiconductor using an inkjet printer; and the ionic gel dielectric is cured by heating.

The field of the present invention is the manufacture of thin film transistors (TFTs).
Transparent electronics has attracted broad attention because of many of its promising commercial impacts since it can be used in many different applications such as solar cells, transparent displays and photodetectors. Ideal transparent electronics and displays are required to have high optical transparency, good electrical performance such as low power consumption and capability with diverse low cost substrates.
Table 1 undertakes a comparative study of various material systems used to implement TFTs. Metal oxides, amorphous silicon (a-Si) and low temperature polysilicon (LTPS) are possible candidates for transparent thin film transistors but high fabrication temperature and expensive vacuum and cleanroom facilities are required. Organic TFTs are also promising as they facilitate solution processing pathways; however, poor electrical performance such as high VTH and low mobility has hampered their progress. Single crystals polymers are emerging as desirable candidates, with solution processing capabilities and improved electrical performance. By comparing TFTs constructed on low temperature polysilicon, organic material, metal oxides and amorphous silicon with CNT TFTs, it is clear that the carbon based systems are the only candidates that offer transparency, flexibility, scalability, low temperature of fabrication and high mobility. Carbon based material such as CNT make it possible to conceive of a solution processing capability that offers dramatic cost benefits beyond existing vacuum-based TFT manufacturing methods.


On-line upgrading of a primary industrial controller is provided through the use of a secondary industrial controller that may assume control of the process controlled by the primary industrial controller. A switch-over of control is orchestrated by a system back-up module that may detect removal of the functional components of the primary industrial controller to initiate the switch-over. Determination of removal of functional modules may be provided by a periodic polling of the functional components on the interconnecting communication link. The system back-up module designates one of the functional modules to poll the system back-up module so that complete coverage of removable components may be had.

The present invention relates to industrial controllers and in particular to industrial controllers having a modular construction that permits upgrading of the modules during operation of the industrial controller.
Industrial controllers are special purpose computers used for controlling factory automation and the like. Under the direction of a stored program, a processor of the industrial controller examines a series of inputs reflecting the status of a controlled process and changes outputs affecting control of the controlled process.
Typically, the stored program will be unique to the particular control application. Perfecting this control program will frequently require testing of the control program with the actual equipment being controlled.
The circuitry, or hardware configuration of the industrial controller may also be unique to the particular application. Different applications will generally require different numbers and types of I/O circuits depending on the inputs and outputs needed for the controlled process. Some applications will require circuitry to handle specialized control or communication tasks.
For this reason, it is typical to construct the industrial controller in a modular fashion, having one or more functional modules connected together through a common backplane in a rack or the like. The modular construction allows the circuitry of the industrial controller to be customized to some degree for each application and simplifies maintenance and repair of the industrial controller in the event that one or more modules fail.
Normally, the controlled process and the technology of the industrial controller will evolve over time. As a result it may be necessary to modify the control program and or upgrade the functional modules of the industrial controller. The functional modules may also need to be changed as part of normal maintenance and repair.
In such cases, the control system may be stopped, the old functional modules removed from the backplane, and the new modules replaced. Similarly, the control system may be stopped to add a new program to the industrial controller or to modify its existing program.
The economics of certain controlled processes, for example manufacturing facilities, make shutting down the controlled process for or upgrading of the control system prohibitively expensive. In some batch-type processes, shutting down the process for unscheduled maintenance may cause damage to equipment and spoilage of processed items.
Accordingly, it is desirable that such upgrading and changes of the control system be performed without stopping the controlled process or with only minimal disruption.
To minimize process disruption in changing the control program, it is known to provide for a conditional editing of the control program. Here, two versions of the control program are effectively held on the controller. The controller is then configured to toggle between the versions depending on the state of an internal edit flag. This toggling may occur while the controller is operating.
Upgrading functional modules is more difficult. Removing a functional module while the controlled process is under way may cause unexpected changes in the controller's outputs. Even if the particular functional module were not critical, it's loss might provoke a fault condition in the controllers stopping the controlled process entirely. A new functional module replaced in the controller will require some time to reestablish communication with the remainder of the industrial controller.
If the upgrading of the functional module is unsuccessful in some way, additional disruption of the controlled process upon reinsertion of the old module would be inevitable.

Redundant automation controller permitting replacement of components during operation


A device including a conductive layer configured to output a spin-current based on an analog input value, a plurality of magnetoresistive devices, and an encoder configured to output a digital value. Each of the magnetoresistive devices may be configured to receive a different reference voltage on a first side and the spin-current on a second side. The magnetization state of each of the magnetoresistive devices is set by respective reference voltages and the spin-current. The encoder may include a plurality of digital bits that is a digital representation of the analog input value based on the magnetization states of the magnetoresistive devices.

Analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) act as a bridge between analog and digital systems by translating analog signals representing physical quantities (e.g., light, sound, temperature or pressure) to digital signals that can easily be processed by computer or other digital circuitry. One example implementation of an ADC is a transistor-based flash-ADC that provides relatively fast conversion of the analog signal to the digital signal. However, conventional transistor-based flash-ADCs tend to consume relatively high amounts of power and require relatively large areas within integrated circuits.


In a spiral scan computed tomography apparatus, and a method for reconstructing an image from spiral scan data, a measurement system composed of an x-ray source and a radiation receiver is rotated in a plane around an examination subject on a support table, while producing a feed of the support table relative to the rotation plane of the measurement system. Radiation emitted by the x-ray source, attenuated by the patient, strikes the radiation receiver, thereby producing measured signals representing spiral attenuation values. A computer is supplied with the spiral attenuation values and generates weighted spiral attenuation values therefrom using a weighting generator, by which data from a number of planar image superimpositions are employed. The number of superimpositions, the spacing of the superimpositions, and the strength of a k.sup.th superimposition contribution can be independently selected. An image of a volume of the patient is reconstructed from the weighted spiral attenuation values produced by the weighting generator, and the image is visually displayed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a computed tomography apparatus and to a method for image reconstruction therein, and in particular to a computed tomography apparatus operable in a spiral scan mode and a method for image reconstruction from spiral scan attenuation values.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For image reconstruction by means of a computed tomography apparatus operating in a spiral mode, a measuring system, composed of an x-ray source and a radiation receiver, is rotated around the patient, who is lying on a support table, with relative longitudinal motion between the measuring system and the patient on the support table. An x-ray beam emanates from the x-ray source during operation of the computed tomography apparatus and attenuated by the patient, strikes the radiation receiver. A calculating unit evaluates the measured signals supplied by the radiation receiver during operation, which correspond to spiral attenuation values of the examination subject. In reconstruction of images of planar body slices of the examination subject attenuation values of a planar body slice are derived from the spiral attenuation values acquired from revolutions of the measurement system around the examination subject.
In computed tomography, registration of spiral scans i.e., obtaining spiral attenuation values of body slices of an examination subject, has become a standard technique with great significance for practical application (see, for example, Willy A. Kalender, Principles and Performance of Spiral CT, in L. W. Goldman and J. B. fowlkes, editors, MEDICAL CT and ULTRASOUND: Current Technology and Applications, pages 379-410, Advanced Medical Publishing, 1995). As noted above, the registration of spiral attenuation values usually ensues with a radiological measurement system that continuously moves around an examination subject lying on a patient support table, and the patient support table with the examination subject thereon usually moves with a constant and continuous table feed relative to the measurement system, for example in the z-direction of a Cartesian coordinate system, as shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows a computed tomography system with the aforementioned measurement system and the patient support table. Due to the relative motion of the patient support table relative to the radiological measurement system, a continuous, spiral scan motion of the radiological measurement system around the examination subject is obtained, so that the spiral attenuation values arise at the different z-positions in the radiological exposures. The z-coordinate of a data set of spiral attenuation values thereby characterizes the relative position of the measured slice represented by the spiral attenuation values of the subject. The movement of the patient support table normally ensues substantially at a right angle relative to the measurement plane, that is defined by the radiological measurement system (see FIG. 1).
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,658 discloses a computed tomography system for conducting a spiral scan wherein a computer, based on an initial image in the plane of a reference projection and an auxiliary image, recursively calculates a new image at the spacing of d/N.sub.2.pi. from the initial image, whereby d is the slice thickness N.sub.2.pi. is the number of projections on the circumferential angle 2.pi.. Only data from the region of a slice thickness d are utilized for each image.
Several important advantages are achieved with spiral computed tomography compared to planar computed tomography. First, a fast scan of a given volume can be accomplished, and second, the position and the spacing of the images of body slices of an examination subject to be reconstructed can be selected independently of the measurement of the spiral attenuation values, i.e. even after the measurement of the spiral attenuation values. As already mentioned, the spiral data in spiral computed tomography arise at different z-positions, but the known reconstruction algorithms for image calculation generally only work with attenuation values that are produced given a constant z-position of the measurement system. Therefore, attenuation values that correspond to a planar body slice of the examination subject must be generated with the assistance of spiral algorithms before the actual image reconstruction from the spiral attenuation values.
Spiral algorithms that were previously developed are either interpolation methods or weighting methods. The interpolation methods calculate attenuation values for a planar data set, generally from spiral attenuation values respectively in front of and behind the desired image plane, with respect to which an image of the corresponding body slice of an examination subject is to be reconstructed. The known weighting methods usually operate by resorting calculating steps from interpolation methods. Spiral algorithms are effective in terms of image quality in the reconstructed image of a planar body slice of an examination subject particularly as a result of their influence on the noise amplitude and on the slice sensitivity profile. The sensitivity profile indicates the contrast with which a subject detail, that is extremely thin in the slice thickness direction, is imaged in a reconstructed image dependent on its position along an axis parallel to the system axis (see FIG. 1, rotational axis A). Whereas, dependent on the spiral algorithm, the noise can be higher or lower in a conventional exposure, the slice sensitivity profile is usually broader than in the case of a conventional planar exposure. Given a slice gating d, FIG. 2 shows the broadening of the slice sensitivity profile E.sub.s compared to the ideal, rectangular slice sensitivity profile E.sub.i, with the relative sensitivity being shown over the position of the measurement system. A x-ray beam 4 emanating from a focal spot 13 is gated onto a detector 15 with the assistance of two diaphragms 14. It is thus clear that, in addition to the slice thickness, the course of the slice sensitivity profile is also required for evaluating the image quality of a CT system. The contribution of the neighboring layer to the reconstructed image of a desired body slice of the examination subject, and the occurrence of partial-volume artifacts in the image (which shall be explained later) due to object details acquired at the edge of the slice, become lower as the edges of the slice sensitivity profiled become steeper. Known methods (see Willy A. Kalender, Principles and Performance of Spiral CT, in L. W. Goldman and J. B. fowlkes, editors, MEDICAL CT and ULTRASOUND: Current Technology and Applications, pages 379-410, Advanced Medical Publishing, 1995) essentially differ on the basis of the spacing of the interpolation partners and the type of interpolation function. In practice, however, these methods have some disadvantages, as a result of which the aforementioned advantages of spiral computer tomography do not take full effect.
When, for example a few high-contrast objects or parts thereof, for example bones, project only partially into the measured slice, a partial-volume artifact arises that causes a modification of the spiral attenuation values of the object part and its environment, and thus the object contour can also be modified. This artifact becomes more frequent as the thickness of the slice used for the measurement becomes broader (thicker). A reduction of the slice width in fact reduces the occurrence of the artifact, but increases the noise amplitude at the same time.
Further, known spiral algorithms have the inherent consequence of non-uniformly modulating the noise amplitude within a reconstructed image as well as given three-dimensional image reconstruction in the z-direction to varying degrees, which can have an extremely disturbing effect when viewing the image, and may cause the physician to make misinterpretations.
Moreover, if one wishes to evaluate parts of a subject volume with different slice thicknesses with known spiral algorithms, additional measurements respectively made with various settings of the diaphragm in front of the x-ray source are required for this purpose, i.e. with different slice gatings d (also see FIG. 2), with the result of increased radiation exposure for the examination subject. This is particularly unpleasant in the calculation of three-dimensional presentations of regions of an examination subject, since it leads to an anisotropy of the resolution.
An attempt has been made to overcome the recited disadvantages of known spiral algorithms by averaging images, but this approach requires such high image calculating times as to make it impractical, and it precludes the determination of immediate images, i.e., offering the calculated images immediately after the end of the measurement event.

Spiral scan computed tomography apparatus, and method for image reconstruction therein


A smoothing method and a smoothing apparatus has been achieved, which make it possible to automate smoothing of welded members that was formerly carried out manually.

For instance, a vehicle door frame is formed by butt-welding (corner-welding) a pillar member (upright pillar sash, door frame member) and a sash member (upper sash member, door frame member). In this welding process, TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding or MIG (Metal Inert Gas) welding is generally used.
In this door frame member welding process, the occurrence of a weld bead (protrusion) at the welding area cannot be avoided. This weld bead appears on design surfaces of the pillar member and the sash member, thus being absolutely necessary to be grounded away to produce a smooth surface, and the weld bead was formerly removed manually by a worker. In addition to a roll-forming product of a metallic material, an extrusion-molded product of an aluminum alloy is also used as a door frame material for the purpose of weight reduction.

Method and apparatus for smoothing welded member

Abstract: The method according to the present invention uses a belt grinding apparatus, which includes an endless grinding belt and a press pad that presses the grinding belt against a welded area, and uses this belt grinding apparatus in two different modes after obtaining information on heights of surfaces of two welded members along a weld bead of the two welded members. The first mode corresponds to a bead removing step in which the grinding belt is pressed against a welded area by the press pad to reduce the height of the weld bead. At this time, the grinding belt is made to run at a fixed position, while the press pad is made to move toward and away from the welded area (the surface thereof). The next mode corresponds to a smoothing step in which the grinding belt is made to run and pressed against the welded area by the press pad while being made to move along the surfaces of the two welded members to smooth the welded area.


A composition for the treatment or prevention of a disorder resulting in hair loss comprises a cardiac glycoside as active principal.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to compositions which comprise a cardiac glycoside or cardiac glycosides for use in the treatment and prevention of hair loss conditions and disorders.
Description of the Prior Art
Hair loss is an extremely prevalent condition and it is estimated that approximately 20 to 25% of the population suffer from some type of hair loss disorder. Whilst hair loss is more common in adult males, hair loss disorders also affect women and children. Although most hair loss disorders are not in themselves damaging to the health of an individual, many sufferers report associated psychological problems including anxiety and depression.
However, despite the prevalence of hair loss disorders, few efficacious treatments are available. Surgical treatments are available for the restoration of hair, particularly to the scalp. However, these techniques are painful, expensive, and suffer from the inherent dangers associated with any invasive surgery. Furthermore, hair restoration surgeries typically require at least some areas of dense hair growth to be available on the patient for transplant or relocation to other areas of the body. Yet further, surgical treatments are rarely applicable to sufferers of alopecia areata in which spontaneous regrowth of hair which subsequently falls out again, often occurs.
Hair loss compositions are thus an attractive proposition for those suffering from hair loss conditions. A range of therapies are available for which partial success in the treatment of alopecia has been claimed. The various therapies available can be divided up into several groups comprising non-specific immunosuppressants such as corticosteroids or UVA treatment, contact dermatitis inducers, specific immunosuppressants such as cyclosporins, non-specific irritants and other treatments such as alternative and experimental therapies.
Non specific immunosuppressants such as corticosteroids function by mimicking the steroidal hormones produced by the adrenal glands to suppress inflammation. Corticosteroids can be administered topically to the affected area, through intralesional injections, or systemically via injection or oral medication, depending on the severity of the condition. While topical corticosteroids are commonly used to treat alopecia areata, there is little evidence that they promote hair regrowth. Intralesional administration of corticosteroids has demonstrated more efficacy in the treatment of alopecia areata, with a study reported by Porter and Burton (Br. J. Dermatol. 1971:85, 272-273) demonstrating that hair regrowth was achieved in 33 out of 34 sites injected with triamcinolone hexacetonide in 11 patients and in 16 out of 25 sites injected with triamcinolone acetonide in 17 patients, with the affects lasting about nine months. However, intralesional corticosteroid administration is most suitable for treating patchy hair loss of limited extent and for cosmetically sensitive sites such as the eyebrows, with skin atrophy at the site of injection a consistent side-effect. Systemic corticosteroid administration has achieved some hair regrowth in alopecia suffers. However, studies have demonstrated only 30-47% of patients showed significant hair regrowth and thus in most patients the response achieved is insufficient to justify the risks associated with prolonged treatment.
A combination of UVA actinotherapy with 8-methoxypsoralen (an irritant and immuno-modulator) has also been utilised for the treatment of alopecia. However, this method of treatment, commonly called PUVA, is not popular due to the frequency of treatment required, potentially dangerous side-effects and low success rates. Furthermore, the relapse rate following treatment is high and continued treatment is usually required which may lead to high cumulative UVA dosages.
Contact dermatitis inducers work by sensitising the immune system. A low level of the drug is initially applied and adjusted until a reaction is established. Contact dermatitis inducers utilised for the treatment of alopecia areata include dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB), diphenylcyclopropenone (DPCP) and squaric-acid-dibutylester (SADBE). Reviews of these treatments have concluded that the range of response rates is wide, at reportedly 9 to 87% (Rokhsar et al. J Am Acad Dermatol 1998:39:751-761). Side affects including severe dermatitis and occipital and/or cervical lymphadenopathy are often common.
Specific immunosuppressants for the treatment of alopecia include cyclosporins and tacrolimus (FK506). These drugs act by inhibiting T-cell activation. While results have demonstrated some efficacy for cyclosporins, side-effects are a major consideration and results may often not justify the associated risks.
Non-specific irritants function by interrupting cell differentiation in the skin with the damage caused stimulating immune cell activity. Irritants that have been employed for the treatment of alopecia areata include anthralin, iodine, chrysarobin, croton oil, capsicum and dithranol. However, results in studies on anthralin indicate low levels of efficacy with one open study demonstrating significant regrowth in just 18% of patients. Furthermore, staining of hair limits the use of anthralin in fair-haired patients.
Alternative treatments such as essential oils and acupuncture and experimental and theoretical treatments such as cytokines, biologicals, desensitisation, oral tolerance and gene therapy have been variously employed in the treatment of alopecia with varying degrees of success.
Recent research has indicated that a technique called follicular cell implantation, in which dermal papilla cells are taken from the patient, multiplied in a laboratory and then injected into the affected area, may be effective in the treatment of hair loss disorders with 11 out of 19 patients reporting hair regrowth. However, this technique is at an early stage of development and results thus far are based on a very small number of patients, making the efficacy of this treatment difficult to assess.
All hair loss treatments currently known require long-term regular use to maintain any efficacious effects achieved. Of the above treatments, many require administration by a health care professional and involve potentially dangerous side-effects. Currently few hair loss compositions which can be self-administered have demonstrated clinical efficacy in the treatment or prevention of hair loss. Minoxidil, or 3-hydroxy-2-imino-6-(1-piperidyl)pyrimidin-4-amine is a vasodilatory medication that was discovered to have the side-effect of promoting hair growth when used to treat high blood pressure. The mechanism by which minoxidil promotes hair growth is not well understood, although it has been postulated that it may be due to an increase in blood supply to the hair follicles. Whilst minoxidil has demonstrated some efficacy in promoting hair growth, it is considered to be effective in less than 60% of patients, with there currently being no indication as to which patients are most likely to respond.
Finasteride has also demonstrated some efficacy in treating hair loss. Finasteride is a 5α-reductase inhibitor, which functions by blocking the conversion of testosterone to the active 5α-dihydrotesterone (DHT) form, elevated levels of which have been linked to hair loss. Studies indicate effectiveness in approximately 50% of patients, with side effects including erectile dysfunction and gynecomastica being reported. Furthermore finasteride is not indicated for use in women of childbearing age as it can cause birth defects in unborn babies.
Oxalates have also been reported to demonstrate efficacy in the treatment of hair loss disorders. International Patent Application No. WO 94/15574 discloses that oxalates of group Ia or IIa metals could be used for preventing hair loss and stimulating growth and Canadian patent No. 888689 discloses the use of a composition for the treatment of the scalp against hair loss which requires the use of an emulsion containing bergamot oil, water and a ferrous salt including a ferrous oxalate (i.e. a group VIII metal salt). However, oxalates such as calcium oxalate as described in the prior art appear as crystals which can pierce and intensely irritate the skin, making oxalates unsuitable for some patients.

Compositions for the treatment of hair loss


A page printer for printing a document by a page on receiving printing data sent from an external device. The printer comprises printing engine for performing a printing process based on page data and a page data preparing section for preparing page data on printing data input from the external device. The printer is provided with an external memory for storing prepared page data and control section for alternatively selecting either the external memory or the page data preparing section. The control section supplies the printing engine with page data from selected one of the page data preparing section and the external memory based on the selection.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a page printer that includes a print engine for printing a document by the page and a data preparing section for preparing page data for one page on the basis of print data input, and supplying the page data to the print engine to perform a printing process.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a conventional page printer is connected through an interface cable to a terminal device, which has a word processing function, of a host computer, for example. When a text prepared in the terminal device is printed by the page printer, print data including character codes is sent from the terminal device through the interface cable to the page printer, and the page printer analyzes the print data, and prepares a bit pattern corresponding to one page and stores in the database in the RAM. In the above-mentioned analysis process, the CPU constituting a control section of the page printer reads a font pattern that matches the input character code from a CG-ROM having font patterns of different characters stored therein, and forms a bit pattern of the font, which was read, in a specified position in the database. In a case that outline font patterns are stored in the CG-ROM, the above-mentioned analysis process includes the development of a mathematical formula expressing different outline font patterns. Bit patterns for one page obtained by this analysis process, that is, page data is supplied to a control section of the print engine in synchronism with a drive timing of the print engine that actually executes printing, and the print engine prints a text for one page on a sheet of paper on the basis of the page data.
However, there has been no conventional page printer that has been arranged to preserve the page data prepared by the analysis process after printing is finished. For this reason, when a text prepared by the operator has been printed by the page printer and the same text is to be printed again as occasion demands, the print data must once again be sent from the terminal device to the page printer through the interface cable and analyzed, so that it takes a long time until printing of the text is finished through the same text printed once before is printed again.
When the execution of the word processing program for creating or formatting a document has been terminated in the terminal processor or the power supply to the terminal device has been turned off, the word processing program needs to be started, then text data stored in a floppy disk, for example, is loaded, followed by the transmission and analysis of the print data as described above. Thus, a longer time is required till the end of printing of the text.

Page printer with internal and external memories


An electric module of a fan includes a fan provided with blades which are rotatably movable inside a casing, and an electric machine having a rotor secured to the fan and a stator integrated into said casing. The rotor of the electric machine is integrated into the fan and includes a removable ring which captures axially and transversely from the radially outer ends the blades of the fan and which is received inside said stator which is integrated into the casing.

A conventional engine for powering a commercial aircraft is typically a double body or triple body turbojet engine which comprises a high-pressure body comprising a high-pressure compressor and a high-pressure turbine, a low-pressure body comprising a low-pressure compressor and a low-pressure turbine and driving the fan, and optionally an intermediate pressure body comprising an intermediate pressure compressor and an intermediate pressure turbine, housed in a nacelle of the turbojet engine.
The power supplied by such a turbojet engine is generally intended to ensure the propulsion of the aircraft but also to ensure the production of electrical current intended to ensure various on-board functions of the aircraft such as, in a non-exhaustive manner, the supply of power to the flight controls, the anti-icing of the wings, the supply of power to the cabin air-conditioning system, the lighting of the cabin, or the supply of power to the cockpit of the aircraft.
Conventionally, a turbojet engine comprises a gearbox or AGB (Accessory Gear Box) which is arranged outside the turbojet engine, which is mechanically connected by a radial secondary shaft to the high-pressure body, and which comprises a generator used to transform a part of the mechanical power delivered by the turbojet engine into electrical power, and a starter for starting the turbomachine.
The current trend is to increase the proportion of on-board electrical equipment, which is considered to be more flexible in use in the aircraft than purely mechanical equipment, for example to drive compressors intended to pressurise the aircraft cabin, in addition to the equipment mentioned above. The electrical power requirements that can be supplied by the turbojet engine are therefore increasing and can no longer be provided by conventional electric generators without leading to an overall increase in the weight of the turbojet engine and a deterioration in overall performance.
There is therefore a real interest in electric machines that can perform additional generator functions allowing to provide additional electrical power. The reversible electric machines perform this generator function, but they also perform starter functions, and in this regard such machines provide an obvious weight saving.
According to an embodiment known from the international application WO-2007/036.202, an electric machine, operating in a reversible manner and therefore combining the functions of generator and starter, can be arranged inside the turbojet engine itself, more precisely in the high-pressure body.
In this document, when the turbojet engine is started, the high-pressure body is first set in rotation, using the electric generator as an electric motor. The high-pressure compressor then supplies the combustion chamber with pressurised air, allowing combustion to take place and at the high-pressure stage of the turbojet engine to start. The low-pressure turbine is then rotated by the outgoing primary airflow, driving the low-pressure body and the fan. The turbojet engine is then started, and the power of the electric starter is cut, which stops working as a drive motor for the high-pressure compressor.
The main advantage of the arrangement of the electric generator in the high-pressure body is that this generator can be used as electric motor for starting the turbojet engine, and it can also be used as electric generator to supply power to the rest of the aircraft.
This electric machine does not constitute an additional generator, as it replaces the previously known generator and starter in the prior art, but it does not provide any significant gain in electrical power to the aircraft.
In addition, this arrangement has the disadvantage of presenting a poor overall efficiency of the conversion of mechanical power into electrical power. Indeed, the extra fuel consumption required to provide a given electrical power is greater when the electric generator draws power from the high-pressure body than when it draws power from the low-pressure body.
The arrangement of an electric generator in the high-pressure body also poses many space and accessibility problems.
In addition, the installation of an electric generator drawing its power from the high-pressure body can pose an operability problem for the turbojet engine, as too much mechanical power draw is likely to cause the HP compressor to surge, particularly when the engine is running at low speed.
Finally, this design does not allow the fan to be assisted by the electric machine, nor does it allow the fan to be driven purely electrically by the electric machine in the context of an aircraft engine without a turbomachine and all-electric.
To overcome these disadvantages, a turbojet engine comprising an electric fan module was proposed in EP-2.048.329. This turbojet engine comprises a high-pressure body and a low-pressure body driving a fan arranged in a fixed casing, and an electric generator arranged in the fan and drawing power from it, the generator comprising a rotor integrated into the fan, and a stator integrated into the fan casing. In this document, the rotor comprises permanent magnets which are integrated into the end of the fan vanes.
This solution allows a large space for the electric machine. The fan casing, which is connected to the nacelle, is large enough to house the windings for the generation of electrical current and electrical harnesses for the delivery of this current to a pylon supporting the turbojet engine. The installation and the maintenance of the electric generator are therefore not or only slightly disturbed by space problems.
In addition, the area of the fan, area delimited by the fan casing and the cowls surrounding the nacelle, is a cold area, relative to the other parts of the turbomachine, with a temperature typically below 70° C. This positioning allows to minimise the cooling stresses.
The permanent magnets of the electric machine do not require additional complex cooling means as the temperature within the fan never reaches the Curie temperature, above which they would lose their magnetic properties.
Similarly, as the windings of the electric machine are placed in the same cold area of the turbojet engine, they do not require additional complex cooling means such as liquid cooling systems but can simply be cooled by air.
The cooling means can therefore have a small size and mass.
Furthermore, due to the large size of the fan, it is possible to have a machine operating as a relatively high-powered electric generator, capable of simultaneously supplying power to various electrical equipment on the aircraft on which the turbojet engine is mounted.
This possibility is all the more important as the number of electrical equipment onboard on the aircraft is increasing.
A turbomachine equipped in this way also enables to avoid pumping phenomena and therefore problems of instability and operability of the turbojet engine at low speed, by avoiding drawing excessive power from the high-pressure body.
In this design and until now, the permanent magnets have been directly integrated into the vanes or attached in the form of stubs fixed to the tips of the vanes.
In both of these known designs, a mass is added to the end of each vane, and as a result the vanes are subjected to a greater centrifugal force than conventional vanes. This centrifugal force can lead to radial elongation of the vanes and be incompatible with maintaining adequate functional clearance between the vanes of the fan and its casing at all rotational speeds.
In addition, the overall increase in the mass of each vane, compared to a conventional vane, implies as we have seen an increase in the centrifugal forces acting on the vanes. As a result, these vanes require a larger hub or fan disc to hold them in the fan.
Finally, if such a vane is lost, the kinetic energy released by this vane is greater than that released by a conventional vane in the same case. It follows that the use of such a vane requires a more massive fan casing, capable of withstanding the ejection of such a vane without the risk of being passed through by it. Such a dimensional constraint greatly reduces the weight of the engine.
This design does not allow either for a purely electric drive of the fan by the electric machine alone in the context of an all-electric aircraft engine.
Furthermore, it is not possible to envisage a rigid assembly of the vanes at each of their ends as described in the documents CN-106.516.127-A, US-2016/363.050-A1 and GB-2.360.752-A.

Electric module for an aircraft fan comprising blades with improved attachment


A multi-layer network planning system can determine a set of regenerator sites (“RSs”) that have been found to cover all paths among a set of nodes of an optical layer of a multi-layer network and can determine a set of candidate RSs in the optical layer for use by the links between a set of nodes of an upper layer, wherein each RS can be selected as a candidate RS for the links. The system can determine a binary path matrix for the links between the set of nodes of the upper layer. The system can determine a min-cost matrix that includes a plurality of min-cost paths. The system can determine a best RS from the set of candidate RSs and can move the best RS from the set of candidate RSs into the set of RSs for the links. The system can then update the binary path matrix.

In an optical network, signals can only travel along a given path so far before a regenerator is required. A regenerator converts a signal from an optical signal to an electronic signal, corrects any detected errors, and then converts the signal back to an optical signal with a better optical signal-to-noise ratio. A reachable path is one that does not require regeneration. A reach matrix describes all the nodes in the optical network that are connected by reachable paths. To connect all the nodes in the optical network, regenerators are placed between nodes for which there is no reachable path. It is advantageous to place regenerators at a limited number of sites since this placement allows regenerators to serve multiple possible traffic demands.
In today's optical networks, each wavelength is provisioned independently, and regenerators are placed where needed along the route with no systematic effort to consolidate regenerator sites. In addition, restoration capacity is pre-deployed, and therefore the regenerators deployed for restoration are dedicated to specific terminals. This limits the ability to share regenerators during various failure scenarios, and leads to the deployment of far more capital equipment. More recently, carriers have selected regenerator sites to minimize the number of regenerator sites required to guarantee that all traffic demands can be met. However, this site selection methodology neglects consideration of the required restoration capacity, in both site selection and in calculating the number of regenerators required for restoration.
With technology evolution and industry consolidation, a large carrier's dense wavelength division multiplexing ("DWDM") optical network often includes several DWDM sub-networks from different vendors using different technologies. The DWDM sub-networks might vary in the number of wavelengths per fiber pair, data rate supported, and/or optical reachability parameters. These sub-networks may be part of a multi-layer network, wherein the IP traffic of a packet-layer is carried by the underlying optical layer. However, a customer requesting an end-to-end high-speed connection should not need to know the underlying heterogeneous sub-network infrastructure. It is the carrier's responsibility to optimize routing in its own heterogeneous network to save cost and to ensure high network availability. This requires a suite of network planning and circuit provisioning tools.
As new capabilities continue to be developed in optical communication networks, the planning tools used to build and provision these networks will become increasingly sophisticated. For example, reconfigurable-optical-add-drop multiplexers ("ROADMs") were developed with the promise that far fewer regenerators would be needed in the network because wavelengths could express through ROADMs without regeneration. However, carriers immediately realized that efficient wavelength assignment algorithms were needed to avoid wavelength blocking. Without these algorithms, many regenerators would need to be deployed to act as wavelength converters, and the potential savings offered by ROADMs would not be fully realized. Recently, with the rise of software-defined networks ("SDNs"), and a more dynamically reconfigurable optical layer, the benefits of planning the optical layer and the packet layer of a multi-layer network in tandem have increased.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Routing and regenerator planning in a carrier's core reconfigurable optical network


A support mechanism for supporting a cover of a hot tub, according to the present invention, including a first cradle bracket for fixedly securing proximate an upper surface of the hot tub; and a second cradle bracket for fixedly securing proximate the upper surface of the hot tub at a location spaced from the first cradle bracket, wherein each of the first and second cradle brackets includes a substantially L-shaped recess for receiving and holding the cover when removed from across the top of the hot tub.

The present invention generally relates to a support mechanism for supporting a cover for spas and hot tubs.
Nearly all hot tubs and spas include a cover that is sufficiently sized to cover the entire opening of the hot tub while also being thermally insulated to prevent excessive heat loss from the water in the hot tub. Such covers are often bulky and difficult to handle. To ameliorate this problem, covers often include one or more hinges to allow the cover to be folded. Additionally, various mechanisms have been constructed for supporting the cover and enabling the cover to be pivoted relative to the hot tub. Some of these devices include complex spring-biased mechanisms and others include complicated and expensive hydraulics. Thus, the hot tub owner is typically faced with only two options—either attempting to manually remove and replace the cover while setting the cover on the ground in the vicinity of the hot tub each time the hot tub is utilized, or buying a rather expensive support mechanism that attaches to the hot tub and cover.
Thus, there exists a need for a hot tub cover support mechanism that is inexpensive and easy to utilize.


Described herein is a method for loading a hydrophilic compound into liposomes after addition of an alkylester group to form an esterified compound. After loading, the alkylester is hydrolyzed to reform the hydrophilic compound inside the liposomes. Also described is a method for loading drugs under a glucuronide methylester form into liposomes. The glucuronide methylester form of the drug is saponified to a glucuronide form of the drug inside the liposomes for better drug retention. The glucuronide residue conjugated to drugs can be removed inside cells to regenerate the parental drug upon cell uptake, liposomal degradation and enzyme hydrolysis. In case of cancer, this method can be used to safely deliver drugs to tumors.

Liposomes are biologically stable lipid vesicles engineered to carry drugs to targeted tissues, and several liposomal drugs are now in clinical use. The majority of nanoparticles approved by the FDA or in clinical phase II/III trials for the delivery of anticancer drugs are liposomes1-3. They present numerous advantages such as being biocompatible4, non-immunogenic5, stable in the circulation but able to release 100% of their payload upon degradation at targeted sites. Major drawbacks of liposomal encapsulation include difficulty in actively loading drugs into the liposomes and poor retention of hydrophobic drugs in the liposomes6-8. Premature "burst" release and continuous leakage of drugs from liposomes not only produces adverse side effects to healthy tissues but also diminishes the therapeutic efficacy by reducing the targeted payload. Hydrophobic drugs can also destabilize the liposomal membrane, causing even faster release of encapsulated drugs9. It was also observed that loading of hydrophobic drugs is limited by rapid formation of needle-like precipitates within the membranes10. On the other hand, hydrophilic drugs loaded in liposomes accumulate in the aqueous core and do not interact with the liposome membrane. These formulations are more stable and less susceptible to the issues described above. Poor solubility in the liposome membrane, however, make active loading of high concentrations of hydrophilic drugs into liposomes difficult.
The drug's hydrophobicity can be reduced by addition of hydrophilic group, such as a sugar moiety. A good example of dramatically enhanced hydrophilicity after sugar conjugation is the addition of a glucuronide residue on the parental structure of a hydrophobic drug11-15. Attachment of a glucuronide moiety to a hydrophobic drug is expected to greatly reduce leakage of the drug from liposomes. This, in turn, may facilitate stable retention in liposomes of hydrophobic drugs, thereby reducing drug leakage for less systemic toxicity as well as allowing more drug to reach target tissues. However, effective methods have not been disclosed for the loading of glucuronide drugs into liposomes.
Drug loading methods can be divided in two categories: passive and active. Passive methods rely on entrapment of drug within liposomes during the formation of vesicles from a dry lipid film. In passive methods, the concentration inside the liposomes equals the concentration outside in the bulk media. Active methods rely on a chemical driving force resulting in accumulation of compounds inside preformed liposomes. The loading efficiency provided by active methods can be significantly greater than those attained by passive loading.
A method for loading of amphiphilic weak acids in liposomes was developed by Barenholz et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,939,09616) and Clerc et al. relying on a calcium acetate-based transmembrane gradient17. In this method, the weak acid is readily membrane permeable at low pH and therefore penetrates into liposomes. It then gets trapped inside after ionization at internal high pH. Internal acetate is used as a proton shuttle from inside to outside of the liposome, which aims to sustain an internal high pH while weak acids are loaded. In contrast, the low membrane permeability of calcium ions produces a high internal calcium concentration, which precipitates the weak acid drug inside the liposome for better stability. The method however was developed for amphiphilic weak acids and is not suited for hydrophilic weak acids such as glucuronides. Glucuronides, which are members of weak acid family, are characterized by a very poor affinity to lipid membranes and are strongly in favor of the aqueous phase, meaning they are excluded from the range of amphiphilic compounds.
A method is described here to efficiently load glucuronide derivatives of drugs based on the loading of alkylester, for example methylester glucuronide derivatives of drugs. The conditions are set to allow conversion of the methylester glucuronide derivative to a hydrophilic glucuronide derivative inside the liposomes. In addition, the parental drug is regenerated after uptake of liposomes into target cells and enzymatic cleavage of the glucuronide group from the drugs. Numerous glucuronides of anticancer drugs that have been synthesized11-14, 18-44 (Supplementary Table 1), but no methods have been proposed to actively load them into liposomes.

Esterification/saponification-based method for liposomal encapsulation of hydrophilic glucuronides


Systems for highly efficient, in-vivo collection of modulated infra-red light are presented. Specifically, these devices are arranged in an important format with a view to integration with a wristwatch or other wearable device. An optical aperture of large surface area, specially distributed in an annular ring, receives radiation having been modulated in a tissue test site by blood flow. Radiation received about the annular aperture is redirected by a blazed grating or similar optical element at near perpendicular angles, into a radially distributed, condensing light pipe array and further toward a common axis. Radiation converges on the axis, thus increasing the energy density of the collected signal, before it is further directed via a conic element to a detector such as a photodiode. In some versions, these highly specialized optical paths may be formed into a single element of inexpensive plastic or other rigid substrate.

1. Field
The following inventions disclosure is generally concerned with optical devices and sensors and specifically concerned with optical condensing devices and sensor systems suitable for use in conjunction with non-invasive biometric measurements.
2. Prior Art
Electronic heart rate monitors are sometimes used by athletes, persons practicing vigorous exercise, and advanced health practitioners, to monitor the state of their heart during various conditions. It is desirable to dynamically display heart rate information in an easily accessible location. The face of a wristwatch provides such a convenient location because a wristwatch may be comfortably worn during exercise and can be easily viewed without distraction or other interruption of the exercise.
Thus, combining a heart rate monitor with a wristwatch has long been a goal of designers of advanced bio-instrumentation systems. Indeed, many systems have been developed with the intent of reaching such goal. These systems may be classified in three general classes. A first class includes a wristwatch in communication with a remote sensor/detector which is coupled to tissue. Generally, a chest strap having a sensor thereon in close proximity to the heart where a strong signal is easily detected, communicates via radio with the wristwatch where a digital numeric display indicates heart rate or other biometric information. While this arrangement has the advantage of reliable detection, it is not convenient to use the chest strap which is distracting and uncomfortable to wear. In addition, these apparatus tend to be awkward to deploy and thus lack the utility desired by consumers of these devices.
Competing systems have the entire detector/sensor, computer and display all integrated into the same, single unit. Some of these versions provide two metallic electrodes at the watch face which are touched simultaneously with two fingers of the opposite hand. The fingers are placed in electrical contact with the metallic electrodes whereby electrical impulses within the body can be sensed and translated to a pulse rate measurement. A computer within the watch case determines the heart rate and presents that information at a graphical user interface such as an LED display. These types of devices are included in a second class of wristwatch heart rate monitors. While these devices can quite accurately measure heart rate, they suffer from the inconvenience which arises from the need to apply two fingers from one hand at the wrist of the other. Additionally, holding two fingers steady enough to permit a reliable reading while exercising is difficult. Accordingly, these systems also present unfavorable requirements necessary to properly enable the system.
Finally, a third class of heart rate monitors include those completely integrated within a wristwatch case but with the sensor integrated into the backside of the watch case. Measurements are made directly with the tissue in contact with the watch case. Typically, an optical source transmits infra-red light into tissue where it is modulated by flowing blood. The scattered light is received at a photodetector and converted to electronic impulses for analysis by a computer. These systems have a great advantage because they are completely self-contained and require no external supporting apparatus. However, they do suffer from measurement interruption due to poor coupling between the photodetector and tissue. Typically, the photodetector is quite small in size and cannot collect sufficient signal from the tissue. There is not much space between the detector and the tissue whereby a lens might be used to gather more light to improve the collection efficiency. In most cases, a detector of a few square millimeters is in direct contact with the tissue.
The following few paragraphs describe particular versions of these three cases and thus represents important related art.
Inventions relating to a measuring system which measures the function of the heart, including heart rate, from the user's body non-invasively includes a remote 'functional unit' which may be a transmitter attached particularly around the user's chest and a receiver unit worn on the wrist. Specifically, one might refer to the U.S. Pat. No. 6,183,422 of inventor Rytky where details of these systems will be found. These systems are highly functional and commercially available via the trade name 'Polar' among others. They do however have the disadvantage that the display is on the wrist while the sensor is disposed about the chest via a strap.
Kita in U.S. Pat. No. 5,650,945, also presents use of heart pulse sensor in communication via radio with a data processing system in a wristwatch reception unit. Communication between a remote sensing device and a display systems on a wrist offer users reliability but the inconvenience of requiring the chest strap mounted sensor which is not desirable.
One strategy embraced by inventor Pail of New York in U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,736, focuses on the notion that improved interaction cross-section can be achieved if the optical probe beam is made to interact with a region of increased blood flow. Pail forms his IR pulse rate system around the carpal tunnel region of the wrist where a higher density of blood is expected. In some versions, separate wrist bands support the sensor and display which may be spatially removed. In other versions, multiple optical detectors are used to increase the signal collected from the tissue. However, using multiple detectors increased the complexity, weight, and expense.
Heart rate monitors based upon near infra-red IR systems are presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,372 issued on Dec. 29, 1998. These systems include a signal processing means which receives IR light from an optical detector coupled to living tissue. While these advanced systems employ sophisticated algorithms for processing return signals, they suffer because the signal collected from the tissue is weak and accompanied by significant noise. These systems suggest that picking up a strong return signal from the tissue will improve performance of detectors in IR based heart rate monitors.
Accomplished inventors Bryars and Cavanaugh, well known in the field, present another IR based system. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,267, electro-optic techniques are employed to form a heart rate monitor system. Again, special arrangements are provided to improve accuracy via signal processing. Specifically, a Fourier transform process serves to further separate the signal from the noise necessarily present in the signal produced in the tissue. This further illustrates the desire to efficiently collect sufficiently modulated signal from the test tissue. Where the signal is low, advanced methods of signal processing become required.
Bryars further teaches in U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,300 mounting means directed to improve sensor coupling and make it less susceptible to problems associated with body motion. Signals produced in-vivo are polluted with noise when a sensor is not particularly well coupled to tissue. The noise might have some characteristic which permits filtering. However, improvements to coupling also tend to reduce this problem.
Other systems of interest include those which provide heart rate measurement via optical technique but which do not include combination with a wristwatch system.
For example, inventor Sarussi presents a device suitable for heart rate monitoring via optical means in U.S. Pat. No. 6,553,242 issued on Apr. 22, 2003. The invention includes methods and devices for measurement of a level of at least one blood constituent. The device includes a light source and a light detector proximate the surface of an organ. The device and the method may be applied to monitoring, inter alia, conditions of apnea, respiratory stress, reduced blood flow in organ regions, heart rate, jaundice, and blood flow velocity.
Another invention taught by Khair and others in U.S. Pat. No. 6,533,729, includes a blood pressure sensor having a source of photo-radiation, such as an array of laser diodes. The sensor also includes a two-dimensional, flexible reflective surface which may be placed in contact with skin. The output from the array of photo-detectors is calibrated to blood pressure during a calibration procedure. The calibration relationship are then used during acquisition of blood pressure data to arrive at blood pressure data.
While systems and inventions of the art are designed to achieve particular goals and objectives, some of those being no less than remarkable, the are has limitations which prevent use of wrist worn heart rate monitors in new ways now possible. Inventions of the art are not used and cannot be used to realize the advantages and objectives of the inventions taught here following.


A stamping tool and a method of making a punch assembly and a die assembly of the stamping tool. At least one of the punch and die assemblies including a plurality of laser-cut steel plates having hardened edges suitable to withstand high pressures and impacts generated during stamping operations. The assembly further including an internal passage defined by holes formed in a number of plates of the plurality of laser-cut steel plates.

The principle operation of stamping machines involves the use of a die and a punch for the making of generally flat components or parts. One or both of the punch and die move towards one another to cut or stamp out the component from a strip of material placed between the punch and die. The material can include sheet metal, plastic, or other materials used in the manufacture of stamped components. In some applications, a feeding mechanism incrementally feeds the strip of material through the machine for mass manufacture of the stamped component.
In use, the punch and die operate under significant pressure and force to stamp out the components. To withstand such operational forces, the punch and die are typically made from solid metal blocks. Manufacture of such tooling, i.e., the punch and die, requires milling, drilling and turning of the solid blocks, and can further include electrical discharge machining, heat treating, and surface grindings. As can be understood, the manufacture of the punch and die tooling can be very expensive. Maintenance or replacement of the expensive tooling accordingly involves considerable costs.
In general, conventional punch and die tooling for use in stamping machines can be improved.


By changing the timing of applying a heat treatment, a high-strength aluminum based alloy-made fastening part having an unprecedented tensile strength or other strength property and a method for manufacturing of the same are provided. The method is characterized in that an aluminum based alloy-made material is subjected to a solution treatment and is then age-hardened; work hardening is further applied to a shaft portion by drawing thereof in a heading process; and the shaft portion is thereafter subjected to a process of rolling male threads.

Hitherto, a main material used in an automobile industry has been steel. However, movements associated with energy saving have been stepped up all across the world, and there is a tendency of demand for further weight reduction of vehicles. The weight reduction is planned not only for a vehicle itself but also for the parts constituting thereof and fastening parts including bolts.
As regards steel bolts, the size thereof has been reduced by enhancing the strength, and the weight reduction has been promoted through a means of reducing the number of pieces involved; however, even though the number of pieces involved is suppressed to a required minimum, further weight reduction has been difficult to be realized since the specific gravity of the material itself is large.
Moreover, in a trend of rendering constituent parts of a vehicle to be of aluminum, usage in combination with steel-made bolts brings about fears of a cave-in of an aluminum material due to the difference in thermal expansion coefficients and of development of corrosive deterioration due to contact of dissimilar metals, and also brings about a problem of requiring the number of man-hours for separation at the recycling stage. Accordingly, an aluminum based alloy-made bolt (hereinafter, referred to as "aluminum alloy bolt") having high strength is demanded.
In the case of making an aluminum alloy bolt highly strengthened, it has hitherto been common to condition it to have predetermined strength through implementation of a solution treatment and an ageing treatment as described in Patent Literature 1. Since the aluminum alloy bolt is apt to suffer a crack due to stress corrosion with enhancing in strength, overage thermal refining by which the strength is lowered by 5 to 15% from the maximum strength is generally utilized.
The method described in Patent Literature 1 is to apply a heat treatment, which includes quenching from a temperature exceeding 480° C. and an ageing treatment within the range between +60° C. and 220° C., after being formed into a bolt shape through cold heading.
Likewise, as regards Patent Literatures 2 to 4, a heat treatment for enhancing strength is to be applied after a shaping process as with Patent Literature 1.

Method for manufacturing aluminum based alloy-made fastening part and aluminum based alloy-made fastening part


An image forming system and methods are disclosed. The methods include detecting an ambient temperature of an image forming system by a first thermal sense resistor disposed in a first printhead to obtain a first detected ambient temperature, detecting the ambient temperature of the image forming system by a second thermal sense resistor disposed in a second printhead to obtain a second detected ambient temperature, and determining a temperature difference between the first detected ambient temperature and the second detected ambient temperature of the image forming system by a temperature variation module.

Image forming systems such as inkjet printing systems may include a plurality of printheads to form images on media and motors to perform motion functions of the image forming systems. The printheads may include thermal sense resistors to detect temperature of the respective printheads. A control module may control motion functions of the image forming systems based on detected temperatures of the printheads.

Image forming system and methods thereof

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Sustained and enhanced antipyretic response is elicited in a mammalian organism in need of such treatment, i.e., a mammal suffering from elevated body temperature (fever), by administering thereto a unit dosage sustainedly enhancing, antipyretically effective amount of the free acid S(+) flurbiprofen enantiomer, said enantiomer being substantially free of its R(-) flurbiprofen antipode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the use of free acid S(+) flurbiprofen to elicit a sustained and enhanced antipyretic response in mammalian organisms in need of such treatment, and to certain pharmaceutical compositions comprising unit dosage effective amounts of S(+) flurbiprofen.
2. Description of the Art
Flurbiprofen, also known as (.+-.)-2-fluoro-.alpha.-methyl-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-acetic acid, as (.+-.)-2-fluoro-.alpha.-methyl-4-biphenylacetic acid or as (.+-.)-2-(2-fluoro-4-biphenylyl)propionic acid, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,755,427 and has the structural formula: ##STR1## The compound is well-known as a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug having analgesic and antipyretic activity. Flurbiprofen is marketed in the United States for the treatment of arthritis but not as an analgesic and it has been on the market in numerous countries overseas, including Europe, for a number of years. Tradenames and codenames by which it is known include Ansaid, Cebutid, Froben, BTS 18322 and U-27182. As Froben, the drug is available abroad as tablets containing 50 or 100 mg of flurbiprofen. For rheumatic disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, it is recommended at a daily dose of 150 to 200 mg in divided doses of two to four per day, increased to a daily dose of 300 mg in acute conditions. See Martindale, The Extra Pharmacopoeia, 28th edition, ed. James E. F. Reynolds, London, The Pharmaceutical Press, 1982, p. 255. As an analgesic, it is usually administered at the 50 mg dosage level every 4 to 6 hours, up to 300 mg per day. Flurbiprofen has been found useful in controlling acute and chronic pain, including that associated with ankylosing spondylitis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, postsurgical dental pain, postsurgical gynecological pain, postpartum uterine pain, primary dysmenorrhea, cancer pain, the pain of acute gout and the pain of acute bursitis/tendinitis of the shoulder. See The American Journal of Medicine, Proceedings of a Symposium, "Control of Acute and Chronic Pain with Ansaid (Flurbiprofen)", ed. Abraham Sunshine, M. D., Volume 80 (3A), Mar. 24, 1986.
As is apparent from its chemical nomenclature, flurbiprofen is a racemic mixture. It is only the racemic mixture which has in fact ever been marketed. There have, however, been a few isolated studies of the individual S(+) and R(-) isomers reported in the literature. These reflect that the S(+) enantiomer, analogously to other 2-arylpropionic acids, is the active form of flurbiprofen.
Hutt et al, J. Pharm. Pharmacol., 35, 693-704 (1983), reviewed the earlier work on the metabolic chiral inversion of 2-arylpropionic acids, including ibuprofen, which they indicated was the first substituted 2-arylpropionic acid conclusively shown to undergo the inversion as well as the most studied member of the group. The authors noted that early workers found no significant difference in in vivo activity among the R(-) and S(+) isomers and the racemic mixture of ibuprofen in three different animal models, but very large differences in vitro between the R(-) and S(+) isomers, ascribing this discrepancy to the virtually quantitative conversion of the R(-) to the active S(+) isomer in vivo.
In the same paper, Hutt et al reported that, in contrast, for several other 2-arylpropionic acids, the inactive R(-) isomer was not converted in vivo to the active S(+) isomer as readily as ibuprofen, although the conversion seemed to occur to some extent over time. Naproxen, they noted, has been the only compound marketed as the S(+) enantiomer to date. Hutt et al concluded:
It is likely that benefits will be obtained from the use of the S(+)-enantiomer of 2-arylpropionates as drugs as opposed to the racemates. This is only found at present in the case of naproxen. In cases of rapid inversion, the inactive R(-) isomer serves merely as a prodrug for the active S(+)-antipode. Where inversion is slow, the R(-) enantiomer is an unnecessary impurity in the active S(+) form. Use of the S(+)-enantiomer would permit reduction of the dose given, remove variability in rate and extent of inversion as a source of variability in therapeutic response and would reduce any toxicity arising from non-stereospecific mechanisms.
Thus, in cases of rapid inversion, such as ibuprofen, where substantially equivalent in vivo responses have been reported for the individual enantiomers and the racemic drug, Hutt et al suggested that no benefits would be obtained from the use of the S(+) isomer because the inactive R(-) isomer merely acts as a prodrug for the active S(+) form. Contrariwise, in cases where chiral inversion is slow, e.g., naproxen, the use of the S(+) enantiomer is desirable for the several reasons enumerated by Hutt et al. Indeed, naproxen has been reported to be marketed as the d-isomer for one of the reasons given by Hutt et al, i.e., to reduce side effects (Allison et al, "Naproxen," Chapter 9 in Anti-inflammatory and Anti-Rheumatic Drugs, eds. Rainsford and Path, CRC Press Inc., Boca Raton, Fla., 1985, p. 172). However, the 1983 Hutt et al review is silent as to the possibility of chiral inversion in the case of flurbiprofen.
Another general report on earlier work has been provided by Hutt et al in Clinical Pharmacokinetics, 9, 371-373 (1984). In this article on the importance of stereochemical considerations in the clinical pharmacokinetics of 2-aryl-propionic acids, the authors tabulated relative potencies of the enantiomers of a number of 2-arylpropionic acids in vivo and in vitro. The in vitro results showed the S or (+) isomer in each case to be the more active species. In vivo, however, the results were not consistent across the entire class. Thus, the results for naproxen demonstrated the S or (+) isomer to be much more active in vivo, indicating a relatively slow inversion of the inactive R or (-) isomer to the active S or (+) isomer; the results for fenoprofen and ibuprofen, on the other hand, demonstrated the inactive R or (-) and the active S or (+) isomers to be approximately equally effective in vivo, indicating a rapid inversion of R or (-) isomer to S or (+) isomer. Hutt et al indicated that flurbiprofen had an S(+)/R(-) activity ratio in vivo of 878 and in vitro 2-16; the in vitro study involved antagonism of rat SRS-A on the tracheal chain of guinea pigs and the in vivo study assessed guinea pig anaphylaxis. The reference cited by Hutt et al for the flurbiprofen studies was Greig et al, J. Med. Chem. 18, 112-116 (1975).
Greig et al, who were associated with the Upjohn Company, one of the developers of flurbiprofen, studied the antagonism of slow reacting substance in anaphylaxis (SRS-A) and other spasmogens on the guinea pig tracheal chain by hydrotropic acids. Greig et al also studied the ability of the hydrotropic acids to protect guinea pigs against anaphylaxis. Among the substances tested were racemic flurbiprofen, (+) flurbiprofen and (-) flurbiprofen.
In the in vitro testing, the (+) isomer was found to be many times more effective than the racemate; indeed, the authors found that the (-) isomer inhibited the effect of the (+) isomer in antagonism of rat SRS-A on guinea pig trachea in vitro. In the in vivo testing, Greig et al found that flurbiprofen and its isomers were active in protecting sensitized guinea pigs against anaphylactic shock when they were challenged 4 weeks after sensitization. These results correlated well with the in vitro activity. In vivo, the (+) isomer had more than a two-fold effect over the racemate; at 80% protection, the (+) isomer was 5 to 7 times more active than the racemic mixture. The (-) isomer was the least active of the three compounds.
The Greig et al studies concerned themselves with anaphylaxis and bronchospasm; as such, they have no relevancy to an antipyretic response.
Nishizawa et al, also associated with Upjohn, reported in Thrombosis Research 3, 577-588 (1973) on flurbiprofen as a potent inhibitor of platelet aggregation in animals and man. They found that the platelet anti-aggregating effect resided in the d-isomer; the 1-isomer was without anti-aggregating effect and neither counteracted nor enhanced the effect of the d-isomer. The optical antipodes were tested in rats. Anti-aggregating effects, however, do not correlate with models for analgesia or inflammation.
Kulmacz et al, J. Biol. Chem. 260, 12572-12578 (1985), studied the interaction of flurbiprofen with prostaglandin H synthase. They reported that 1.2 .+-.0.1 mol of S(+) flurbiprofen per mol of synthase dimer resulted in maximum inhibition of the cyclooxygenase enzyme. Racemic flurbiprofen required 2.4.+-.0.3 mol per mol synthase dimer for full effect, and the R(-) isomer was not inhibitory, even at a ratio of 2.5/dimer. From their own studies and those of Nishizawa et al in inhibiting rat platelet aggregation, Kulmacz et al concluded that the flurbiprofen isomers follow the pattern observed for many anti-inflammatory agents, i.e., the dextrorotatory form is usually more potent pharmacologically than the levorotatory isomer. This is borne out by the teachings of Armitage et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,727, dated Feb. 26, 1985. The Armitage et al patent relates to a novel light-stable N-methyl-D-glucamine salt of the dextrorotatory or (+) isomer. It teaches that flurbiprofen has anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic properties, and that the (+) enantiomer is the pharmacologically active isomer.
In summary, the current state of the art assumes that, in mammals, analogously to other 2-arylpropionic acid NSAID's, the S(+) form is the active enantiomer of flurbiprofen. However, there do not appear to be any human or other animal experiments on efficacy of the separate enantiomers in antipyretic models reported in the literature. The prior art, moreover, is conspicuously silent in respect to any sustainedly enhanced alleviation of mammalian fever utilizing whatever form of the flurbiprofen drug species.


An optical scanner includes a light source for projecting a light beam against a target, a deflector for deflecting the light beam, a coupling lens, an optical element, a light source support member, and a housing. The coupling lens directs the light beam to the deflector. The optical element focuses the light beam deflected by the deflector into a desired shape. The light source support member supports the light source. The housing houses the light source supported by the light source support member, the deflector, and the optical elements. The housing includes at least two coupling lens mounts on which the coupling lens is fixed on an optical path between the light source and the target, and accommodates multiple light source support members. The coupling lens is fixed to the coupling lens mount using an adhesive agent after an optical axis of the light beam is aligned.

1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to an image forming apparatus, such as a copier, a facsimile machine, a printer, or a digital multi-functional system including a combination thereof, and more particularly, to an optical scanner that allows specification changes using common parts and an image forming apparatus including the optical scanner.
2. Description of the Related Art
Related-art image forming apparatuses, such as copiers, facsimile machines, printers, or multifunction printers having at least one of copying, printing, scanning, and facsimile capabilities, typically form an image on a recording medium according to image data. Thus, for example, a charger uniformly charges a surface of an image bearing member (which may, for example, be a photoconductive drum); an optical scanner projects a light beam onto the charged surface of the image bearing member to form an electrostatic latent image on the image bearing member according to the image data; a developing device supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the image bearing member to render the electrostatic latent image visible as a toner image; the toner image is directly transferred from the image bearing member onto a recording medium or is indirectly transferred from the image bearing member onto a recording medium via an intermediate transfer member; a cleaning device then cleans the surface of the image carrier after the toner image is transferred from the image carrier onto the recording medium; finally, a fixing device applies heat and pressure to the recording medium bearing the unfixed toner image to fix the unfixed toner image on the recording medium, thus forming the image on the recording medium.
Known optical scanners for writing an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the image bearing member include a rotary polygon mirror that deflects and scans a light beam along the main scanning direction of the photosensitive drum.
Such optical scanners include a light source such as a semiconductor laser or the like, a coupling lens, an aperture, a cylindrical lens disposed on a light path between the light source and the rotary polygon mirror, a group of scan lenses including an f-theta lens and a face tangle error correction lens, and mirrors disposed between the scan lens and the photosensitive drum. The group of scan lenses is disposed between the rotary polygon mirror and a scanned surface of the photosensitive drum.
In recent years, there is growing market demand for production of images of ever-higher quality at ever-higher speeds. In order to accommodate such demand, a rotation speed of the rotary polygon mirror is increased from an original standard specification as needed, and the number of semiconductor lasers is increased to form multiple light beams.
When changes are made to the standard specification, configurations of devices need to be also changed to accommodate the changes. More specifically, when increasing the printing speed, an optical unit including multiple semiconductor lasers and a rotary polygon mirror with a higher rotation speed, or a whole new optical scanner is manufactured in addition to the standard devices so that depending on the specification changes, more appropriate devices can be installed in the image forming apparatus.
However, as is obvious, manufacturing a new optical unit and an optical scanner in addition to the standard devices increases manufacturing cost.
In view of the above, for changes in the rotation speed of rotary polygon mirror in particular, the rotary polygon mirror which is normally disposed on a drive circuit board is disposed separately from the drive circuit board, such as in JP-2006-326901-A. Instead, the rotary polygon mirror is attached to a different board (also called dummy board), and the drive circuit board is disposed outside an optical housing enclosing various optical components.
In this configuration, heat generated due to high-speed rotation of the rotary polygon mirror does not adversely affect the drive circuit board and components disposed thereon. Furthermore, the optical housing includes a plurality of circuit board mounts so that when the rotary polygon mirror rotating at higher speed is employed, the drive circuit board can be mounted at a different position to prevent the heat of the rotary polygon mirror from affecting the circuit board.
Although advantageous, in order to achieve high-speed scan with a single beam, a deflector such as the rotary polygon mirror needs to rotate at ever higher speed. Such a deflector capable of rotating fast is generally expensive and generates noise when rotating. Thus, a sound proof shield or the like to reduce noise is required, thus hindering efforts to provide the low-cost image forming apparatuses for which there is market demand.
In view of the above, there is thus demand for an optical writing device capable of accommodating changes from a standard specification without manufacturing new devices.

Optical scanner and image forming apparatus including same