There are provided a protective layer transfer sheet that is excellent in transferability of a thermally transferable protective layer from a substrate sheet and can yield a protective layer having excellent durability such as abrasion resistance and scratch resistance, weathering resistance, chemical resistance, solvent resistance, stampability and writability with an aqueous ink, and a thermally transferred image recorded object using the same. The protective layer transfer sheet comprises: a substrate sheet; and a thermally transferable protective layer provided on at least a part of one side of the substrate sheet, wherein the thermally transferable protective layer forms a protective layer having a water absorptive property upon thermal transfer, the thermally transferable protective layer comprises at least a peel layer, a stampable and writable protective layer formed of a water resistant porous layer and a water absorptive resin, and a heat-sensitive adhesive resin layer provided in that order as viewed from the substrate sheet side, and the peel layer comprises at least a water soluble resin, fine particles, and a curing agent, the water soluble resin having a number average molecular weight in the range of 10000 to 30000.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermal transfer sheet, for a protective layer, with a protective layer separably provided thereon. More particularly, the present invention relates to a protective layer transfer sheet that can yield a protective layer, which can impart stampability and writability with a pen using an aqueous ink, a fountain pen or the like to an image formed by thermal transfer recording and is excellent in layer transferability, abrasion resistance, scratch resistance, weathering resistance, chemical resistance, solvent resistance and the like, and a thermally transferred image recorded object and a print using the same.
2. Background Art
At the present time, thermal transfer recording is widely used as a simple printing method. The thermal transfer recording can simply form various images and thus is utilized in printing wherein the number of prints may be relatively small, for example, in the preparation of ID cards, such as identification cards or photographs for business, or is utilized, for example, in printers of personal computers or video printers.
When a full-color gradational image such as a photograph-like image of a face is desired, the thermal transfer sheet used is such that, for example, colorant layers of yellow, magenta, and cyan and optionally black are provided as ink layers repeatedly in a large number in a face serial manner on a continuous substrate sheet.
Such thermal transfer sheets are classified roughly into thermal transfer sheets of the so-called "heat-fusion" or "thermal ink transfer" type wherein the colorant layer is melted and softened upon heating and as such is transferred onto an object, that is, an image-receiving sheet, and thermal transfer sheets of the so-called "sublimation dye transfer" or "thermal dye transfer" type wherein, upon heating, a dye contained in the colorant layer is sublimated to permit the dye to migrate onto the image-receiving sheet.
When the above thermal transfer sheet is used, for example, for preparing identification cards or documents, a method known for forming a protective layer on an mage with a view to protecting the image is that a protective layer transfer sheet with a thermally transferable resin layer is stacked on an image formed by the thermal transfer of a heat-fusion colorant layer or thermally sublimable dye and the thermally transferable resin layer is transferred by means of a thermal head, a heating roll or the like to form a protective layer on the image.
The provision of the protective layer can improve abrasion resistance, chemical resistance, solvent resistance and the like of images, and, further, the addition of an ultraviolet absorber or the like to the protective layer can improve lightfastness of the images.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 240404/2002 discloses a thermal transfer sheet for a protective layer in which a thermally transferable protective layer is provided on at least a part of one side of a substrate sheet and the protective layer is a laminate having a structure of at least two layers, that is, comprises at least a layer composed mainly of an acrylic resin and a layer composed mainly of a polyester resin provided in that order on the substrate sheet.
The thermal transfer sheet for a protective layer disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 240404/2002, however, is disadvantageous in that when the formation of aqueous ink images, for example, stamps put at the joining of two leaves, or various stamp images, using an aqueous ink on a thermally transferred image, with a protective layer formed using the thermal transfer sheet for a protective layer, on a photographic paper is contemplated for use, e.g., in a photographic image of a face in a passport, the print cannot absorb and fix the aqueous ink.
To overcome the above problem, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 324140/1996 discloses a thermal transfer film for a protective layer. Upon transfer, the thermal transfer film for a protective layer forms a protective layer, for example, in which a water absorptive surface layer constituting the uppermost surface after transfer is a layer capable of absorbing and fixing an aqueous ink and the water absorptive surface layer is a substantially transparent porous layer or a partially water absorptive layer comprising at least water absorptive micro-regions and water resistant micro-regions.
In the thermal transfer film for a protective layer disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 324140/1996, however, the following facts should be noted. Specifically, when a water absorptive surface layer is provided in the transferred protective layer for water absorptive property-imparting purposes, as compared with a conventional thermal transfer sheet for a protective layer which does not impart the water absorptive property, at the time of thermal transfer, disadvantageously, the transferability of the protective layer from a substrate film is poor, that is, the protective layer is not faithfully separated.

Protective layer transfer sheet and thermally transferred image recorded object


Method for producing a population of mammalian neurons and/or smooth muscle cells comprising contacting at least one mammalian neural stem cell with a culture medium containing one or more growth factors from the TGF-.beta. super family and detecting the differentiation of stem cell to a population of neurons or smooth muscle cells.

The neural crest is a transient embryonic precursor population, whose derivatives include cells having widely different morphologies, characteristics and functions. These derivatives include the neurons and glia of the entire peripheral nervous system, melanocytes, cartilage and connective tissue of the head and neck, stroma of various secretory glands and cells in the outflow tract of the heart (for review, see Anderson, D. J. (1989) Neuron 3:1-12). The neural crest generates most of the peripheral nervous system (PNS), skin melanocytes, and mesectodermal derivatives such as smooth muscle (SM) cells, bone, and cartilage Horstadius, S., London; Oxford University Press (1950); Le Douarin et al. (1994) Curr. Opin. Genet. Devel. 4:685-695; Shah et al.(1996) Cell 85:331-343. Much of the knowledge of the developmental potential and fate of neural crest cells comes from studies in avian systems. Fate maps have been established in aves and provide evidence that several different crest cell derivatives may originate from the same position along the neural tube (Le Dourain, N. M. (1980) Nature 286:663-669). Schwann cells, melanocytes and sensory and sympathetic neurons can all derive from the truncal region of the neural tube. On the other hand, some derivatives were found to originate from specific regions of the crest, e.g., enteric ganglia from the vagal and sacral regions. These studies also revealed that the developmental potential of the neural crest population at a given location along the neural tube is greater than its developmental fate. This suggests that the new environment encountered by the migrating crest cells influences their developmental fate.
Single-cell lineage analysis in vivo, as well as clonal analysis in vitro, have reportedly shown that early avian neural crest cells are multipotential during, or shortly after, their detachment and migration from the neural tube. In avian systems, certain clones derived from single neural crest cells in culture were reported to contain both catecholaminergic and pigmented cells (Sieber-Blum, M. et al. (1980) Dev. Biol. 80:96-106). Baroffio, A. et al. (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:5325-5329, reported that avian neural crest cells from the cephalic region could generate clones which gave rise to highly heterogeneous progeny when grown on growth-arrested fibroblast feeder cell layers.
In vivo demonstration of the multipotency of early neural crest cells was reported in chickens by Bronner-Fraser, M. et al. (1989) Neuron 3:755-766. Individual neural crest cells, prior to their migration from the neural tube, were injected with a fluorescent dye. After 48 hours, the clonal progeny of injected cells were found to reside in many or all of the locations to which neural crest cells migrate, including sensory and sympathetic ganglia, peripheral motor nerves and the skin. Phenotypic analysis of the labeled cells revealed that at least some neural crest cells are multipotent in vivo.
Following migration from the neural tube, these early multipotent crest cells become segregated into different sublineages, which generate restricted subsets of differentiated derivatives. The mechanisms whereby neural crest cells become restricted to the various sublineages are poorly understood. The fate of neural crest derivatives is known to be controlled in some way by the embryonic location in which their precursors come to reside (Le Douarin, N. M. (1982) The Neural Crest., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK). The mechanism of specification for neural crest cells derivatives is not known. In culture studies described above, investigators reported that clones derived from primary neural crest cells exhibited a mixture of phenotypes (Sieber-Blum, M. et al. (1980) ibid; Baroffio, A. et al. (1988) ibid; Cohen, A. M. et al. (1975) Dev. Biol. 46:262-280; Dupin, E. et al. (1990) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87:1119-1123). Some clones contained only one differentiated cell type whereas other clones contained many or all of the assayable crest phenotypes.
The observation that apparently committed progenitors and multipotent cells coexist in the neural crest may be interpreted to reflect a pre-existing heterogeneity in the population of primary crest cells or it may reflect asynchrony in a population of cells that undergoes a progressive restriction in developmental potential.
How growth factors influence the fate of multipotent progenitor cells is not well understood. Most hematopoietic growth factors act selectively as survival factors, rather than instructively as lineage determination signals. Shah et al.(1996) Cell 85:331-343.
Given the uncertainty in the art concerning the developmental potential of neural crest cells, it is apparent that a need exists for the isolation of neural crest cells in clonal cultures. Although culture systems have been established which allow the growth and differentiation of isolated avian neural crest cells thereby permitting phenotypic identification of their progeny, culture conditions which allow the self-renewal of multipotent mammalian neural crest cells have not been reported. Such culture conditions are essential for the isolation of mammalian neural crest stem cells. Such stem cells are necessary in order to understand how multipotent neural crest cells become restricted to the various neural crest derivatives. In particular, culture conditions which allow the growth and self-renewal of mammalian neural crest stem cells are desirable so that the particulars of the development of these mammalian stem cells may be ascertained. This is desirable because a number of tumors of neural crest derivatives exist in mammals, particularly humans. Knowledge of mammalian neural crest stem cell development is therefore needed to understand these disorders in humans. Additionally, the ability to isolate and grow mammalian neural crest stem cells in vitro allows for the possibility of using said stem cells to treat peripheral neurological disorders in mammals, particularly humans. The ability to preferentially differentiate neural stem cells allows for a number of treatments which require the growth or regeneration of damaged, injured or deficient neurons or smooth muscle cells.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide methods utilizing growth factors from the TGF-.beta. superfamily to preferentially differentiate neural stem cells to neurons and/or smooth muscle cells.
It is a further object of the invention to utilize growth factors from the TGF-.beta. superfamily to preferentially increase the population of mammalian neurons and/or smooth muscle cells.
It is also an object of the invention to remove cells from a patient, treat the cells with growth factors from the TGF-.beta. superfamily in order to preferentially increase the population of mammalian neurons and/or smooth muscle cells, and return the cells to the patient.
It is another object of the invention to treat a patient with growth factors from the TGF-.beta. superfamily in order to preferentially increase the population of mammalian neurons and/or smooth muscle cells within said patient.
It is an additional object of the invention to introduce foreign (heterologous) nucleic acid into multipotent neural stem cells or their progeny and utilize growth factors from the TGF-.beta. superfamily to preferentially differentiate such transformed neural stem cells to neurons and/or smooth muscle cells.

Methods for differentiating neural stem cells to neurons or smooth muscle cells using TGT-.beta. super family growth factors


An apparatus for connecting cable cores, in particular using insulation displacement connection technology, in particular for producing a branch lead from a primary cable, comprising an insulating body with contact holders. A connecting element 3 is introduced into the contact holders 2 of the insulating body 1 and has two contact elements 5, 6 in different wiring connection levels, at least one contact element 6 being connected to a slide 4 which is guided in the connecting region such that it can move and can be pushed in the wiring connection direction into the contact slot 19 in the contact element 6.

Core connectors for producing branch leads are already known from telecommunications. DE 37 11 675 C2 describes a core connector for cable cores of telecommunications cables, which essentially comprises two cover parts which can be latched to a housing lower part in different positions and into which guide channels for cable cores are introduced. Connecting elements are arranged in the guide channels. In order to produce a branch lead from a primary cable core, the cable core which is to form a branch lead is initially brought into contact, by means of one of the covering parts, with one of the insulation displacement contact slots in the connecting element. The cable core from the primary cable is then placed on the one cover part, which is latched onto the housing lower part, and the second cover part is used to introduce it into the second insulation displacement contact slot in the connecting element, such that electrically conductive contact is made.
A cable core branch lead from a cable core passing through is produced subject to the precondition that the cable core passing through has a certain amount of spare length so that it can be guided in a somewhat bent manner over the one cover part into the contact slot in the second insulation displacement contact.


A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device is presented. In one aspect, the method comprises forming conductive and ferroelectric material layers on a semiconductor substrate. The material layers are patterned to form electrodes and a ferroelectric layer of a ferroelectric capacitor, wherein a conductive noble metal-containing polymer is generated on sidewalls of the ferroelectric capacitor. The method also comprises converting the conductive noble metal-containing polymer into a non-conducting metal oxide. Converting includes forming a water-soluble metal salt from the conductive noble metal-containing polymer and reacting the water-soluble metal salt with an acqueous acidic solution to form a metal hydroxide. Converting also includes oxidizing the metal hydroxide to form the non-conducting metal oxide.

Noble metals are being increasingly used in the fabrication of various MEMS and IC semiconductor devices. E.g., noble metals are often used in the construction of components of capacitors used in ferroelectric memory cells (FRAM). Unfortunately, the patterning of such noble metal can be problematic. E.g., the etching of noble metals can leave behind a conductive by-product which short-circuits a device component. Consequently, capacitors that comprise components formed from patterned noble metals may not retain their charge because conductive by-products formed on sidewalls of the capacitor provide a route for current leakage.
Accordingly, what is needed is a method for manufacturing semiconductor devices that includes noble metals and that addresses the drawbacks of the prior art methods and devices.

Method for cleaning post-etch noble metal residues


A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine according to the invention obtains a first index that indicates the amount of fuel adhering to the wall surface of an intake passage, using intake valve timing; obtains a correction value that reduces the first index, using exhaust valve timing and the intake valve timing; and calculates a second index that indicates the amount of fuel adhering to the wall surface of the intake passage, using the correction value. The control apparatus controls the amount of fuel to be injected based on at least one of the first index and the second index.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a control apparatus for an internal combustion engine where intake valve timing and exhaust valve timing can be adjusted and fuel is injected into an intake passage, which calculates an index that indicates the amount of fuel adhering to the wall surface of an intake passage based on the operating state of the engine, and controls the amount of fuel to be injected based on the index.
2. Description of the Related Art
In internal combustion engines where fuel is injected into an intake passage from a fuel injection valve, part of the injected fuel adheres to the wall surface of the intake passage. The amount of fuel adhering to the wall surface is not constant, and varies depending on the operating state of the internal combustion engine. Accordingly, when the amount of fuel adhering to the wall surface increases, the amount of fuel supplied to a combustion chamber is less than the amount of fuel injected from the fuel injection valve. When the amount of fuel adhering to the wall surface decreases, the amount of fuel supplied to the combustion chamber is greater than the amount of fuel injected from the fuel injection valve. As a result, the air-fuel ratio estimated based on the amount of injected fuel and the amount of intake air is deviated from the actual air-fuel ratio. This deviation of the estimated air-fuel ratio from the actual air-fuel ratio may cause problems relating to the output of the engine and exhaust gas discharged from the engine.
The amount of fuel adhering to the wall surface is greatly influenced by the valve overlap between the intake valve and the exhaust valve, which may cause exhaust gas to flow back to the intake passage. Therefore, in an internal combustion engine where the valve overlap can be adjusted, the deviation of the estimated air-fuel ratio from the actual air-fuel ratio needs to be prevented. Thus, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-11-36936 (hereinafter, referred to as No. 11-36936) and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-8-261034 (hereinafter, referred to as No. 8-261034) describe control apparatuses which estimate an index that indicates the amount of fuel adhering to the wall surface of an intake passage based on the valve overlap amount, and an advance angle of the intake valve timing corresponding to the valve overlap amount; and correct the amount of fuel to be injected based on the amount of fuel adhering to the wall surface of the intake passage.
However, the control apparatuses described in No. 11-36936 and No. 8-261034 execute the control on the assumption that only the intake valve timing is adjusted, and the exhaust valve timing is not adjusted. Therefore, consideration is not given to the influence of the valve timing on the amount of fuel adhering to the wall surface of the intake passage in the case where both the intake valve timing and the exhaust valve timing can be changed even when the overlap amount remains the same.
The intake valve timing and the exhaust valve timing are physical quantities different from each other. Thus, in the case where the technologies described in No. 11-36936 and No. 8-261034 are applied to the internal combustion engine where both the intake valve timing and the exhaust valve timing are adjusted, the behavior of the amount of fuel adhering to the wall surface of the intake passage may be different from the estimated behavior, which reduces the accuracy in controlling the amount of fuel to be injected.

Control apparatus for internal combustion engine


A diamond drag type drill bit for drilling in an earthen formation consists of a body forming a first cutting end formed from a matrix material and a second open threaded pin end. The first cutting end consists of a multiplicity of substantially radially disposed ridges and flow channels formed by the matrix material. The flow channels intersect a fluid discharge port and radially extend outwardly toward a peripheral edge formed by the cutter end. The ridges contain, along their apical, radially extended edges, a multiplicity of essentially equidistantly spaced diamond cutters having each of their cutting edges formed therein aligned substantially along the apical edge. The space between each diamond cutter contains a metallic filler material aligned along the apical edge that is less hard than either the diamond or the supporting matrix material forming the first cutting end of the drag bit. The filler material wears away rapidly during operation of the bit in the earthen formation allowing the diamond cutters to protrude an extent necessary to obtain optimum formation cutting rates.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns the manufacture and use of polycrystalline diamond drilling bits.
More specifically, it is a means to produce drilling bits using thermally stable diamonds (hereinafter called TSP cutters) that are more predictable and cost effective than state of the art TSP cutter drill bits.
II. Description of the Prior Art
A typical prior art TSP cutter diamond bit is manufactured by forming a cavity in a suitable refractory material mold cavity (i.e. graphite) that is the mirror image of the desired finished product. The TSP cutters are then temporarily affixed with an adhesive in circumferentially placed vee shaped grooves formed in the mold. The entire bit head is then fabricated with materials and by technology well known in the diamond bit industry.
One typical example of prior art, Pat. No. 4,491,188 teaches a method for TSP cutter placement in circumferential V-groove segments in the aforesaid mold cavity The TSP cutters are basically triangular prisms. The cutter is positioned in the mold with a triangular face forward in the direction of rotation of the finished bit. An apical edge of the triangular prism is placed concurrent with the circumferentially oriented v-groove. The depth of the v-groove is such that the TSP cutter protrudes on the finished bit somewhat more than need be for optimum cutter strength and drilling fluid control. This is because the 60.degree. apical angle of the TSP cutter is very fragile and a portion of the cutting tip of somewhat unpredictable dimension is quickly broken or worn off as the bit is rotated at the bottom of the borehole.
To ensure that too large a portion of the TSP cutter is not broken off in shear, matrix back-up metal is formed in front of the leading and behind the trailing faces of the TSP cutter.
The following Pat. Nos. 4,529,047; 4,673,044; 4,744,427; 4,586,574 and 4,515,226, all teach basically the same triangular prisms as cutting elements positioned in circumferential v-groove segments with matrix metal back-up. All bits made to the specifications of the aforesaid patents, as well as Patent No. 4,491,188, have the same unpredictable "breaking-in" time and results, which can have severe deleterious effects on the drilling fluid flow velocities across the cutting structure. This unpredictable cutter height breakage results in uneven cutter loading with subsequent selective wear which leads to termination of the bit run.
In summary, the foregoing patents provide evidence of intense efforts in the prior art to develop a TSP cutter bit that overcomes some of the inadequacies described. Specifically, there is need in the art for thermally stable diamond drag bits that do not require a break-in period and the drilling fluid is controlled to a degree that diamond wear is an insignificant problem.

Thermally stable polycrystalline diamond drill bit


An apparatus and method for reducing the size of memory arrays which are comprised of memory cells which use bit lines to access the cells. Adjacent cells in a row are assigned different word lines so that bit lines between adjacent cells can be shared. During the read and write cycles, bit lines of a row are selected by alternating the word lines and by setting corresponding sense amplifier selectors. By sharing bit lines in this way, the size of the memory array can be decreased significantly. Therefore, using the teachings of the present invention, a given amount of memory can be manufactured in a significantly smaller area. Alternately, significantly more memory can be stored in the same amount of area as would be required using a usual memory design.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for reducing the size of memory arrays in an integrated circuit chip. More specifically, the present invention implements bit line sharing in highly parallel memory structures.
(2) Art Background
It is quite common for memory storage to comprise semiconductor memories organized in rectangular arrays of rows and columns on very-large-scale integrated (VLSI) circuits. The intersection of one row and one column results in a storage element called a "cell". Each cell is capable of storing a binary bit of data. To write data into, and to read data from, a row or column of cells, an address is assigned to each row or column of cells. Access to the address is provided in a binary-coded address presented as input to address decoders that select a row or column for a write or read operation.
Static random access memory (SRAM) is a form of semiconductor memory that is widely known and used. SRAM storage is based on the logic circuit known as the flip-flop, which retains the information stored in it as long as there is enough power to run the device. A typical SRAM cell consists of six transistors. Although each SRAM cell requires a large layout space, SRAM is employed in situations which require high-speed random access such as cache memory. In the usual SRAM design, each cell has one word line and two bit lines (BIT and BIT#) to access cells.
Another example of memory storage is content addressable memory (CAM) which is a memory-based storage method in which data items are accessed, not by reference to some fixed address or location, but by analysis of their content. CAM enables one to look up matched data at a very high speed without reading out the content of the memory. It is used particularly in small, high-speed cache devices in order to determine whether a virtual memory page (a special type of storage) is present. In the usual design, each CAM cell has two bit lines (BIT and BIT#). A usual CAM cell is comprised of 10 transistors and also requires a large layout space.


A protein designated p35 binds to a number of the chemotaxis-stimulating cytokines known as chemokines. p35 may be used to treat conditions that are mediated by chemokines, such as inflammation. p35 is a secreted protein that can be purified from the culture supernatant of cells infected with certain viruses, or produced using recombinant DNA techniques. Isolated DNA sequences encoding p35 are provided, along with expression vectors comprising the p35 DNA, and purified p35 protein.

Chemokines are a family of relatively small proteins that have been implicated as mediators of acute and chronic inflammation. Roles in other immunoregulatory processes have been reported for certain chemokines as well.
One branch of the chemokine family is characterized by the presence of an amino acid between the first two of four conserved cysteines, whereas a second branch lacks any amino acid between those two cysteine residues. The first branch has been designated the C-X-C branch or a subfamily, and the second is known as the C-C branch or .beta. subfamily (Michiel, Bio/Technology 11:739, June 1993).
Chemokines have chemotactic properties, attracting certain cells of the immune system to sites of tissue injury and infection. Most of the .alpha. subfamily members attract and activate neutrophils, whereas .beta. subfamily members attract monocytes. Certain .beta. subfamily members additionally have been reported to recruit basophils, eosinophils or lymphocytes.
The roles chemokines play in various disorders is discussed in Baggiolini et al. (Advances in Immunology 55:97-179, 1994). Among the disorders believed to be mediated or exacerbated by one or more chemokines are inflammatory conditions of the lung (including inflammation associated with allergy or asthma) and skin (e.g., psoriasis). High levels of certain chemokines have been detected in the synovial fluid of inflamed joints in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis patients.
The chemokine macrophage inflammatory protein-1.beta. (MIP-1.beta.) suppresses hematopoietic stem cell proliferation, which has been suggested to contribute to anemia in malaria patients (Burgmann et al., Clinical Immunology and Immunopathology 76:32-36, 1995). The proinflammatory action of Interleukin-8 (IL-8) may play a role in deleterious host responses to sepsis (Marty et al., Crit. Care Med. 22:673-679, 1994). The possibility that monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and other C-C chemokines are involved in cardiovascular disease, through recruitment of monocytes into atherosclerotic areas, has been the subject of several studies (Baggiolini et al., supra, at page 146).
Inhibitors of chemokines would be useful in treating the disorders discussed above. A compound that inhibits more than one chemokine would be an especially desirable therapeutic agent.

Methods of using poxvirus p35 as a chemokine inhibitor and compositions therefore


An aircraft hot water supply system (10) comprising a group of water-use stations (14a–14f) each including a hot water line having a heater (40a–40f) which heats water at a heating rate dependent upon power provided thereto. A power manager (44) allocates different non-zero percentages of heater-dedicated power to different heaters (40) depending upon conditions at the corresponding water-use stations (14). A network (46) is provided to establish peer-to-peer communication among the heaters' controllers (48a–48f).

An aircraft commonly includes a water supply system in order to provide on-board water-use stations with fresh water. Such a system can comprise a water source line capable of continuously supplying water at a supply temperature (e.g., a temperature at least warm enough to prevent freezing) and a plurality of water-use stations. Certain water-use stations, such as hand wash basins in lavatories and sinks in galleys, have a hot water line and a cold water line. The stations can each incorporate a faucet assembly which mixes the water from the hot and cold water lines for discharge through a spout. The faucet assembly can include handle/valve means to manually control the discharge time and to adjust the temperature and flow rate of the discharged water.
The hot water line of each water-use station will commonly include a local heater to heat the relatively cold water from the water supply to a hot temperature (e.g., about 45° C.). The heater heats the water at a certain heating rate (e.g., kg*ΔC°/s) dependent upon the power provided thereto. For example, a heater operating at 400 watts will take about twice as long as a heater operating at 800 watts to heat a kilogram of water a given number of temperature degrees. Likewise, a heater operating at 800 watts will heat about twice as much water as a heater operating at 400 watts in a given amount of time.
Typically, a plurality of heaters (e.g., six heaters) are grouped together and powered by a single power source. Conventionally, each heater consistently used a set amount of power (e.g., 400 watts) to heat the water thereby always heating water at a corresponding heating rate. The power source was selected (and/or the heaters were selected and/or grouped) so that enough power (e.g., 2400 watts) was available for all of the grouped heaters to be operated at the same time.


A buffer board structure of a treadmill includes bamboo layers made by attaching bamboo sheets side by side, a bottom surface of which is adhered by a membrane layer whereby the bamboo sheets are firmly stuck on the membrane layer. Each membrane layer has an upper and lower faces respectively stuck between the bamboo layers. The bamboo sheets of each bamboo layer face the same juxtaposing direction, whereas bamboo layers juxtaposed lengthways provide a better buffer. By setting one membrane layer between two bamboo layers, contact faces of the bamboo layers and the membrane layer adhered together become smoother, and an adhesive fills in a gap more evenly. A slip resistant layer is stuck on the top bamboo layer. A smoother buffering effect and a stable juxtaposition are obtained when the bamboo layers are trodden to prevent the breakdown of buffer relations between the bamboo sheets and the membrane layers.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an application of a treadmill and relates particularly to a buffer board structure of a treadmill.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a treadmill uses a buffer board as a support below a belt. Because a quite large treading force is imparted to the buffer board when a user runs the treadmill, no buffer bounce will make the user quite uncomfortable. In this regard, it is common to install a buffer cushion and a buffer mechanism under the buffer board, stick a foam layer to the buffer board and then stick a woven layer to the foam layer. The aforesaid arrangement allows the belt to operate smoothly and provides a buffering effect with comfort.
However, the user easily treads on a same position and repeats his treading action, and in the long term this problem may cause the foam layer to collapse permanently. This collapse renders the foam layer unable to retrieve and lose the buffering effect.
This novel invention is made to improve a prior art issued by Taiwan patent No. TWI406686, and this invention and the prior art have the common inventor. The prior art comprises a treadmill buffer board which includes bamboo strips having the appropriate thickness and width. The bamboo strips are classified into longitudinal bamboo strips and latitudinal bamboo strips. At least one longitudinal bamboo strip and at least one latitudinal bamboo strip can be crossed each other and woven into a woven bamboo plywood board. The bamboo plywood board can be superimposed by a desired thickness to construct a woven bamboo laminated plywood board, thereby enhancing the strength and keeping the buffer bounce. Further, the prior art can directly put the longitudinal bamboo strips which are attached side by side over the latitudinal bamboo strip which are attached side by side to construct a stacking bamboo plywood board.
The aforesaid structures are all made of bamboo. After the prior art makes the bamboo laminated plywood board by weaving or superimposing or mixes the aforesaid two kinds of bamboo plywood boards, gaps formed between contact faces of the adjacent bamboo laminated plywood boards are uneven. Thus, distinct gap sizes are obviously formed when adhesives are laid on the contact faces. These gap sizes need to be filled in by adhesives. When the adhesives dry and solidify, the adhesives at respective adhesive positions between the bamboo laminated plywood boards have different amount of dryness and solidification. This situation causes the bamboo laminated plywood boards to have more rigidity and causes an uneven treading buffer. If this structure is applied to a buffer board of a treadmill, the buffering effect will be decreased.
The aforesaid bamboo laminated plywood boards are mainly put one over another and attached by adhesives. When the plywood board is trodden to create a buffer effect, the dryness and solidification causes the adhesives to split easily and the direct contact between the adjacent plywood boards creates friction and incurs noises.
The weaving or superimposing process of bamboo sheets may take time and require a larger amount of adhesives to fill in the larger gaps so that bamboo laminated plywood boards can be completed. This, however, cannot save costs.


A keysafe includes a housing, a door, a locking mechanism, a wireless communications interface, and an inhibitor system. The housing defines an internal compartment structured to receive a key fob for a vehicle. The door is positioned to enclose the internal compartment. The locking mechanism is positioned to selectively lock the door to prevent access to the internal compartment. The wireless communications interface is configured to facilitate wireless communication with an external device. The inhibitor system includes a coil disposed around the internal compartment, a battery disposed within the housing and coupled to the coil, and a controller. The controller is configured to energize the coil with the battery to inhibit communication between the key fob and the vehicle, receive a deactivation signal from the external device via the wireless communications interface, and de-energize the coil in response to receiving the deactivation signal to permit the communication.

A large number of today's vehicles feature keyless entry and push button keyless start that do not require the user to push a button on the key fob to gain access to or start the vehicle. Such systems allow entry to the vehicle by transmitting an on-off modulated data packet via a low frequency (e.g., 125 kilohertz ("kHz")) carrier from an antenna located in the door. This low frequency communication from the vehicle to the key fob is typically initiated by touching, moving, or pushing a button on the door handle. The low frequency data packet is received by the active key fob, and if the data packet is recognizable by the particular key fob, the key fob will then transmit an ultra-high frequency ("UHF") response (e.g., typically 315 megahertz ("MHz"), 433 MHz, or 900 MHz for U.S.-based vehicle models) to the vehicle. The vehicle will then unlock/open the door based on the response. When the start button of the vehicle is pressed, another data packet is transmitted to the key fob, and again if the data packet is recognizable by the key fob, the key fob will transmit to a second UHF response to the vehicle to facilitate starting the vehicle.


The present invention relates to a method (500) for determining a spectral scan protocol for acquiring a computed tomography (CT) image using a CT scanner and a corresponding apparatus (600). The method (500) comprises the steps of defining (510) a conventional scan protocol having scan restrictions for acquiring a conventional CT image; determining (520) a spectral scan protocol comprising a proportion of a first acquisition mode (201) and a proportion of a second acquisition mode (202), wherein the spectral scan protocol resembles the conventional scan protocol; and determining (520) the proportion of the first acquisition mode (201) and the proportion of the second acquisition mode (202) so that the scan restrictions of the conventional scan protocol are met. The method (500) and corresponding apparatus allows the determination of spectral scan protocols which reduce spectral scan mode restrictions.

Dual energy or spectral computed tomography (CT) is a special imaging procedure, in which generally a plurality of CT acquisitions using at least two different X-ray beam spectra are performed. Dual energy or spectral CT allows to perform energy and/or material selective reconstruction of the patient, it is for instance possible to obtain synthetic monochromatic energy images through material decomposition.
Despite the significant advantages in evaluation capabilities, CT users regularly refrain from selecting spectral scanning and choose conventional CT acquisition instead. The main reason for the users' hesitation is that one of the two acquisition modes uses the X-ray tube power less efficiently, which can have severe impact on scan restrictions, e.g. the acquisition speed, as compared to a conventional acquisition. Accordingly, the enhanced spectral capabilities are frequently not exploited due to the scan mode restrictions of spectral CT acquisition, even in cases in which scan restrictions would allow for such spectral acquisition, and a conventional CT image is acquired instead.

Method and device for determining a spectral computed tomography scan protocol


A device for providing a calibration fluid, in particular a nitrogen oxide, for calibrating a respiratory gas analysis device, includes a first interface for connecting a chamber of the device to a measurement path of the respiratory gas analysis device, a first opening for introducing a reactant carrier with a first reactant into the chamber, and a contact element. The contact element is arranged in the chamber relative to the first opening such that when the reactant carrier is introduced, a contact of the contact element with the reactant carrier is facilitated in order to trigger a chemical reaction of the first reactant so as to generate the calibration fluid. The disclosure further relates to a system, a reactant carrier, and a method for providing a calibration fluid for calibrating a respiratory gas analysis device.

By means of quantitative measurements of analytes in exhaled air, certain respiratory diseases can be detected and monitored. For example, by determining the nitrogen monoxide concentration in exhaled air, the degree of inflammation of the lungs in the case of asthma can be estimated.
The determination of the nitrogen monoxide concentration can be carried out using a device disclosed in EP 1384069 B1 by converting nitrogen monoxide to nitrogen dioxide and then measuring the nitrogen dioxide concentration by means of a field-effect-transistor-based gas sensor in the device. To that end, the gas sensor has on its gate electrode a sensitive layer for the accumulation of nitrogen dioxide. In order to regenerate the gas sensor, and in particular the sensitive layer, after a measurement, flushing of the sensitive layer with heating is necessary. However, it is thereby generally not possible to completely remove nitrogen dioxide which has accumulated on the sensitive layer and other species which interfere with the measurement.

Device, system, and method for providing a calibration fluid for the calibration and quality control of a respiratory gas analysis device


A waterproof scouring glove comprising a glove-like sheath having an abrasive material disposed along the entire outer surface so that a user may scour a kitchen implement or similar item without the need to grasp a separate scouring pad or sponge.

Heretofore, waterproofed washing and scrubbing mitts have been used only to protect the user's hands from harsh detergents and other chemicals which are utilized in most cleaning operations. Typically, the user dons the wash mitts and then grasps a steel wool-like scouring pad to clean an intended item such as a kitchen implement. This task can often prove cumbersome and daunting in that the scouring pad is difficult to retain within the user's hand due to the slippery, smooth quality of the rubber wash mitt.
In certain instances, abrasive cleaning surfaces have been attached to waterproof cleaning gloves and mitts. Typically though, in these instances, the abrasive natured substances are secured only to the mitt's palm and finger-tip region. In essence, the majority of the surface area of these gloves is unusable for cleaning purposes, and the wearer is restricted to utilizing only the small palm or fingertip region for cleaning purposes.
While these prior art units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as disclosed hereafter.


An image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes an image forming unit configured to form an image, a measuring unit configured to measure the formed image, a control unit configured to control execution of a single-color calibration to be performed to correct reproduction characteristics of a single-color formed by the image forming unit based on a measuring result of a single-color image formed with a single-color recording agent and execution of a multi-color calibration to be performed to correct reproduction characteristics of a multi-color image formed by the image forming unit based on a measuring result of a multi-color formed with a plurality of recording agents, and a selection unit configured to select whether to cause the control unit to perform the multi-color calibration after completing the single-color calibration or cause the control unit to perform any one of the single-color calibration and the multi-color calibration.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method that can correct a color of an image to be output from a printer, and a program for generating image processing parameters.
Description of the Related Art
The recent improvement in performance of electrophotographic apparatuses can realize high image quality comparable to that of a printing machine. However, the instability of each electrophotographic apparatus, which is peculiar thereto, tends to cause a color variation that is larger than that of a printing machine.
In general, a "single-color" calibration technique is conventionally installed in an electrophotographic apparatus. The "single-color" calibration technique includes generating a look-up table (LUT) usable to correct one-dimensional gradation characteristics corresponding to each of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (hereinafter, simply referred to as C, M, Y, and K) toners. The LUT is a table that indicates output data corresponding to respective input data segmented at specific intervals. Using the LUT is useful in expressing nonlinear characteristics to which no calculation formula is applicable. Further, the "single-color" is a color that is reproducible using a single toner of C, M, Y, or K. Performing the single-color calibration is useful to correct single-color reproduction characteristics, such as a maximum density and a gradation.
As discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-254350, a "multi-color" calibration technique using a four-dimensional LUT is conventionally proposed. The "multi-color" is a composite color that is reproducible using a plurality of toners of red, green, and blue or gray (based on CMY). Especially, according to the electrophotography, even when a one-dimensional LUT is used to correct single-color gradation characteristics, a nonlinear difference tends to occur if a plurality of toners is used to express a "multi-color." Performing the multi-color calibration in such a case is useful to correct multi-color reproduction characteristics which can be expressed by a combination (e.g., a superposition) of a plurality of color toners.
A processing procedure of the calibration including a "multi-color" calibration is described below. First, patches are printed on a recording medium, such as a sheet of paper, based on single-color chart data that is usable to perform the "single-color" calibration. Then, the printed patches are read by a scanner or a sensor. The read patch data is compared with target values having been set beforehand, and a one-dimensional LUT is generated which is used to correct differences between read patch data and the target values. Then, patches are printed on a recording medium based on multi-color chart data that reflects the obtained one-dimensional LUT to perform the "multi-color" calibration, and the printed patches are read by the scanner or the sensor. Further, the read patch data is compared with target values having been set beforehand, and a four-dimensional LUT is generated which is used to correct differences between read patch data and the target values.
As described above, it is feasible to realize highly accurate correction by performing the "multi-color" calibration in such a way as to correct multi-color characteristics that cannot be corrected by the "single-color" calibration.
In addition, it is desirable to start the processing from the "single-color" calibration and then perform the "multi-color" calibration, as described above. However, a significantly long processing time is required to complete both the single-color calibration and the multi-color calibration. For example, in a case of a user who frequently performs single-color printing, there is a higher possibility of performing the single-color calibration because the "multi-color" print is not performed so often. In addition, in an electrophotographic apparatus, there is a tendency that a nonlinear difference occurs in a case of "multi-color" processing as compared with a case of "single-color" processing. Therefore, "multi-color" characteristics may not be sufficiently corrected even in a case where "single-color" characteristics are sufficiently corrected. Accordingly, in a case of a user who frequently performs "multi-color" (e.g., photograph) printing, there is a higher possibility of performing the multi-color calibration rather than performing the single-color calibration.
In response to above-described users' demands, there is a mechanism which provides two buttons independently to enable a user to select each of the single-color calibration and the multi-color calibration and independently perform the selected calibration (see Fuji Xerox technical report NO. 19 2010).
However, according to the above-described technique discussed in Fuji Xerox technical report NO. 19 2010, the single-color calibration and the multi-color calibration are processing to be independently performed. Therefore, if only one of two calibrations is chiefly performed (too often), there is a possibility that the correction accuracy of the calibration may deteriorate.

Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and program


An electrode wire (20) is withdrawn from a pay-off spool (22), passed around guide rolls (24-30) to a machining span (32), and finally wound up on a take-up spool (40). The electrode wire (20) is guided in such a way that it always moves in the same plane at right angles to the axes, both when being wound up on the take-up spool (40) and when being unwound from the pay-off spool (22). Both spools (22, 40) are supported on a common carrier member (50) which is displaceable in axial direction of the spools (22, 40). A measuring device (70) is disposed between the pay-off spool (22) and the first guide roll (24) to detect deviations of the position of the electrode wire (20) from a predetermined position. The carrier member (50) is connected to a slide drive (60) which corrects any deviation detected of the position of the electrode wire (20) being unwound from the pay-off spool (22) by axially shifting the carrier member (50). Thus it also makes sure that the spent electrode wire (20) is wound up properly on the take-up spool (40).

In the case of a known wire supply device of this kind (DE 89 12 810 U1) the axial slidability of the pay-off spool containing a wire supply is based on the finding that oscillations may be induced at the guide roll which immediately follows the pay-off spool, and these oscillations may be transmitted to the machining span where they may affect the accuracy to size and the surface quality of the workpieces being processed. When the pay-off spool is supported so as not to be movable axially, such oscillations are caused by the fact that the electrode wire, arranged in layers on the spool, is payed off at a different angle at the beginning of each layer than at the end of the layer. From a certain angle on, the electrode wire tends to move up periodically on flanks of a groove formed in the guide roll which receives the wire next down the line from the pay-off spool and then to slide down again into the bottom of the groove. With the known device of the generic kind in question this is prevented by controlled shifting of the pay-off spool so that the electrode wire constantly maintains a certain position at which it runs perpendicularly to the axis of the pay-off spool.
It is also known (JP 07 001 247 A) to wind up spent electrode wire on a take-up spool for disposal, causing the spool to carry out controlled axial reciprocating movements during the winding process in order to make full use of the winding space available.

Wire supply device on a machine for spark erosion of workpieces


A data processing means for user tunable and selectable (FIG. 2) of a database wherein the data contained therein have associated descriptive properties (FIG. 2) capable of being expressed in numeric form is described. Descriptive property values (FIG. 2) may be standardized numerically to eliminate property value overweighting. A quantized vector (FIG. 2) representative of the descriptive properties is created for each item in the database. This quantized vector becomes the fingerprint for each data item. The user submits a query item to be matched against the database for similarity. A fingerprint is calculated for the query item. The user may then assign weights to the individual descriptive properties based upon perceived importance (FIG. 2). A newly weighted fingerprint for the query item is then compared with the fingerprints for all the data in the database. A list of results is presented to the user (FIG. 2). The user may then change the previously assigned weights and then re-run the similarity search. This may be done as often as necessary to achieve the desired results. Similarity searching in a generic database is described. However, particulary the method is desirable in databases containing chemical compound structure data or biological response screening result data.

Modern database management systems have been used since the early 1970's. Commercial database systems mostly concentrate on finding exact matches. Searches are performed either to find a specific entry, or to find multiple entries having the same characteristics. Attributes of the data often become fields. An exact search can be made to find a specific person by looking up his name or social security number. A search can be performed to find multiple individuals having the same occupation or place of birth. Alternatively, one may locate all people born before a particular date. Whether a single entry or multiple entries are found, this type of query constitutes an exact search. Exact searches try to exactly or relationally match one or more fields in different data records.
Similarity searching of databases has been around for several years. A similarity search compares two or more entries in their entirety to determine how closely they match one another. Consider the following simple database containing entries of various animals that fly:                a house-fly        a bat        a hummingbird        a dragonfly        a flying fish        a hawkThe question: "Which are most similar?" is not meaningful without additional input. A proper answer requires input of the key dimension. If "feathers" represent the key dimension, then the hawk and the hummingbird are most similar. If "the ability to fly stationary" is the key dimension, then the dragonfly and the hummingbird are most similar. Other possible key dimensions could be metabolism, life span, body temperature, etc. Therefore, the answer to the question: "Which are most similar?" is subjective depending upon the preferences of the person asking the question.
For a more complicated residential real estate database, a potential buyer would be looking to buy a home by expressing preferences that become the parameters for a similarity search. Such parameters might include number of bedrooms, type of house, asking price, neighborhood, quality of the local school system, property taxes, age restrictions on residents, home-owners' associations, etc. Currently, a real estate agent would first screen for homes having a specific most desirable characteristic (e.g., neighborhood or number of bedrooms). Then, the agent would look for the next desirable characteristic. The process would be repeated for each parameter, each search yielding a number of homes for consideration by the buyer. Where a particular home appears in the search results multiple times, it is more likely that the agent can make a sale. However, a feature vector may be created using these and other parameters, and a similarity search can be performed to match a potential buyer's preferences. This search would generate a list of homes approximating these preferences. A vector could indicate whether or not the buyer is interested in a particular feature. The homes can then be compared in their entirety by computing the mathematical difference between their feature vectors. The smaller the difference between the feature vectors of an ideal home and an available home, the more similar they are.
Representations of organic chemical compounds can be structurally decomposed into recognizable fragments, such as functional groups, carbocyclic rings, heterocyclic rings, aliphatic chains, and carbon-heteroatom chains. Many databases store molecular information according to their chemical structure fragments. The data processing systems maintain a fragment dictionary, and all compounds input into the database are parsed so as to generate a descriptor vector of each compound. Each element in the descriptor vector corresponds to a fragment in the fragment dictionary. The dictionary is instituted with fragments well known to those skilled in the art.
In other chemical database systems an algorithm replaces the chemical fragment dictionary. Such algorithms, in effect, generate chemical fragments on the fly and the fragments are then used to parse chemical structures and create a descriptor vector. The elements of the vector may directly correspond to chemical fragments or an algorithm, such as a hashing algorithm, may be used to generate an alternative relationship between the compounds and the vector elements.
One possible representation of a molecule would be to parse it into a binary fragment vector. Each bit represents the presence or absence of a particular fragment in the fragment dictionary or fragment generating algorithm. The binary vector may be represented logically as a string of bits or bytes or may have any convenient representation. The binary vector forms a fingerprint for the molecule. Each bit or fragment in the fingerprint is a dimension representing one row in the vector.
A chemical structure similarity search may be performed by calculating the similarity between the vector for a query compound and the vectors of the compounds stored in a chemical database. Standard measures of similarity such as Euclidean Distance, Tanimoto coefficient, Hamming Distance, Soergel Distance, Dice Coefficient, Cosine Coefficient or other similarity algorithms can be used for the similarity calculation. The results can then be returned in order of decreasing similarity.
In another application, chemical compounds, natural products, fermentation broths, and other substances are often tested for biological activity, or pharmacological activity. The results of these tests are often stored in electronic databases. One method that can be used to examine biological screening results and property data is similarity searching. A biological activity profile can be created by graphing the test results of a specific compound in multiple biological tests. Compounds possessing a similar mode of action often possess similar biological profiles. Biologists and chemists are thus often interested in searching a database of biological screening results for substances with an activity profile similar to a given biological activity profile. For example, in the development of an antibiotic a scientist might be interested in substances showing good activity against gram-positive bacteria and one species of gram-negative bacteria. The profile of such a substance would have strong activity values for the several gram-positive and one gram-negative bacteria under consideration and weak activity values for the rest of the gram-negative species tested. In addition to biological activity descriptors, chemical descriptors may be usefully included in the description of a compound. Chemical structure descriptors, as discussed above, or properties such as pKa (acidity/basicity), LogP (lipophilicity measurement), MR (molar refractivity), IR (index of refraction), hydrogen bond donor count, hydrogen bond acceptor count, heteroatom count, molecular weight, Rule of 5 value (Lipinski value), retention value (measured via gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, or thin layer chromatography), or spectroscopic peak measurements (infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, ultraviolet) may be used to characterize the compounds. These descriptors can be included in compound fingerprints and used in both chemical and biological similarity calculations.
In this case, it would be desirable to create a vector where a specific element would refer to a particular feature or test, and the vector would contain numeric values. The difference between vectors may be measured, and difference values would represent the degree of similarity between entries in the database.
Variables may be standardized prior to performing the similarity calculations to insure that all variables are treated equally. For example, variables may be mean-centered and scaled to unit variance according to procedures that are well known in statistical art. (For example, see Weisberg, S., "Applied Linear Regression," Second Edition, John Wiley and Sons, 1985, pp 185–186.) For a vector X with j elements:
            X      j        -                  x        _            j            SD    j  where:                 xj=mean of the elements of X, and        SDj=standard deviation of the elements of X.Other standardization techniques well known in the statistical art are also used.
Similarity searching using vectors is prior art. The similarity between vectors may be measured, and magnitude of the similarity value would represent the degree of similarity between entries in the database. In current systems the results of the similarity calculations are, to a large extent, predetermined by the algorithm. However, a user of a similarity searching system may have different ideas about the importance of various descriptors that are used in the similarity calculation. For example, when chemists search for similarity in chemical compounds, some parts of the molecule are more important to them than other parts. A chemist may be searching for compounds whose biological activity is similar, or they may be searching for compounds whose syntheses are similar. The importance of fragment descriptors will vary depending upon the type of similarity sought. Chemists therefore, when performing a search, would be interested in establishing a higher search priority for the fragment descriptors they consider important and a lower search priority for the other fragment descriptors. Currently search priorities are defined by the search algorithm designer. It priorities of descriptors can be dynamically assigned by the user, then the results of the search will reflect what user desires. The units of assigned priority or weights can be arbitrary, and only their ratio to each other is important.
Another issue for scientists using chemical structure similarity searching is the need to perform multiple searches in order to find all relevant answers. Certain chemical functional groups, while structurally different, are known in the art to be similar to one another. For example, the syntheses of common heterocycles are often similar. A scientist searching for information related to the synthesis of one heterocycle might also be interested in the syntheses of related similar heterocycles. In addition, it is well known in the art that certain functional groups (bio-isosteres) often possess similar biological effects, even if they differ at the atomic level. For example, sulfonamide can often be substituted for carboxylic acid in biologically active compounds. Current similarity calculations based upon molecular structure do not take synthetic similarity or bio-isosteric similarity into account. If a scientist wishes to search for all of the compounds that are of interest, multiple queries must be entered and searched. Automation of secondary query generation and searching would simplify the task of the user.
In the previously mentioned residential real estate database, the similarity search revealed homes having all of the features that interested a potential buyer. Yet, for some potential buyers, certain items are more important than others. For example, for a family with four children, purchase of a house with five bedrooms and the quality of the school system might be more important than asking price and property taxes. Yet these latter features could also serve as influencing factors. In such a case, being able to assign higher priorities to certain features and lower priorities to other features would result in a more meaningful search.
It is important to note that where various fields in a data record are not numerically related to each other, the variations in their magnitude may be large thereby improperly biasing the search. In the example of the residential real estate database, the price of a house is represented by a very much larger number than the number of bedrooms in the house. If the data record is not standardized as mentioned earlier, the price will dominate the similarity calculation even where the number of rooms has a higher priority. By mean-centering the data fields and scaling them to unit variance, a more meaningful search can be performed.
The underlying mathematics for searching is very broadly applicable. It can be used inter alia in biology and medical databases, in physiology databases, in anthropology databases, in photography databases, and in taxonomy databases. It is practical where a characterization vector can be applied to the description of the data.
It is an object of the invention described herein to create a computerized system that will perform similarity searches in an electronic database where the entries have a set of one or more descriptive properties capable of being expressed in numeric form and wherein the user can assign weights or priorities to the descriptive properties so as to influence the similarity searches. It is a further object of the invention to provide a means for the generation of secondary queries from a primary query to insure that other relevant similar entries are retrieved from the database.

System, apparatus, and method for user tunable and selectable searching of a database using a weighted quantized feature vector


The invention relates to an adjustment mechanism for a vehicle disk brake, which is provided with an adjustment device for compensating the operation-induced wear on the brake linings and the brake disk, wherein the adjustment device has the following components: —a drive element (25) which is rotatably arranged within the housing of the disk brake on an axis (A) parallel to the axis of rotation of the brake disk and which can be set in rotation by a brake application device; —a shaft (40) which is arranged centrally on the axis (A), on which the drive element (25) is rotatably mounted; —a cardanic rotary bearing (45) which supports the shaft (40) in an opening (1A) of the housing in a pendulum-like manner and which is made at least partially of a deformable rubber or elastomer ring (46) and a steel ring (47) which is attached therein. In order to further develop the mentioned adjustment mechanism so that it can be produced more economically and requires only a small number of components, the steel ring (47) is supported in a sliding manner against a cylindrical bearing section (50) of the shaft (40), and a coupling consisting of a first coupling part (51), which is rotationally fixed to the shaft (40), and a second coupling part (52), which is rotationally fixed to the steel ring (47), is arranged on the axis (A), the second coupling part being a coupling ring (52) which is rotatably mounted on the shaft (40). The invention further relates to a corresponding cardanic rotary bearing (45) and a corresponding coupling ring (52).

The invention relates to an adjustment device for a vehicle disk brake which for offsetting the operationally-induced wear on the brake pads and the brake disk is provided with a readjustment device, wherein parts of the readjustment device are a drive element, which is rotatably arranged within the housing of the disk brake on an axis, and which can be set in rotation by a brake clamping device; a shaft centrally arranged on the axis, relative to which the drive element is rotatably mounted; a cardanic pivot bearing which is capable of self-aligningly supporting the shaft in an opening of the housing, which consists at least of a deformable rubber or elastomer ring and a steel ring fastened therein. The invention further relates to a cardanic pivot bearing that is suitable for the adjustment device and is comprised of a deformable rubber or elastomer ring, which on the inside is connected to a first steel ring with a cylindrical slide bearing surface formed on the inside of the same, and on the outside is connected to a second steel ring for fastening the pivot bearing in an assembly opening. The invention relates also a coupling ring that is suitable for the adjustment device and is provided with an annular opening, a face-end annular surface and at least one further annular surface, which is provided with coupling structures in the form of ramps that are arranged evenly distributed over the circumference.
From EP 0 531 321 B1, WO 2015/117601 A1 and DE 102 60 597 B, vehicle disk brakes are known, which for offsetting the operationally-induced wear on the brake pads and on the brake disk are provided with a readjustment device. The same gradually adapts the distance between the brake pads and the brake disk corresponding to the increasing wear and thereby maintains this so-called clearance within a limit defined by the design. The actuation of the readjustment device is effected via a drive element which is rotatably arranged in the housing of the disk brake on an axis that is parallel to the rotational axis of the brake disk. By way of the brake clamping device of the disk brake, the drive element is set in rotation, e.g. by a pivot lever arranged in the brake housing which amplifies the brake force. The drive element of the readjustment device is rotatably mounted on a centrally arranged shaft. At its end facing away from the brake disk, said drive element is provided with wrench faces in order to reset the readjustment device back again completely into the starting position by turning back the shaft. Usually this takes place when used-up brake pads are replaced with new brake pads.
The precision and reliability of the readjustment is substantially dependent on the avoidance of canting of the elements of the readjustment device involved. For this purpose, the shaft, on which the elements of the readjustment device are arranged, is supported in the brake housing in the case of EP 0 531 321 B1 so that it can perform slight self-aligning movements. For this purpose, the shaft is supported in an opening of the brake housing via a cardanic pivot bearing. A bush comprised of an inner steel ring, an outer steel ring and elastically deformable material arranged in between serves as cardanic pivot bearing.
As far as the readjustment device is concerned, the adjustment device according to EP 0 531 321 B1 is composed of many components and elements which requires a correspondingly expensive assembly.
The invention is based on the object of further developing the mentioned adjustment device so that the same can be produced more cost-effectively and manages to get by with fewer components.

Adjustment mechanism for a vehicle disk brake as well as a cardanic rotary bearing and a coupling ring therefor


The present invention is directed to a single pass medical electrical lead. In one embodiment, the lead feature a pair of bipolar electrodes positioned along the lead body so that they are positioned in the ventricle and atrium respectively when the lead is implanted. The lead body features a 90 degree bent reinforced section. The bend has a radius of curvature approximately 13 mm and begins approximately 90 mm from the distal end. This curved section is approximately 40 mm in length when straightened. The ventricular electrodes are positioned approximately 28 mm apart. The ventricular cathode electrode is positioned at the distal end of the lead. The atrial electrodes are positioned approximately between 5-35 mm apart, with 28 mm preferred. The atrial anode is located at a position immediately adjacent and proximal the 90 degree bent reinforced section.

Modern electrical therapeutic and diagnostic devices for the heart, such as pacemakers, cardioverters and defibrillators for example, require a reliable electrical connection between the device and a preselected region of the heart. Typically an electrical "lead" is used for the desired electrical connection.
One type of commonly used implantable lead is an endocardial lead. Endocardial leads are attached at their proximal end to an implantable pulse generator and at their distal end to the endocardium of a cardiac chamber. Such leads normally take the form of a long, generally straight, flexible, insulated conductor having one end electrically connected to the pulse generator and the other end electrically connected to the endocardium through an electrode. Among the many advantages of an endocardial lead is that it may be positioned into the heart by sliding the lead through a vein until the electrode is properly positioned, rather than physically exposing the heart itself.
The specific design of the endocardial lead used has often varied depending upon the region of the heart to which it is to be connected, in particular whether it is for a ventricular application or an atrial application.
Ventricular endocardial leads are often readily flexible and have tines or fins at their distal end. These tines are provided to engage the trabeculation within the ventricle so as to reliably fix, or at least position, the electrode in the desired location. Unlike the ventricles, the atrial walls are relatively smooth. Because the atrial walls are smooth it has been difficult to retain the electrode in a fixed position with respect to the wall of the atrium. One approach commonly used has been to form the distal end of an atrial lead in a J-shaped configuration. Such a configuration causes the distal end to curve upwardly once the lead is within the atrium so as to provide reliable contact between the electrode and the heart tissue.
In dual chamber pacing, however, it is necessary to establish an electrical connection with both chambers of the heart. Typically this now involves the placement of two leads, a ventricular lead as well as an atrial lead, within the patient's heart. Usually the ventricular lead is placed first, i.e. it is passed through a blood vessel and into the ventricular cavity. When the ventricular pacing lead has been stabilized within the heart, the second lead, or atrial lead, is passed through the blood vessel and is moved into a selected position within the atrial cavity.
The placement of two separate pacing leads into two separate chambers of the heart, however, is a relatively complicated procedure. First as the second lead is being inserted, it is possible to strike the first lead with the second lead thereby dislodging the first lead from its desired position. In addition, the presence of two leads may cause a significant decrease in blood flow through the blood vessel, especially in patients having relatively small diameter vessels. Finally, although transvenous placement of a lead is relatively not traumatic, it would nonetheless be beneficial to simplify and shorten the implant procedure as much as possible. Reducing the number of leads implanted from two to one would be of significant benefit.
Because of the difficulties encountered by placing two leads there has been a considerable number of past attempts to design a single lead which provides an electrical connection to both chambers of the heart, often referred to as a "single pass lead." An early attempt at a single pass lead was taught by Bures in U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,118. Because the configuration taught by Bures requires the ventricular lead to be coaxially mounted within the outer sheath, minimal control could be exercised over placement of the atrial electrodes. To compensate for this lack of control, Bures taught the use of opposing (i.e., spaced by 180 degrees) spring loaded electrodes. Such a placement technique is susceptible to dislodgement, however. It is also electrically inefficient because of the relatively large surface area of the electrode and the difficulty in controlling the amount of that surface area actually in contact with the atrial wall. Furthermore, using the outer catheter to control flexure of the atrial electrodes lead to sealing problems.
Lajos in U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,067 attempted to solve many of the control problems found with the lead taught by Bures by using a "J" shaped atrial lead with stylet control. Because the atrial and ventricular leads, however, were spaced a fixed distance, the lead taught by Lajos did not accommodate various sized hearts. A further problem with the Lajos lead was the establishment of an effective seal of the hole at the distal end of the atrial electrode. During insertion, this hole is blocked by the stylet. Removal of the stylet, however, permitted seepage of blood into the lead.
A third single pass lead configuration was taught by Sabel in U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,757. Sabel used the "J" shaped atrial electrode placement as taught by Lajos but slid the atrial catheter within the outer sheath of the ventricular catheter. This solved one problem of Lajos by not requiring an aperture in the distal end of the atrial electrode for stylet straightening of the "J" shape. It did not completely solve the problem of differing heart sizes, however. The distance between the distal end of the atrial catheter and the distal end of the outer sheath was essentially fixed by practical factors even though the atrial catheter was slidably mounted within outer sheath because sliding of the atrial catheter also changed the shape of the "J". The atrial electrode may be lowered in the atrium by moving the atrial catheter either proximal or distal relative to the outer sheath. However, the atrial electrode may not be raised within the atrium. That distance is effectively established by the prior implantation of the ventricular electrode. Providing a larger distance between the ventricular electrode and the distal end of outer sheath would tend to distort the "J" shape of the atrial catheter.
Another proposed configuration for a single pass lead was disclosed by Gold in U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,195 which disclosed a flexible catheter having a series of ring electrodes selectively utilized for pacing and sensing in both chambers of the heart. As discussed above, one significant problem with this configuration was the reliable, consistent and acceptable placement of the atrial electrodes.
A still further attempt to configure a single pass lead was disclosed by Harris in U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,439 which featured a single pass lead having a prebent atrial section. In particular the atrial section had a bend with the electrodes positioned on the bend. The bend, it was taught would assist in properly maintaining the position of the atrial electrodes. The Harris design, however, failed to provide an acceptable single pass lead. In particular the configuration of the prebent section having electrodes on the bend failed to provide acceptable chronic electrode position.


Disclosed herein are methods and apparatus for operating and deploying a broadband wireless network having at least one data transmission node and a plurality of CPE units, wherein there is a wireless data link at least in part between the data transmission node and the CPE units, and further wherein the management and configuration of the network is managed centrally and at least one of authorization, authentication, data stream prioritization or queuing is accomplished through the operation of the CPE units. According to one embodiment there is provided a user group manager that provides a user interface for at least one local service provider to manage information about end users served by the local service provider. In another embodiment, management and configuration of the network is managed using a device that communicates with CPE units and the data transmission nodes. The system and method further provides a data transmission node that includes routing capability, wherein the data transmission node is located with at least one CPE unit. In another embodiment, a network supervision and management device holds an original configuration file for each CPE unit wherein each CPE unit further includes a configuration file that includes an address reference to one or more of the supervision and management devices thereby providing for connectivity to the supervision and management devices and capability of redundancy when more than one supervision and management device is referenced.

Currently deploying broadband wireless network access to end-users is expensive and requires substantial capital investment on the part of the carrier. The broadband wireless carrier moves the data the last miles from the higher-speed backbone to the end user location. Today, those last miles carriers include telephone companies, cable companies, and satellite providers. These providers typically require a 36 to 60 month return on investment. Current wireless Internet service providers (ISPs) and other broadband wireless carriers typically can achieve 18 to 24 month return on investment. Even this shorter period, however, is a barrier to widespread use and adoption of wireless broadband access. As a result, the broadband penetration in the United States is lower than it is in comparable industrialized nations.
Penetration could be improved if there was available a low cost solution for broadband wireless carriers that allows them to incrementally increase their operating costs as they need more capacity. Ideally, such a system would be incrementally expandable in capacity so that the cost of the system also grows incrementally. Thus, the broadband wireless carrier would pay proportionally to the size and use of the system so that the associated capital investment is always used efficiently.
Return on investment solutions for broadband wireless networks come from increased revenue, reduced total cost of ownership and operation, and by arranging the wireless network business to achieve earlier revenue and/or achieve a delay in expense. Ideally, the solutions let the broadband wireless network operator sign up subscriptions for revenue larger than total cost at all time from the start of the business.
One major component of the initial investment for a broadband wireless network is provision of local network operating center support with local or on-site supervision, control, and maintenance of the broadband wireless network.

Systems and methods for automated network operating center system for broadband wireless network


A combined circuit unit is developed by combining a rigid printed circuit board and a flexible printed circuit film. The combined circuit unit is very compact in its shape, yet, maintains high cooling capability of an electronic circuit device. A driver IC that generates heat is mounted on the flexible printed circuit film. A heat dissipation region is formed within the rigid printed circuit board. The driver IC is wedged between the flexible printed circuit film and the rigid printed circuit board at the heat dissipation region. Heat generated by the driver IC is efficiently dissipated by the heat dissipation region to the exterior.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a combined circuit unit constructed by combining a flexible printed circuit film and a rigid printed circuit board. The present invention also relates to an inkjet printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
An inkjet head used in an inkjet printer distributes ink supplied from an ink tank to a plurality of pressure chambers, pushes out the ink from a selected pressure chamber by applying pressure to the selected pressure chamber, and discharges the ink pushed out from the selected pressure chamber from a corresponding nozzle. The nozzle that discharges the ink can be selected by selecting the pressure chamber to which the pressure is applied. An actuator unit utilizing a piezoelectric sheet made from piezoelectric ceramics is used to apply pressure to any pressure chamber that may be arbitrarily selected from the pressure chambers.
One example of an inkjet head is described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2003-311953. An actuator unit described in the publication uses a piezoelectric sheet that straddles and extends across a plurality of pressure chambers, a common electrode spreading out on one surface of the piezoelectric sheet, and a plurality of individual electrodes formed on the other surface of the piezoelectric sheet. Each of the individual electrodes is disposed to face each of the individual pressure chambers.
A plurality of individual electrodes dispersed on the surface of the piezoelectric sheet is electrically connected to a driver IC through a plurality of wiring patterns formed on a flexible printed circuit film. The driver IC is mounted on a surface of the flexible printed circuit film. The driver IC selects any individual electrode from the plurality of individual electrodes and applies a driving voltage to the selected individual electrode. When the driving voltage is applied to the selected individual electrode, the thickness of the piezoelectric sheet in the location that corresponds to the selected individual electrode changes by a so-called piezoelectric longitudinal effect. Accordingly, the volume of the pressure chamber that corresponds to the selected individual electrode changes, and the ink is discharged from a nozzle linked to that pressure chamber. The flexible printed circuit film is frequently abbreviated as FPC. This specification will follow this common notation and refer to the flexible printed circuit film as FPC. The "Printed" included in the abbreviation FPC means that a wiring pattern is formed, and it is not limited to those with wiring patterns formed by a method of "Print."
In the recent years, higher resolution of inkjet heads is being desired. When an attempt is made to seek higher resolution by increasing the density of nozzles, the densities of pressure chambers and individual electrodes also increase. Consequently, the number of individual electrodes increases. Along with this, the heat release value generated by the driver IC also increases. An active site of the actuator unit operates electrically as a capacitive load such as a condenser, and consumes energy proportional to the product of the capacitance, the square of a driving voltage, and a driving cycle. As energy consumed by the actuator unit increases, energy consumed by the driver IC also increases. If the driver IC is overheated, the inkjet head is overheated and the discharge property of the ink varies. Sufficient printing quality cannot be obtained.
To handle this problem, an inkjet head described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2003-311953 provides a large-scale heat sink, and pushes a driver IC to the heat sink by an elastic member such as a sponge. By doing so, heat generated from the driver IC is transferred to the heat sink, and the heat is dissipated to the exterior (such as into the atmosphere).

Combined circuit unit and an inkjet printer


A polypeptide is described herein which comprises (a) the sequence of SEQ ID No. 2, (b) a variant of (a) which is capable of generating a protective immune response to S. pyogenes, or (c) a fragment of (a) or (b) of at least 6 amino acids in length which is capable of generating a protective immune response to S. pyogenes, in the manufacture of medicament for use as a vaccine against S. pyogenes. A pharmaceutical composition for use in vaccinating against S. pyogenes or Group B streptococcus comprises a polypeptide which comprises: (A) the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 2, (B) a variant of (A) which is capable of conferring protective immunity to S. pyogenes or Group B streptococcus, or (C) a fragment of (A) or (B) of at least 6 amino acids in length which is capable of conferring protective immunity to S. pyogenes or Group B streptococcus.

Streptococcus pyogenes Group A streptococcus, is a common human pathogen that is best known as the cause of throat and skin infections. S. pyogenes also has the potential to cause more serious and potentially life threatening diseases such as scarlet fever and toxic shock like syndrome. S. pyogenes has also been implicated as the cause of the majority of cases of puerperal fever.
The surface antigen R28 is expressed by some strains of S. pyogenes. Early studies indicated that R28 is unrelated to virulence (Lancefield and Perlmann. J. Exp. Med (1952) 96:83–97), since antibodies to R28 did not protect mice against lethal infection with an R28-expressing strain of S. pyogenes.
Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is found in the normal flora of the human vagina and may cause life-threatening disease in newborn children who are often exposed to GBS at birth. Most isolates of GBS express either of the surface proteins Rib or a which are members of the same protein family.


A fender assembly for a work machine is disclosed. The fender assembly includes a fender body having an upper panel and a lower panel. The upper panel has a latch recess defined therein. The lower panel is spaced apart from the upper panel so as to define an actuator chamber. A latch assembly is positioned in the latch recess. A rod for moving the latch assembly between a lock position and a release position extends through the actuator chamber. The first end of the rod is coupled to the latch assembly, and the second end of the rod is positioned on the top side of the upper panel in order to be accessible to a user. The lower panel is positioned between the latch assembly and the wheels of the work machine in order to prevent mud, dirt, or other types of debris from contacting the latch assembly during operation of the work machine.

Many work machines, such as wheel loaders, include fender assemblies to prevent mud, dirt, or other types of debris from being flung or otherwise thrown from the wheels of the work machine during operation thereof. It is often necessary to remove or otherwise reposition the fender assembly in order to access a number of components associated with the work machine. Hence, a number of pivoting fender assemblies have heretofore been designed which pivot relative to the frame of the work machine thereby allowing the fender assembly to be moved when it is necessary to access machine components proximate the fender assembly.
Such pivoting fender assemblies typically have a pivot joint at a first end thereof, and a latch mechanism at a second end thereof. If the latch mechanism is unlocked, the fender assembly is free to pivot about the pivot joint thereby allowing the fender assembly to be moved relative the frame assembly of the work machine. However, if the latch mechanism is locked, the second end of the fender assembly is latched or otherwise secured to the work machine.
Such latch mechanisms are typically positioned in locations which render the latch mechanism not only difficult to operate, but also expose the latch mechanism to a harsh environment thereby reducing the useful life of the latch mechanism. For example, a number of fender assemblies which have heretofore been designed include a latch mechanism positioned adjacent to an underside of the fender assembly thereby rendering the latch mechanism difficult to operate. In addition, when positioned on the underside of the fender assembly, the latch assembly is exposed to the mud, dirt, and other types of debris which are encountered by the wheels of the work machine thereby potentially reducing the useful life of the latch assembly.
What is needed therefore is a fender assembly for a work machine which overcomes one or more of the above-mentioned drawbacks.

Pivoting fender assembly for a work machine having a protective recess for an associated latch assembly


An electronic unit for storing and displaying information includes a case, a computer having storage capability for electronically storing information and a processor for generating display signals corresponding to the stored information. A display screen is mounted within the case and connected to the processor for receiving the display signals generated by the processor and for displaying the information. At least one depressible key is mounted within the case, and a battery supplies electrical operating power to the computer. In addition, the unit includes a battery-saving feature for shutting off power to the display screen following a preselected period of time between successive depressions of any of the keys, and the case has a front which measures no more than about 3.5 inches by 2.0 inches and has a thickness which is no more than about 0.039 inches.

This invention is concerned with an electronic device having a screen for displaying stored information to a user.
The amount of information which is normally printed upon a conventional business card is limited by the size of the card. At the same time, the size of a business card is normally limited to the size of a conventional wallet within which the business card is typically stored.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a device which is capable of containing much more information than is capable of being printed upon a conventional business card yet has a size which generally corresponds to that of a conventional business card (or credit card) so that the device can be conveniently stored in a conventional-sized wallet.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved unit having electronic storage capabilities within which information is stored and a display screen for displaying the stored information and wherein the unit is small enough to be stored within a conventional-sized wallet.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a unit which is powered by a battery and embodies a battery-saving feature.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such a unit which has the capacity to accept and store information which have been downloaded therein from a personal computer.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide such a unit which is well-suited for storing and displaying information of the type which is normally printed upon a business card, but has other applications as well, such as displaying photographs which have been downloaded from a digital camera or displaying redeemable store coupons.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a unit which is easy to use and effective in operation.