A unified solution system for organ and/or tissue preservation and/or hypothermic blood substitution can be used to prepare multiple solutions for use in various stages of organ procurement, preservation and transplantation and bloodless surgery procedures.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to organ preservation and hypothermic blood substitution. This invention particularly relates to compositions, processes and systems for organ and tissue preservation and/or hypothermic blood substitution.
2. Description of Related Art
Hypothermia is the bed rock of all useful methods of organ and tissue preservation, and has proven to be most effectively applied by controlling the extracellular environment of cells directly, and the intracellular environment indirectly, during cold exposure. Control of the extracellular environment of cells to optimise preservation is based upon different strategies that include either static cold storage (or flush preservation), or low temperature continuous perfusion. These different strategies call for different approaches to interventional control of the extracellular environment in order to optimize preservation, and hence different design elements for the solutions used to effect these strategies.
In principle, cold flush storage or preservation is based upon the premise that temperature reduction to near but not below the ice point (0xc2x0 C.) precludes the need to support metabolism to any significant extent, and that the correct distribution of water and ions between the intracellular and extracellular compartments can be maintained by physical rather than metabolic means. During the period that metabolic pumps are inactivated, the driving force for transmembrane ion flux is the difference in ionic balance between intracellular and extracellular fluid. The driving force for water uptake (cell swelling) is the impermeant intracellular anions. Thus changes can be prevented or restricted by manipulating the extracellular environment to abolish chemical potential gradients. On this basis, a variety of flush, or organ washout, solutions have been devised and evaluated for cold storage. These solutions are often referred to as xe2x80x9cintracellularxe2x80x9d solutions due to their resemblance, in some respects, to intracellular fluid.
The principle design elements of the xe2x80x9cintracellularxe2x80x9d flush solutions has been to adjust the ionic balance (notably of the monovalent cations) and to raise the osmolality by including an impermeant solute to balance the intracellular osmotic pressure responsible for water uptake. However, the most important factor for the efficacy of cold flush solutions may be the prevention of cellular edema by inclusion of impermeant solutes since it has been established that ionic imbalances, especially potassium depletion, are readily and rapidly reversible.
Prior to 1988, the standard solution for clinical preservation of abdominal organs, principally the kidney, was Collins solution, which consists predominantly of potassium phosphate. magnesium sulfate and glucose. In recent years, however, this has been superseded either by a modified version called xe2x80x9cEuroCollinsxe2x80x9d in which the magnesium sulfate is omitted, or more extensively by the University of Wisconsin solution (UW solution) in which much of the phosphate anion has been replaced with lactobionate, and in which glucose has been replaced with raffinose. These larger molecules provide better protection against adverse effects of cell swelling during hypothermic storage. The choice of solutions for heart preservation has been strongly influenced by the previous experience of cardiac surgeons with cardioplegic solutions in open-heart surgery. In this case the primary objective has been to produce rapid cessation of the heartbeat, and solutions were designed more with this in mind than with protection of the cells during preservation in mind. In particular, early studies suggested that the very high potassium levels ( greater than 100 mM) found in organ preservation solutions might be harmful to the heart. In fact, the solution most often used was St. Thomas""s (Plegisol) with a potassium content of only 16 mM.
The choice of solution for cardioplegia and myocardial preservation remains controversial and widely varied. While UW solution has emerged as the industry standard for kidney, liver and pancreas, no such standard has been adopted for heart preservation. Moreover, the development of the variety of preservation solutions for organ storage has emphasized the need for careful optimization in relation to the specific characteristics of the tissue to be preserved.
Attention to biophysical properties of xe2x80x9cintracellularxe2x80x9d flush solutions, to restrict passive diffusional processes, has unquestionably led to the development of techniques that have provided the basis of clinical organ preservation during the past 30 years. Nevertheless, it is recognized that further optimization of cold flush solutions can be achieved by inclusion of biochemical and pharmacological components that will be effective in counteracting the deleterious effects of ischemia and reperfusion injury. To a limited extent this approach has been incorporated in the design of the University of Wisconsin organ preservation solution (UW solution marketed as xe2x80x9cViaspanrmxe2x80x9d; DuPont) which has become the most widely used solution for cold flush preservation of kidneys, livers and pancreases. With due consideration for the effects of ischemia, hypoxia, hypothermia and reperfusion injury on cells, coupled with the proven efficacy of various existing organ preservation solutions, a general consensus of the most important characteristics in the design of hypothermic storage solutions has emerged. These include: minimizing of hypothermically induced cell swelling; preventing expansion of the interstitial space (especially important during perfusion); restricting ionic imbalances; preventing intracellular acidosis; preventing injury from free radicals; and providing substrates for regeneration of high energy phosphate compounds during reperfusion.
In continuous hypothermic perfusion preservation, the desirable properties of hypothermic solutions listed above are also applicable to controlling the extracellular environment by way of continuous perfusion techniques. In contrast to static cold storage, continuous perfusion is usually controlled at around 10xc2x0 C. and is based upon a different principle: it is generally assumed that a moderate degree of cooling will reduce metabolic needs but that continuous perfusion is required to support the suppressed metabolism and remove catabolic products. Because it is assumed that sufficient metabolic activity remains to actively regulate a near-normal cell volume and ionic gradients, the perfusates are generally acellular, isotonic, well oxygenated solutions having a composition that more closely resembles plasma than intracellular fluid. Such perfusates are therefore designated as xe2x80x9cextracellularxe2x80x9d solutions, and are perfused through the vascular bed of an organ at a pressure sufficient to achieve uniform tissue distribution (typically 40-60 mm Hg). To balance this applied hydrostatic pressure and prevent interstitial edema, oncotic agents such as albumin or synthetic macromolecular colloids are incorporated into the perfusates. Substrate support of the remaining metabolism at xcx9c10xc2x0 C. is also an important consideration and it has been shown in several organs that high energy adenine nucleotides can be synthesized during hypothermic perfusion preservation.
In addition to the principal objective of supporting metabolism, continuous perfusion also provides other advantages over flush preservation. These include the wash out of accumulated lactate and protons, thereby removing the metabolic block on glycolysis; this is thought to be especially beneficial for organs that have suffered prior warm ischemia. Perfusion also facilitates the removal of erythrocytes from the microcirculation and helps to maintain vascular patency during prolonged storage. Continuous perfusion has been shown to provide the best means of achieving prolonged hypothermic preservation (e.g., 3-7 days for kidneys), but concerns for damage to the vascular endothelium during prolonged perfusion may be a limiting factor.
Although it has been experimentally verified that cell metabolism continues at temperatures as low as 10xc2x0 C., and that adenine nucleotides can be resynthesized during hypothermic preservation if appropriate substrates are provided, it is considered unlikely that this level of metabolism can prevent transmembrane ion and water movements: this is due principally to the temperature sensitivity of the active pumps. Hence, some advocates of continuous perfusion have modified the perfusate accordingly by increasing both the K+ concentration and the osmolality. Similarly, modification of cold flush solutions can be considered to circumvent some of the identified limitations of that approach. For example, the lack of support of metabolism during ice-storage can be addressed by raising the temperature of storage, by incorporating biochemical substrates and raising the oxygen tension to promote adenine nucleotide repletion. Also, the use of pharmacological agents, such as inhibitors of 5xe2x80x2-nucleotidase (e.g., allopurinol) has been advocated as a means of averting adenine nucleotide depletion.
With respect to specific cell requirements as a function of temperature, it is not necessary to consider incorporating specific oxygen-carrying molecules at temperatures below xcx9c10xc2x0 C. since at such low temperatures it is well established that metabolic activity is sufficiently depressed that the O2 demand can be satisfied by dissolved O2 in the aqueous solution without the need for hemoglobin or synthetic O2-carrying molecules.
Optimum control of the intracellular and extracellular environment of cells during hypothermia depends upon the interaction of a variety of factors that include temperature, oxygen tension, acidity, osmotic pressure and chemical composition of the perfusion fluid or wash-out solution.
It is now recognized that the successive phases of the transplantation procedure involving organ procurement, storage, transportation, reimplantation and reperfusion may impose different requirements for optimum preservation at the different stages. This is illustrated by evidence that heart preservation with the xe2x80x9cintracellularxe2x80x9d solution, EuroCollins, was enhanced when the heart was initially arrested and subsequently flushed prior to reperfusion, with an xe2x80x9cextracellularxe2x80x9d cardioplegic solution. Therefore, any single formulation of preservation solution is unlikely to provide optimum protection during all the processing stages of a transplantation procedure, or the interventional stages of complex surgeries.
Interest in general or universal tissue preservation techniques is exemplified by the need for methods of protecting multiple vital organs, and even the whole body, for applications in modern day surgery. Multiple organ harvesting for transplantation can be optimized by hypothermic perfusion of the whole cadaver, or donor organ blocks comprising several organs, to minimize warm ischemic injury. The ultimate challenge is perhaps protection of the entire body against the effects of global ischemia during periods of circulatory and/or cardiac arrest for xe2x80x9cbloodlessxe2x80x9d surgery.
Surgeons have developed skills that allow very complex, corrective and life-saving operations to be performed, notably on the heart and brain. Many of these complicated time-consuming procedures have the inherent need for temporary cessation of blood flow and demand protection of the patient against the deleterious effects of ischemia and anoxia. Although hypothermia is routinely used as an adjunctive protective modality for surgical procedures that require a period of cardiac arrest, there are restrictive time constraints ( less than 1 hour at temperatures usually not lower than 18xc2x0 C.) upon the safe interval of cold ischemia if neurological sequelae are to be avoided. It is well recognized that the window of opportunity for safe surgical intervention could be extended by using greater degrees of hypothermic metabolic suppression, but this becomes unacceptably dangerous due principally to the effects of profound hypothermia on the blood, leading to coagulopathies and irreversible microvascular blockage.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,643,712, 5,699,793, 5,843,024 to Brasile and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,599,659, 5,702,881 to Brasile et al., each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describe separate resuscitation and preservation solutions for tissues and organs. The Brasile patents disclose methods in which some embodiments of the compositions of this invention can be applied. Also, the Brasile patents disclose compositions that may be used in methods and kits of this invention.
The present inventor has explored experimental approaches employing a technique of asanguineous blood substitution using acellular synthetic solutions designed to protect the heart, brain and visceral organs during several hours of bloodless perfusion. The concept of using ultraprofound hypothermia ( less than 10xc2x0 C.) and complete blood replacement is appealing for several reasons and is based upon a variety of factors. First, deeper hypothermia can provide more effective suppression of metabolism, thereby extending the tolerance to ischemia and minimizing the demand for oxygen to levels that can be adequately supplied in a cold aqueous solution without the need of special oxygen-carrying molecules. Second, complete exsanguination ameliorates a complication associated with increased viscosity, coagulopathies, and erythrocyte clumping of cooled blood. Third, vascular purging can remove harmful catabolic products and formed elements that might participate in the ischemia and reperfusion injury cascades. A fourth advantage is that total exsanguination provides the opportunity to control the vascular and extracellular compartments directly with fluids designed to be protective under the conditions of ultraprofound hypothermia. For example, solutes can be added to maintain ionic and osmotic balance at the cellular and tissue levels; biochemical and pharmacological additives can help sustain tissue integrity in a variety of ways including efficient vascular flushing, membrane stabilization, free-radical scavenging and providing substrates for the regeneration of high-energy compounds during rewarming and reperfusion. In essence, these are the principles that are embodied, to a greater or lesser extent, in the design of various solutions used for ex vivo organ preservation. In this invention, similar principles have been adopted in the design of new hypothermic blood substitutes.
The working hypothesis that was used to evaluate this approach has been that an acellular solution can be designed to act as a universal tissue preservation solution during several hours of hypothermic whole-body washout involving cardiac arrest, with or without circulatory arrest. Under this hypothesis, Taylor et al. have formulated and evaluated two solutions designated Hypothermosol(trademark)-purge (HTIS-P) and Hypothermosol(trademark)-maintenance (HTS-M) that fulfill separate requirements during the asanguineous procedure. Some aspects of these solutions are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,405,742 and 5,514,536 to Taylor, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The Taylor patents disclose methods in which some embodiments of the compositions of this invention can be applied. Also, the Taylor patents disclose compositions that may be used in methods and kits of this invention.
The principal solution (HTS-M) is a hyperkalemic xe2x80x9cintracellularxe2x80x9d solution specifically designed to xe2x80x9cmaintainxe2x80x9d cellular integrity during the hypothermic interval at the lowest temperature. The second solution is designed to interface between the blood and the HTS-M maintenance solution during both cooling and warming. This companion solution is, therefore, an xe2x80x9cextracellularxe2x80x9d flush solution designed to aid in purging the circulation of blood during cooling since the removal of erythrocytes from the microvasculature is an important objective during ultraprofound hypothermia. The xe2x80x9cpurgexe2x80x9d solution is also designed to flush the system (vasculature and CPB circuit) of the hyperkalemic HTS-M solution during warming and possibly help to flush-out accumulated toxins and metabolic byproducts that might promote oxidative stress and free radical injury upon reperfusion.
Based upon the principles that have emerged from isolated organ preservation studies, an attempt was made to incorporate some of the important characteristics in the formulation of the Hypothermosol(trademark) solutions and, wherever possible, components that might fulfill multiple roles were selected. This strategy maximizes the intrinsic qualities of the solutions that, by design as universal tissue preservation solutions, would inevitably be a hybrid of other hypothermic perfusates and storage media.
The composition of the Hypothermosol(trademark) blood substitutes and the rationale for their formulation are discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,405,742 and 5,514,536 to Taylor, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. These solutions have been shown to protect the brain, heart and visceral organs during 3.5 hours of cardiac arrest and global ischemia in an asanguineous canine model during controlled profound hypothermia at  less than 10xc2x0 C. Successful application of this technique to man would provide more than a 3-fold extension of the current limits of  less than 1 hour for xe2x80x9csafexe2x80x9d arrest without a high risk of neurological complications. This novel approach to bloodless surgery would significantly broaden the window of opportunity for surgical intervention in a variety of currently inoperable cases, principally in the areas of cardiovascular surgery, neurosurgery and emergency trauma surgery.
More recently, the Hypothermosol(trademark)-maintenance solution has been used for in vitro hypothermic preservation of a variety of tissues and organs including isolated hearts, fetal spinal cord and engineered skin.
The present invention is based upon the concept of a unified solution system for preparing multiple solutions designed and optimized for the various stages of organ or tissue procurement-preservation-transplantation and/or bloodless surgery procedures.
While the known systems, including those taught in the Brasile and Taylor patents discussed above, have required completely different compositions for different stages of organ procurement, preservation and transplantation procedures, the present invention provides one or two (or optionally more) base compositions and a number of different additives that can be added to one or more of the base compositions to produce specific compositions useful for specific stages in organ or tissue procurement, preservation and transplantation and/or bloodless surgery procedures. In embodiments, the base and additives can be stored in separate containers in a single package or kit. Specific improved base compositions are also provided.

System for organ and tissue preservation and hypothermic blood substitution


Methods and apparatus for detecting abnormality of a battery pack are disclosed. The battery pack includes multiple battery cells coupled in series via at least one connecting wire. A first voltage drop between a positive electrode and a negative electrode of the battery pack is detected. A first set of voltage drops between a positive electrode and a negative electrode of each battery cell in the battery pack is also detected. A total voltage drop across the at least one connecting wire in the battery pack is calculated based on an absolute difference between the first voltage drop and a sum of the first set of voltage drops. Whether the battery pack is abnormal is determined by assessing the total voltage drop across the at least one connecting wire with respect to a predetermined threshold.

Battery packs are commonly used for supplying power in electric vehicles. With a development of new energy industry, electric vehicles have become popular. An electric vehicle can catch fire when there is an abnormal electrical connection in a battery pack in the electric vehicle. Thus it is important to detect connection status of connecting wires in a battery pack to avoid inflammation of an electric vehicle, or any device including the battery pack. However, because connecting wires are inside the battery pack which is usually installed inside an electric vehicle, it is not convenient for a user to open the battery pack to directly check the connection status of connecting wires. Therefore, there exists a need of a method for detecting abnormality of a battery pack without opening the battery pack.

Apparatus and method for detecting battery abnormality and cause thereof


There is provided a piston ring, which has improved wear resistance and seizure resistance, and which does not abrade the cylinder liner made of flaky-graphite cast iron having a hardness of from HRB 85-95.. The composition:. C: 3.0-3.5%; PA1 Si: 2.2-3.2%; PA1 Mn: 0.4-1.0%; PA1 P: not more than 0.2%; PA1 S: not more than 0.12%; PA1 Cr: 0.1-0.3%; PA1 V: 0.05-0.2%; PA1 Ni: 0.8-1.2%; PA1 Mo: 0.5-1.2%; PA1 Cu: 0.5-1.2%; and PA1 B: 0.05-0.1% are contained in the cast iron. PA1 from 2 to 20% by area of the undissolved carbides and fine graphite are dispersed in a matrix consisting of either tempered martensite or bainite or both. PA1 HRC 32-45.. The structure:. The hardness:

Wear resistance of high level is required for the piston ring used in a reciprocating internal combustion engine. Therefore, flaky graphite cast-iron material (FC250 or FC300), nodular graphite cast-iron material (FCD700 or the like), and compacted varmicular (CV) graphite cast-iron material proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 5-86473 or the like have been extensively used heretofore for the piston rings of an internal combustion engine. Also, a cast iron or steel piston-ring, provided with a hard chromium plating layer or a composite dispersion plating layer on the outer peripheral sliding surface for imparting wear resistance, is widely used.
Nevertheless, since the piston ring is caused to slide on the cylinder inner surface at high speed, the piston ring should not only have excellent wear resistance in itself but should also have such property that it does not abrade the cylinder inner-surface, which is the opposed material. Particularly, when the opposed material of the piston ring, i.e., the cylinder liner, is a flaky graphite cast iron, the ferrite precipitation amount of which is increased by lowering the cooling rate at the casting and hence the hardness of which is from HRB approximately 85-95, since the wear resistance of the liner itself is low, a property of the piston ring, that does not abrade the opposed material, is an important factor of the piston ring.
The cast-iron or steel piston ring, which is provided with a hard chromium plating layer or a composite dispersion plating layer on the outer peripheral sliding surface, has an excellent wear resistance in itself but also has a strong abrasive tendency on the flaky graphite cast-iron liner as the opposed material. The above cast-iron or steel piston ring has, therefore, been occasionally used for the 1st ring which is required to have breaking resistance. It was, however, seldom used as the 2nd ring. For the 2nd ring, a piston ring made of flaky graphite cast-iron material or CV graphite cast-iron material has, therefore, been used heretofore, without being provided with a surface-treatment layer. A piston ring consisting of these materials has, however, low wear resistance in itself and low seizure resistance with respect to the opposed material (flaky graphite cast iron). Improvement of these properties is, therefore, desired.


A fuel cell includes a plurality of cells. Each cell has a three-layer plate member having an electrolyte layer, an oxygen electrode attached to one face of the electrolyte layer and a fuel electrode attached to the other face of the electrolyte layer. The cell also has a separator affixed only to the oxygen electrode and an oxygen-containing gas flow passage formed between the oxygen electrode and the separator. A plurality of fuel flow passages are formed between an adjacent pair of the cells as assembled. First and second partition wall members are respectively disposed tightly adjacent a pair of opposed end faces of the cell to which faces the oxygen-containing gas flow passage is closed by the separator. Third and fourth partition wall members are respectively disposed along a pair of opposed cell edge portions where the oxygen-containing gas flow passage is open between the pair of cells. The first and second partition wall members have end portions thereof projecting relative to the cell. The third and fourth partition wall members have end portions thereof projecting relative to the cell and placed in tight overlapping contact with the end portions of the first and second partition wall members.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel cell, and more particularly to a fuel cell comprising a plurality of cells, each cell including a three-layer plate member having a plate-like electrolyte layer, a film-like or plate-like oxygen electrode attached to one face of the electrolyte layer and a film-like or plate-like fuel electrode attached to the other face of the electrolyte layer, a separator affixed to either the oxygen electrode or the fuel electrode, and an oxygen-containing gas flow passage formed between the oxygen electrode and the separator or a fuel flow passage formed between the fuel electrode and the separator, so that a plurality of the fuel flow passages or of the oxygen-containg gas flow passages are formed between an adjacent pair of the cells.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, for arranging a plurality of cells, as illustrated in FIGS. 13 through 15, partition walls 48 are provided for partitioning between an air feed passage 42 and an air exhaust passage both communicated with a flow passage 41 formed between cells C and a further air feed passage 46 and a further air exhaust passage 47 communicated with a further flow passage 45 formed by a separator 44. Also, opposed ends 49a, 49b of the cell C to which the flow passage 45 formed by the separator 44 is open are respectively inserted into a plurality of holes defined in the partition wall 48.
However, the above described assembly requires a great amount of labor and costs for effecting the assembly steps of: preparing a pair of partition walls 48 each defining a plurality of insertion holes; respectively inserting the ends of the cell C into the insertion holes; and assuring air-tight condition between the ends 49a, 49b of the great number of cells C and the partition walls 48. In this respect, the prior art still has significant room for improvement.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved fuel cell construction which allows easy and quick assembly of its electricity generating unit where an air-tight condition, that is complete separation must be provided between a fuel flow passage or an oxygen-containing gas flow passage and an air feed passage or an air exhaust passage communicated with the oxygen-containing gas flow passage or the fuel flow passage formed by the separator.


A tape printing apparatus includes an input device, a setting device, and a display device. The apparatus further includes a setting tape width image storage device, a character size image storage device, a tape width acquisition device, a character size acquisition device, a setting tape width image reading device that reads out one of setting tape width images from the setting tape width image storage device, and a character size image reading device that reads out one of character size images from the character size image storage device. The apparatus further includes a setting guide image generation device that generates a setting guide image by combining the one of the setting tape width images and the one of the character size images, and a setting display control device that displays the setting guide image on a setting screen.

The present disclosure relates to a tape printing apparatus and a computer-readable recording medium storing a tape print program.
Conventionally, a tape printing apparatus which is equipped with character input keys and performs printing of an input character string on a tape has been known. Through the input keys, a user can input character strings and print phrases and sentences. During inputting and editing by the user, the input character strings are displayed on a small-sized liquid crystal display (LCD) provided to the tape printing apparatus. Further, the user can set the size of a character string to be printed and carry out various types of decoration of the character string. However, the character size and the decoration may not be shown as printed on an edit screen, owing to restrictions of a display capacity. Consequently, the user cannot easily know the printing result. In a case where the user inputs a character string including a plurality of lines, such a problem would occur that it is difficult for the user to know which one of the lines is being edited.
To solve the problem, a printing apparatus is made available which displays the number of lines of an input character string and a currently inputted line in a region of an edit screen (e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. Hei 6-290177).
With the aforementioned conventional printing apparatus, the user can know which one of the lines is currently inputted. However, the user cannot know a size of a currently inputted character relative to the width of a print tape before printing. Therefore, after printing, the user often finds the printed characters to be unexpectedly smaller or larger relative to the tape width. In such a case, the user has to print the characters over again after resetting.

Tape printing apparatus and computer-readable recording medium storing tape print program


A motorcycle includes an ignition switch unit that allows at least starting operation of an engine and unlocking operation of a handlebar by operation of an ignition knob after restriction of turning of the ignition knob by a lock mechanism is canceled when electronic authentication is conducted. An emergency release mechanism is configured to directly or indirectly allow the starting operation of the engine by an emergency release key regardless of the electronic authentication. The emergency release key has a rod-like grip portion, and a magnet key provided to a lateral on a side of an end of the grip portion. A keyhole for the magnet key of the emergency release mechanism is arranged in a direction opposed to an insertion direction of the emergency release key.

1. Field
The present invention relates to a motorcycle including an electronic authentication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
As disclosed in Patent Literature 1 (JP-A No. 2007-276634), in an electronic authentication system for allowing operation of a vehicle, when ID information transmitted from a portable electronic key is right, key locking can be canceled by inserting an emergency release key into an emergency releasing key cylinder. The emergency releasing key cylinder is exposed by detaching a cover.
However, it is preferable that the emergency releasing key cylinder has such a structure that access thereto is hard to be performed from a viewpoint of theft prevention or the like. In this case, a space for allowing access of the emergency release key to the key cylinder is narrowed, and the emergency release key is hard to be inserted into the key cylinder.


A signal processing apparatus comprises an input unit for inputting first image data having a first resolution, a resolution converting unit for converting the resolution of the input first image data and outputting second image data having a second resolution which is lower than the first resolution, a character data producing unit for producing first character data in accordance with the second resolution, an enlargement unit for enlarging the first character data to produce second character data in accordance with the first resolution, a first multiplexing unit for multiplexing the input first image data and the second character data to produce first multiplex image data, and a second multiplexing unit for multiplexing the second image data output from the resolution converting unit and the first character data output from the character data producing unit to produce second multiplex image data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, particularly to a multiplexing process of a character image signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
It has heretofore been known that character images are multiplexed and displayed when an image is displayed in a television monitor or the like.
Moreover, in recent years, there has appeared a TV monitor capable of displaying a wide image having an aspect ratio of 16:9 in addition to a conventional normal image having an aspect ratio of 4:3. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-124021 (having a corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 6,252,590), there is described an apparatus which multiplexes and displays character image data with respect to the normal and wide images.
A constitution described in the above-described publication will be described with reference to FIG. 12.
There are prepared wide parts 1201, common parts 1202, and normal parts 1203. Image data of a GUI screen to be displayed in a wide monitor 1204 is produced using the wide parts 1201 and the common parts 1202. Image data of a GUI screen to be displayed in a normal monitor 1205 is produced using the common parts 1202 and the normal parts 1203.
However, in the constitution of FIG. 12, the wide parts 1201, the common parts 1202, and the normal parts 1203 are required. When the number (resolution) of pixels of the image data to be handled per screen increases, a data amount also increases. Therefore, there has been a problem that a large scale of a circuit required in image processing, such as a memory, is required.
In recent years, there has appeared a video camera which can record/reproduce high-definition (HD) image data in addition to standard-definition (SD) image data.
Also in this type of video camera, the character image data is multiplexed onto an output image thereof and output.
Therefore, in a portable apparatus like the video camera, the large circuit scale is unfavorably required in a case where the character image data is multiplexed onto an HD signal.


A RAN may be configured to receive a first call setup request relating to a first WCD, and a second call setup request relating to a second WCD. The first WCD may communicate using a first air-interface or a second air-interface, and the second WCD my communicate using the second air-interface and not the first air-interface. The RAN may determine that the first WCD and the second WCD are contending for a resource of a wireless coverage area defined using the second air-interface. Based on the first WCD and the second WCD contending for the resource, the first WCD communicating using the first air-interface or the second air-interface, and the second WCD communicating using the second air-interface and not the first air-interface, the RAN may assign the resource to the second WCD.

To provide cellular wireless communication service, a wireless service provider, or "wireless carrier," typically operates a radio access network (RAN) that defines one or more coverage areas in which wireless communication devices (WCDs) can be served by the RAN, and can thereby obtain connectivity to broader networks such as the publically-switched telephone network (PSTN) and/or the Internet. A typical RAN may include one or more base transceiver stations (BTSs). These BTSs may be macro network cell towers and/or femtocells, each of which may radiate to define a cell and/or cell sectors through which WCDs can communicate. Further, the RAN may include one or more base station controllers (BSCs), which may be integrated with or otherwise in communication with the BTSs. The BSCs may include or be in communication with a switch or gateway that provides connectivity with one or more transport networks. With this arrangement, a cell phone, personal digital assistant, wirelessly equipped computer, or any other WCD that is positioned within coverage of the RAN can then communicate with a BTS and in turn, via the BTS, with other served devices or with other entities on the transport network.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Assignment of wireless network resources


An electronic poker system is a system for reducing slowdowns and errors during play while delivering an authentic poker experience for players. The system includes a table where players are able to sit at a plurality of player stations while a live dealer sits at a dealer station. Each player's cards are shown on at least one flexible display while community cards and other game information is shown on at least one game display that is visible to all players. Each of the at least one flexible display is secured to a playing surface of the table through a tether device. A gameplay control unit automates many functions such as dealing player cards, dealing community cards, fixing dealer mistakes, and folding player hands. The live dealer is able to initiate these functions through at least one dealer input device.

Poker is a widely played family of card games in which players attempt to assemble the strongest hand using cards in a dealt hand as well as shared "community cards". A player is able to place wagers as well based on the perceived value of his or her hand relative to the hands of other players. Poker is most commonly played with players seated perimetrically around a table. In more formal settings, a dealer is present to deal cards to players as well as to progress play. While the general concept of poker is rather straightforward, there are several issues that are inherent to conventional playing cards and live dealers. Because physical cards must be shuffled and dealt before a new hand can be played as well as additional cards during play, there is an ever-present risk of dealer errors such as dealing cards to the wrong player or dealing cards prematurely. As a result, the use of a live dealer and physical cards can result in fewer hands played as well as an overall slowdown in play, leading to loss of players' time and enjoyment. This further results in reduced revenue for casinos and other establishments that charge a rake (commission fee) per hand played. Another drawback of physical playing cards is the ability to mark or flash the cards for dishonest play.
Electronic card tables attempt to address the issues inherent to physical playing cards by fully automating the traditionally human aspects of poker. Electronic card tables typically feature a computer-controlled electronic dealer as well as electronic chips and electronic cards in lieu of a live dealer, physical chips, and physical cards. Players are able to view their cards via individual digital displays and are able to electronically perform actions such as wagering, folding, and checking during play. Community cards, player wagers, and other game information are typically displayed on a large central display that is visible to all players. Electronic card tables are generally able to increase the rate of play as well as greatly reduce the likelihood of error. However, electronic card tables are not held in high regard due to the perceived failure of the tables to deliver an authentic poker experience. The lack of a live dealer, lack of physical cards, lack of physical chips, and use of large digital displays are reminiscent of online or video poker games.
The present invention is an electronic poker system that combines advantages provided by both conventional card tables and electronic card tables in order to deliver an authentic poker experience for players while mitigating dealer mistakes. A live dealer is present during use of the present inventions and players are able to place wagers utilizing physical chips. The dealer is additionally responsible for monitoring player wagers as well as awarding and/or dividing the pot(s) following the conclusion of a hand. However, the present invention features flexible electronic displays in lieu of physical cards. The flexibility of the electronic displays and tethering devices connecting the electronic displays to the table enable players to physically handle the electronic displays in a similar manner to physical cards. Community cards are shown on a central display that is visible to all players. The dealer uses one or more input devices to deal electronic cards to the players' flexible displays and central display at a faster rate than dealing conventional poker cards. In addition, the dealer utilizes an action undo input device to quickly reverse dealing mistakes.


A circuit board (4) for connecting a deformation sensor (16, 18), which is provided on a radial outer side of a rolling bearing outer ring (6), to a signal-processing circuit (28), the circuit board including—a cylindrical support plate (20) having a cylinder opening in which the rolling bearing outer ring (6) can be accommodated concentrically to said cylindrical support plate (20), —an electrical contact pad (22) on the cylindrical support plate (20) for electrical contacting with the deformation sensor (16, 18) and—an electrical strip conductor (26) which is electrically connected to the electrical contact pad (22) and is designed to receive signals from the deformation sensor (16, 18) and convey them to the signal-processing circuit (28).

The invention relates to a circuit board for connecting a deformation sensor, which is arranged on a radially outer side of a rolling bearing outer ring, to a signal-processing circuit. The invention also relates to a wheel bearing for a vehicle with the circuit board.
From DE 101 64 929 B4 it is known to arrange deformation sensors circumferentially on a radially outer side of an outer ring of a wheel bearing, wherein these sensors detect deformation forces acting on the outer ring and indicate these forces in the form of electrically detectable signals. Based on these signals, the deformation forces on the outer ring can then be detected in all spatial directions, in order to use them, for example, for stabilizing the vehicle.

Circuit board for connecting a deformation sensor to a signal-processing circuit


This invention provides reagents and methods for delivering insulin, insulinomimetic agents, and the like to a vertebrate eye via subconjunctival routes, sub-Tenon's routes, or intravitreal routes for treatment of nerve-related vision disorders such as diabetic retinopathy, and formulations useful in the practice of the disclosed methods.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a method for delivering insulin, insulinomimetic agents, and the like to the eye for treatment of diabetic retinopathy. More specifically, the method involves the periocular administration of these drugs via subconjunctival routes, sub-Tenon's routes, or intravitreal routes.
2. Background of the Related Art
Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions. Approximately 15 million people in the United States are currently afflicted with the disease, and that number is expected to rise to at least 21 million over the next 30 years.
In addition to (and as a consequence of) the metabolic disarray caused by the disease, diabetes causes a variety of other, organ-specific dysfunctions, including in particular diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy affects half of all Americans diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy is an illness that occurs when diabetes damages tiny blood vessels in the retina, affecting vision, and is a leading cause of blindness. There are two clinical stages of retinopathy. The first stage is known as nonproliferative retinopathy, in which the blood vessels damaged by diabetes leak fluid and lipids onto the retina. When the fluid accumulates in the center of the retina (i.e., the macula) it leads to macular edema. The fluid makes the macula swell, which blurs vision. The second stage is the proliferative stage, where new blood vessels grow along the retina and in the clear, gel-like vitreous that fills the inside of the eye. These new blood vessels can bleed, cloud vision, and destroy the retina unless treated. There is also a preclinical phase in which patients will generally have no symptoms, nor will there be any findings on routine clinical examination. However, in the preclinical phase sensitive tests reveal reduced contrast sensitivity, electrical responses with an electroretinogram, or color vision.
There are several methods of treatment for diabetic retinopathy disclosed in the art. However, none of these treatment approaches have proven successful in addressing the primary metabolic disorder or in preventing retinopathy. Conventional diabetic retinopathy treatments are limited to controlling the diabetic state with systemic insulin administration or oral hypoglycemic agents. The problem with these systemic approaches is that they do not restore normal physiologic metabolic control or provide overall effective levels of the drug to the eye. Secondary treatment approaches include using diuretics to control blood pressure or intravascular fluid overload. Attempts have also been recognized in the arts for treating retinopathy with aldose reductase inhibitors, inhibitors of nonenzymatic glycation (aminoguanidine), corticosteroids or antihistamines. Methods of treatment for advanced retinopathy complications include vitrectomy surgery and laser treatment, exposing an intense beam of light to the small diseased areas of the retina. These methods are palliative in nature, and none of these methods is sufficiently effective to prevent or cure the disease.
Although diabetic retinopathy is extensively studied in the art, the direct effects of insulin or insulinomimetics on diabetic retinopathy are limited. It has been demonstrated that retinal neurons die in experimental diabetes in rats and in humans. Moreover, insulin has been shown to be a survival factor for retinal neurons in culture, and excess hexosamines impair insulin's survival-promoting effects. In vivo, systemically and intraocularly administered insulin activates the insulin receptor and downstream signaling cascades that are involved in cell function and survival. However, the ability to administer systemically sufficient insulin or other insulinomimetic agents to be effective for prevention of retinopathy is limited by the risk of hypoglycemia.
Accordingly, there is a great demand for safe and effective methods for delivering agents effective in treating diabetic retinopathy. In particular, there is a need in the art for treatment methods that maintain retinal cell function and survival in the face of persistent hyperglycemia.

Periocular drug delivery for diabetic retinopathy


A method has acts for coupling from a computerized server executing software on a processor from a non-transitory medium to two or more computerized appliances operated by persons in a contact center, and updating text composition and editing results in real time in a display of each of the computerized appliances as any person operating a coupled computerized appliance composes or edits in a text-based communication application.

Contact centers employ agents who may interact with customers on behalf of an enterprise host of the contact center. Examples of enterprise hosts are financial institutions and airlines. Some contact center operations are quite large, employing many agents, and there is always a challenge of training new agents and helping to upgrade skills of existing agents. At the time of filing the instant application there are many problems with the way agents are coached and trained, and new methods are desirable.

GENESYS TELECOMMUNICATIONS LABORATORIES, INC.


MEMS force sensors for providing temperature coefficient of offset (TCO) compensation are described herein. An example MEMS force sensor can include a TCO compensation layer to minimize the TCO of the force sensor. The bottom side of the force sensor can be electrically and mechanically mounted on a package substrate while the TCO compensation layer is disposed on the top side of the sensor. It is shown the TCO can be reduced to zero with the appropriate combination of Young's modulus, thickness, and/or thermal coefficient of expansion (TCE) of the TCO compensation layer.

A MEMS force sensor or strain gauge has intrinsic offset as a result of the manufacturing and assembly processes. Additionally, the offset of the sensor can change in relation to temperature due to the thermal coefficient of expansion (TCE) mismatch between the package substrate, substrate of the sensor, solder bumps, and/or inter metal dielectric layers of the sensor chip. The slope of the offset versus temperature is defined as the temperature coefficient of offset (TCO). The offset under extreme temperatures can put subsequent amplifier and/or analog-to-digital convertor out of normal operation range and thus render the entire sensing system unusable.
In some conventional systems, the solution to TCO problems involve the electrical sensing circuitry, which broadens the operation range of the MEMS force sensor.

Temperature coefficient of offset compensation for force sensor and strain gauge


An imaging apparatus includes: an image obtaining unit which obtains print target data to be printed; a second print size specifying unit which specifies a print size for printing the obtained print target image on one or more print media; a print medium size specifying unit which specifies a size of the print media on which the print target data is printed; and a division judging unit which judges whether or not the print target data is divided into the plural print media when being printed, on the basis of the specified print size and the specified size of the print media.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a print target data processing apparatus, a print target data processing method, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, a technique to output an imaged object in an arbitrarily specified magnification ratio and size has been proposed as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-244501.

Print target data processing apparatus, print target data processing method, and storage medium, which control division into plural print media


Method and apparatus for ad hoc cooperative routing in an IP network. Included is an emergency stand alone (ESA) system that provides a bypass to a failed TDM switch for multiple communication devices in communication with one or more TDM switches. One or more internet protocol media gateways communicate a multicast signal upon the failure of a switch. The multicast initiates Voice over IP communication between endpoints, bypassing the failed switch.

The public switched telephone network (PSTN) is the network of the public circuit-switched telephone networks that provide the majority of voice services. The PSTN is largely governed by technical standards and uses standardized addresses, namely telephone numbers. PSTN was originally a network of fixed-line analog telephone systems; however the present PSTN is almost entirely digital, and includes mobile phones. While the technology continues to change, the majority of users in the public still use the typical fixed telephone handset service which is sometimes referred to as the Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS).
In a traditional public switch telephone network there are two basic system elements, namely the switching device and the access device. The switching device in a local exchange is generally referred to as a Class 5 switch. The class 5 office is the local exchange or end office, and it delivers dial tone to the customer. The end office, also called a branch exchange, is the closest connection to the end customer. The function of a Class 5 switch in rural areas is often performed by some form of remote switch or Remote Digital Terminal (RDT) which is installed at the original switch site to handle local switching. The Class 5 switching infrastructure is then physically located in a larger population center. The switch provides the call control, call features and routing information necessary to complete a telephone call within a carrier's exchange. The term switch as used herein refers to any of the various switch types.
The access device, sometimes referred to as a Digital Loop Carrier (DLC) or Broadband Loop Carrier (BLC), provides the physical interface to the subscriber's telephone equipment. This interface typically includes battery voltages to power the telephone equipment, ringing voltages necessary to ring the telephone equipment when an incoming call in received, and the analog to digital conversion required to interface with the switches. An access device can encompass IP Media Gateways (IPMGs) when capable of communicating by internet protocol. An IPMG is any type of access device that can support IP ESA provisioning, supporting multicasting.
Under normal operation, the access device or IPMG and the switch are required to have a reliable communications path available for a telephone call to be made, even between two subscribers connected to the same access device or IPMG. Despite the size of the public switched telephone network, it averages approximately 99.999% availability and employs various redundant features, especially in the older established networks and those with dense populations.
Digital Loop Carriers (DLCs) or next-generation access systems such as BLCs are excellent devices for terminating subscriber access lines, reducing loop plant or providing concentration of access lines. However, most DLCs also represent a critical point of failure in a carrier's network because if the link between the host switch and the DLC is severed, the DLC will be unable to complete any local calls including emergency 911 calls. Today, over half of all access lines in the United States are terminated on DLCs, few of which have any back up or fail-safe switching capability. This represents a large and potentially critical point of failure in the PSTN and a public safety concern for all carriers.
One area of concern for the public is network redundancy to achieve Emergency Stand Alone, especially with the high cost of added equipment typically required for such redundant capability. The redundancy for upgrades to replace older networks and for new installations drives the cost of network construction up significantly. Rural telephone market consists of large geographic areas with relatively low density of subscribers. The ability to economically build a fully redundant network is not feasible.
Emergency Stand Alone also called Emergency Standalone (ESA) refers to the capability of an area within a voice network to be self sufficient and capable to operate and complete all calls originating and terminating within that service area even if the connection to the broader public switched telephone network has failed. There are typically two levels of calls that are handled in the ESA mode, namely the regular calls that would normally be routed via the switch and emergency calls such as 911.
By way of example, the loss to the switch could be the result of equipment failure, a fiber optic failure or a metallic cable failure. It could also be related to a power outage in which the emergency and/or battery power fails. Also, internal operational/software failure can contribute to the loss. Typically, every access device in the network which could suffer such connectivity loss would be required to have an ESA device in order to ensure calling services would be intact in the event of a hardware or fiber failure.
Historically, ESA service has been provided by a central office host switch or a subtended remote switch unit, both of which are broadly referred to herein as switches. If the connection between the central office host switch and the broader public switched telephone network was lost, the central office host switch would attempt to complete all local calls and route all 911 calls to a local public service answering point. Similarly, if the connection between the remote switch unit and the central office host switch was severed, then the remote switch unit would continue to attempt all local calls within its service area and generally route all 911 calls to a pre-designated emergency responder, such as the local fire or police department. Access concentration devices such as Digital Loop Carriers (DLCs) and the newer generation of Broadband Loop Carriers (BLCs) traditionally do not have any switching capability and thus lack emergency stand alone service.
In a general sense, ESA provides a mechanism whereby the access device can still provide the ability to complete calls between subscribers attached to it even in the event connectivity to the switch is lost. As noted, this typically requires that additional hardware is required and that the ESA domain, or scope of the subscriber lines covered by the ESA, is limited to a predefined area.
There have been some attempts for providing emergency stand alone services such as by installing low end switches in remote locations or requiring a switch for every town, and some networks even required all central offices to have switches. Large remote sites sometimes have installed cards that would allow form of stand alone operation.
As the technology has evolved, the handling capacity has increased and the equipment size has decreased. In combination with the enhancements for soft switching, there has been a trend towards consolidation and larger central offices as opposed to many discrete offices. Soft switching refers to the processing within the switch controller wherein the switch maintains a database of the endpoints and their respective addresses. There are tables that enable the switch to route traffic to the intended destination as the switch has predetermined information about the endpoint. Such trends create a greater vulnerability to loss of voice lines as a single failure could lead to greater outages of voice communication.
As Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone service has gained market momentum in the PSTN market, the requirement for ESA has not diminished. VoIP is a technology that allows a user to make voice calls using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line. Voice over Internet Protocol, also called VoIP, IP Telephony, Internet telephony, Broadband telephony, Broadband Phone and Voice over Broadband generally refers to the routing of voice communications over the Internet or through any other IP-based network. VoIP systems traditionally employ two components, namely a switch and the terminal adapters or client. The switch is the brain that determines the processing for the various endpoints, wherein the endpoints are subservient to the switch.
VoIP providers follow established protocols to carry voice signals over the IP network, wherein the system converts voice into digital signals that travel over the Internet. If calling a POTS handset, the signal is converted to a regular telephone signal before it reaches the destination. VoIP allows calls directly from a computer, a special VoIP phone, or a traditional phone connected to a special adapter. In addition, wireless hot spots in locations such as airports, parks, and cafes allow you to connect to the Internet and may enable VoIP service wirelessly.
There are a variety of VoIP protocols as well as VoIP systems. There is typically a terminal adapter that is coupled to the hand set during the dialing of a telephone call that sends the dialing information back to a switch and the switch determines the outcome such as converting the dialed numbers into the proper format and providing some ring tones back to the user. The IPMG takes user input and converts between the VoIP and handset. Redundancy typically requires that there is always a switch between the VoIP client and the switch. In dense areas, there may be multiple connections to a switch such that the VoIP clients can be re-routed to the switch if one connection is inoperable. However, in rural environments, there is no guarantee of a surviving path between the VoIP clients and the switch controlling the phone service if a connection is broken.
The traditional approach to provide ESA capabilities in the VoIP scenario is not very different from the approach taken in the division multiplexing (TDM) environment. Typical VoIP based ESA requires that for each ESA domain an additional device or module would need to be installed to guard against connectivity loss to the switch.
As can be seen in FIG. 1, a prior art VoIP system 5 is depicted with a switch that can be a central office host switch or a subtended remote switch unit, which includes Class 5 switches and RDT.
The switch 10 may be coupled to other switches (not shown) or a central host to provide some form of ring network. In this system 5, there is a first DLC A 20 coupled to a first POTS handset 25. The DLC can be coupled to multiple handsets. The DLC is basically an analog/digital (A/D) converter that performs the necessary translation processing between the POTS handsets and VoIP infrastructure, and establishes the various communications protocol with the switch 10. The switch 10 in this example is also coupled to a second DLC 30 as well as nested access devices 40, 50. The third DLC 40 is also coupled to a POTS handset 55. It should be understood that this is just one representative example of the prior art implementations and other variations are known to those skilled in the art.
By way of an illustrative example, if a party using a POTS handset 25 dials a telephone number, the DLC 20 performs the processing to convert the Dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) or pulse telephone number into the proper VoIP communications protocol. The switch 10, with its apriori knowledge of the telephone numbers in the network, routes the signal to the proper location and corresponding handset 55 whether it is a wireless caller, VoIP client or another POTS handset. If communicating to another POTS handset one or more receiver DLCs 30, 40, 50 is used to translate the digital VoIP communications back into the POTS protocol so that it is received by the receiver POTS handset 55 in the proper format.
The switch 10 typically follows call admission control that manages administrative aspects such as whether the dialed telephone number is valid, whether the caller is allowed to make the call based on the caller account, whether the receiving party is in the network, or whether the receiving party is busy or on a failed network. Various handshaking occurs prior to the connection between the caller and receiver which is administered by the switch prior to successful completion of the call.
In the event that the switch is inoperative, ESA service in the state of the art requires pre-existing added hardware elements. In order to provide such full ESA capabilities, an ESA device or switch (not shown) must be added and coupled to DLC A-D 20, 30, 40, 50. Furthermore, in the event that the link from the switch 10 to DLC B 30 were to fail, the connectivity between DLC C 40 subscribers and DLC D 50 subscribers would require complex routing knowledge provisioned in each ESA device to allow calls to be completed properly.
For example, when a user wants to make a telephone call from a standard POTS handset on a network that employs VoIP, the user picks up the receiver and a dial tone is provided by the VoIP client. The user dials the desired telephone number and The VoIP client makes a number of efforts to route the call to the switch.
Several approaches and systems have been contemplated to provide redundancy with limited success. There are collapsed rings providing local redundancy but the lines are typically in the same trench and this would not aid in a failure further upstream from the ring.
Some existing systems employed an auxiliary switch that waits for the master switch to be offline and then takes control of the network traffic. This is not a distributed approach and requires a sufficient number of auxiliary switches which can be costly to implement. One embodiment of the invention is a distributed ESA approach that adds the multicast functionality into the VoIP endpoints such that they can operate independently if the switch is offline.
In addition, there are a few implementations that have evolved for converting the VoIP to POTS electrical interface. For example, in the Vonage system, a user sets up an account on the user's computer. Vonage wants a switch with the database of known endpoints that maps phone numbers to IP addresses. The Vonage system establishes an electronic adapter in every house and converts the VoIP to the POTS handset at the house. A disadvantage of this approach is that a loss of power will result in loss of the telephony.
The telephone company system approach places the VoIP-POTS transfer mechanism as part of the network and customer is presented the standard two-wire POTS connection at the house. If the power is lost at the house, the phone line may still be powered as long as there is power to the VoIP transfer mechanism, which typically has some battery backup.
In general, the industry move towards digital communications and VOIP has facilitated the migration away from remote offices which increases the exposure to loss of emergency voice lines in the event of a failure at a central office or central office line.
The fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) initiative has been slowly converting existing cables to fiber but the economics requires a certain density to make the conversion cost effective. Present rural implementations use fiber out to a remote cabinet and the 'last mile' to the home using existing copper wire using, for example, ADSL, or in-the-house POTS adaptation. While new developments can go immediately to fiber, it will be many years before all the cabling is replaced by fiber, especially in less dense areas.
The premise devices are also continuing to evolve and incorporate processing and communications capability. The premise device can be a network interface device (NID) also sometimes referred to as a network interface unit (NIU) which is a multi-functional device that acts as an interface providing code conversion, protocol conversion and buffering used for communications to/from a network. The NID in some applications allow a number of independent devices, with varying protocols, to communicate with each other and converts a device protocol into a common transmission protocol. The transmission protocol may be chosen to accommodate directly a number of the devices used within the network without the need for protocol conversion for those devices by the NID.
Despite the advances to a purely digital network, however, as long there are standard handsets in the field employing the POTS interface, there is a requirement for converting VOIP to POTS.
Thus there is a need for emergency stand alone services since the network is not resilient enough to tolerate failure without disrupting life line voice services. One of the principal economic challenges to providing full ESA capabilities is the requirement for added equipment. In addition, there is the additional complexity of programming routing information needed to complete calls under the existing ESA even though the ESA domain is static and refers to a single physical location. What is needed, therefore, is a system and techniques for routing ESA calls without the burden and cost of auxiliary hardware such as switches.

System for VOIP based emergency stand alone service


A system and method for parallel scanning among multiple scanning entities. According to various embodiments of the present invention, buffers are allocated from a pool of memory pages, with one packet being located on each page. Each of the pages is mapped such that unprivileged scanners, privileged scanners, and hardware-based scanners are all capable of accessing the pages. By having the packets located on separate pages, additional data other than the packets at issue do not have to be shared, and copying is not necessary to complete the scanning process.

This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention that is recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
In perimeter security, the firewall is the typical first line of defense for a network. A firewall is a collection of security measures that are used to prevent unauthorized electronic access to a computer system or network. In terms of the overall protection of a network, "defense in depth" refers to the application of multiple layers of security technologies (referred to herein as "scanners") at the perimeter of the network and within the network in order to protect it. In recent years, there has been a trend towards the combining multiple security technologies or scanners within a single device. Although such combinations of scanners makes security management easier, it also results in a significantly higher demand on the device that is performing the scanning in terms of both performance and flexibility.
Virtual memory is a system for dynamically mapping a program's address or addresses to one or more physical memory addresses. In an unprivileged mode of execution, an individual computer program cannot access any of the device's physical memory other than its own, and the program cannot run special instructions in the processor that can affect the hardware state for other programs. The unprivileged mode is also referred to as a user-mode. In a privileged mode of execution, the computer program can access any part of the computer hardware and may modify aspects of other programs. The privileged mode of execution typically refers to the operating system (OS) of the device. Still further, the device at issue typically contains firmware, which is the software that is preinstalled within an execution unit.
With regard to the security technologies or scanners that are used within and at the perimeter of a network, many of these technologies are implemented as software programs that run in the unprivileged mode on the operating system. Additionally, other technologies run in the privileged mode, while others are built into the firmware of special purpose hardware. This creates a significant issue, as the three different implementations of these technologies (unprivileged, privileged and hardware) have conventionally been incompatible with the other. Additionally, these technologies tend to be run in a serialized manner and tend to run at different rates. Still further, these technologies typically require that the data to be scanned be delivered in different layers of the protocol stack from each other. Because the technologies are run in different modes, they also tend not to be capable of sharing memory with each other, resulting in a requirement for making copies of the data to be scanned.
In some previous implementations, the above issues have been addressed by having separate hardware inline for each type of scanner (e.g., stand-alone firmware, intrusion detection and prevention (IDP) software, anti-virus software, etc.) Attempts to address the above-identified issues have also involved running each scanner on separate software blades, and then broadcasting or coping the packets to each blade.


A cooking appliance includes an oven cavity, a trim element and a door designed to pivot about a substantially vertical axis. The door is mounted for pivotal movement relative to the oven cavity about a substantially vertical axis. The door includes a main body portion having a front surface, a rear surface and a peripheral edge portion. The peripheral edge portion includes top, bottom and opposing side edge sections, with each of the opposing side edge sections leading to an extended region that overlaps, at least in part, the trim element. The extended region includes a generally rounded portion directly adjacent to the trim element. The generally rounded portion provides clearance necessary to enable the door to shift between open and closed positions, while simultaneously allowing the use of an extremely thin or low profile door.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of cooking appliances and, more particularly, to a thin profile door assembly for a cooking appliance that creates a substantially seamless transition between the door assembly and adjacent kitchen wall structure.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Ovens and their general construction are well known. In general, an oven includes a cooking cavity having an opening which is selectively closed by a door assembly. Usually, ovens are of two general configurations: the ovens are either built-in units, i.e. built into a cabinet or wall, or the oven is free standing and, in most cases, is provided with a cooktop. Ovens that are built into a cabinet, wall or other similar structure are typically provided with a trim piece that overlaps adjacent cabinetry to establish a smooth transition between the oven and the adjacent structure.
Ovens are generally provided with a door having a square-shaped peripheral edge that extends over, at least in part, the trim piece. By overlapping the trim piece, the door creates a stepped transition between the oven and adjacent structure. That is, edge portions of the door overlap the trim piece forming a step-like appearance. When constructing a door, it is necessary to establish or maintain a gap between the peripheral edge of the door and the trim piece. The gap allows the door to pivot between open and closed positions. The overall size or width of the gap is dependent upon the location of a pivot point of the door. Certainly, the gap must be at least large enough to allow the square-shaped edge of the door to clear the trim piece.
In the highly competitive field of home appliances, consumer preferences are a major factor governing the construction of a given appliance line. More specifically, it has been found that consumers equate certain features of an appliance with product quality. One such feature has been found to be the overall distance a wall-type oven protrudes or extends beyond an adjacent structure. Oven doors require insulation to limit heat conduction from the oven cavity and reaching external oven surfaces. Thus, oven doors, particularly those incorporating a viewing window, will necessarily require a minimum thickness. In order to maintain a minimal distance from an external surface of the door and the trim piece, a low profile hinge must be employed. However, employing a low profile hinge requires the presence of a substantial gap between the oven door and the trim piece.
Another feature that consumers equate with product quality is the size of the gap between the door and the oven, principally when the door is in an open position. The size of the gap is of particular concern in oven designs that employ a door that pivots about a substantially vertical axis. Thus, if an appliance is provided with a thin profile door, the existence of a large gap necessitating the use of a low profile hinge may give certain consumers an impression of low quality.
Therefore, despite the existence of various oven door arrangements in the prior art, there still exists a need for a low profile oven door. More specifically, there exists a need for a low profile oven door that pivots about a vertical axis, while maintaining both a minimal distance between an outer door surface and surrounding trim and simultaneously ensuring a minimal gap exists between the oven door and the remainder of the oven itself.

Thin profile door for a cooking appliance


The present application discloses new taxane analogs, intermediates and methods for producing them. The present application is also directed to pharmaceutical formulations comprising abeo-taxanes and methods of treating cancer with the abeo-taxanes.

Taxanes such as paclitaxel are diterpene natural product drug molecules that have been used to treat cancer in the clinic for many years. Synthetic analogs of paclitaxel such as docetaxel have been developed and also used in the clinic to treat various cancers. The taxanes act by binding to tubulin and stabilizing the mitotic spindle thereby halting mitosis and leading cells into apoptosis. However the taxanes and other drug molecules have been found to be ineffective in treating multidrug resistant cancers and cancers with mutant tubulins. Therefore a continuing need exists for compounds that are effective therapeutic agents for cancers that are multidrug resistant.
One approach in developing new anti-cancer drugs is the identification of superior analogs and derivatives of biologically active compounds. Modifications of various portions of a complex molecule may lead to new and better drugs having improved properties such as increased biological activity, effectiveness against cancer cells that have developed multi-drug resistance (MDR), fewer or less serious side effects, improved solubility characteristics, better therapeutic profile and the like.
Zamir et al, Tetrahedron Letters, 37, 6435-6438 (1996) discloses taxane analogues containing a five membered A-ring and a position 1 —C(CH3)2OH group. These analogues were abeo-taxanes lacking the four membered oxatane ring. Zamir et al, Tetrahedron Letters, 53. 15991-16008 (1997) discloses abeo-taxane analogues and also trapped intermediates containing a 5 membered A-ring and a position 1 —C(CH3)2OH group. Wahl et al, Tetrahedron, 48, 6965-6974 (1992) discloses a wide range of modified taxane analogues including one which had a 5 membered A-ring and a 1 position —C(CH3)2OH group.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,806 discloses 10β-substituted taxanes which may have bridges between the 7- and 9-hydroxyl groups of the formula:
wherein R11 and R12 are as defined in the patent.


A cooling apparatus for a fuel cell is provided. The cooling apparatus for a fuel cell includes a reservoir that is configured to store a coolant and an ion filter assembly that is integrally installed at the reservoir and configured to remove bubbles in the coolant.

(a) Field of the Invention
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention relates to a heat and water management system of a fuel cell vehicle, and more particularly, to a cooling apparatus for a fuel cell, that cools heat generated in a fuel cell stack.
(b) Description of the Related Art
In general, a fuel cell system supplies hydrogen, which is used as fuel and air as an oxidant, to a fuel cell stack, and produces electricity through an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. The fuel cell system is mounted within a vehicle, and drives the vehicle by operating an electric motor with electricity produced by the fuel cell stack. The fuel cell system refers to a type of electric power generation system which does not convert chemical energy of fuel into heat by combustion, but electrochemically converts the chemical energy directly into electrical energy in the fuel cell stack.
Typically, the fuel cell stack obtains desired output power by laminating several tens to several hundreds of sheets of fuel cells including a unit configured by an membrane electrode assembly (MEA), a gasket, a separation plate, or the like. Since a substantial amount of heat is generated in the fuel cell stack in addition to a fuel cell reaction, a configuration of a cooling apparatus is necessary in the fuel cell system to reduce the generated heat. The cooling apparatus includes a coolant reservoir (hereinafter, referred to as "reservoir" for convenience) that stores a coolant, and a coolant pump that supplies the coolant stored in the coolant reservoir to the fuel cell stack.
Moreover, an antifreeze fluid is used in the fuel cell vehicle as a coolant. The coolant is injected into a cooling system (also typically called "stack cooling loop" in this field) of the fuel cell stack including the reservoir when the vehicle is manufactured. The coolant may be injected in a pressing manner after the cooling system is in a vacuum state to prevent bubbles from generating in the cooling system. When the bubbles (e.g., air) are present in the cooling system when the coolant is injected, a possibility of overheating due to a coolant deficiency is increased as the coolant overflows when driving the fuel cell vehicle.
In addition, when the bubbles are present in the cooling system of the fuel cell vehicle, as described above, deterioration in efficiency of the fuel cell and cooling performance due to a local increase in temperature of the fuel cell stack may occur, coolant flow noise may occur, and moreover adverse influence such as damage of the fuel cell may occur. Therefore, the fuel cell vehicle includes an ion filter that removes the bubbles from the cooling system. The ion filter is installed within the cooling system in an engine room separately from the reservoir.
The above information disclosed in this section is merely for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.


A reactive illuminated wireless charging surface incorporated into a seating module or worksurface aboard an aircraft or other mobile platform has a translucent exterior surface beneath which a wireless charging device may be positioned and over which a PED may be placed for charging. The illuminated wireless charging surface may incorporate arrays or strips of individually addressable light emitting diodes (LED) or other like luminous devices set into flexible printed control boards (PCB) beneath the exterior surface. The illuminated wireless charging surface may have a display controller for driving the LED arrays in practical or aesthetically appealing ways to provide dynamic visual indication of a charging status, e.g., by adjusting individual LEDs or groups thereof to shift in color or intensity according to predetermined or preprogrammed patterns.

Wireless charging devices may recharge the batteries of mobile telephones, tablets, and other suitably equipped portable electronic devices (PED) without the need to plug or connect the PED into a power outlet. For example, the PED may be placed over a wireless charging device (e.g., upon a pad or other designated charging surface) and receive power inductively, or via an electromagnetic field. However, the wireless charging device may have no means of displaying a progress or other status of an ongoing charge, or may be capable of only a binary status display (e.g., red/green, on/off, charging/complete).

Reactive LED illuminated wireless charging surface


Carbon nanotubes are incorporated in the fiber structure by growing them on the refractory fibers of the substrate so as to obtain a three-dimensional substrate made of refractory fibers and enriched in carbon nanotubes. The substrate is densified with a matrix to form a part of composite material such as a friction part of C/C composite material.

The invention relates to porous three-dimensional (3D) fiber structures made of refractory fibers. In particular it relates to such structures for constituting fiber preforms for making parts out of thermostructural composite material.
A particular field of application of the invention is the manufacture of friction parts, such as brake disks, having a carbon fiber reinforcement.
Thermostructural composite materials are well known for their good mechanical properties which make them suitable for constituting structural elements, and for their ability to retain these properties at high temperatures. They comprise in particular carbon/carbon (C/C) composite materials having carbon fiber reinforcement densified by a matrix of carbon, and ceramic matrix composite (CMC) materials having refractory fiber reinforcement (carbon fibers or ceramic fibers) densified by a matrix of ceramic material. Thermostructural composite materials find applications in particular in the fields of aviation and space, and in the field of friction, specifically for aircraft brake disks.
Composite material parts are usually fabricated by making a fiber preform which is to constitute the fiber reinforcement of the composite material, and by densifying the preform with the matrix of the composite material.
The preform is a porous fiber structure made up of fibers, yarns, or tows. Typical methods for making 3D fiber structures enabling preforms to be obtained having shapes that structures enabling preforms to be obtained having shapes that correspond to the shapes of the composite material parts that are to be fabricated include the following:                winding on a former or mandrel;        making thick felts;        three-dimensional weaving, knitting, or braiding; and        draping or superposing plies made of two-dimensional (2D) fabric and optionally bonded to one another; the 2D fabric may be a woven cloth, a sheet of unidirectional filaments, a multidirectional sheet made up of a plurality of unidirectional sheets superposed in different directions and bonded together, e.g. by needling or stitching, a layer of felt, or indeed a laminate comprising a cloth or sheet coated in a layer of free fibers that are bonded to the cloth or sheet by needling.
A typical method of making a 3D fiber structure intended specifically for preparing preforms for thermostructural composite material disks consists in superposing plies made of layers of cloth or multidirectional sheet and in bonding them together by needling. One such method is described in particular in document U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,052. The fiber structure can be made from fibers that constitute precursors of the carbon or ceramic material constituting the fiber reinforcement of the composite material. The precursor is then transformed into carbon or ceramic by heat treatment, prior to being densified by the matrix.
The fiber structure may alternatively be made directly out of carbon fibers or ceramic fibers. In which case, the layers of cloth or multidirectional sheet can be provided with a layer of free fibers constituting a source of fibers suitable for being taken by the needles while the plies are being needled together.
A fiber preform can be densified with its matrix by a liquid process and/or a gaseous process. The liquid process consists in impregnating the preform with a liquid composition containing a precursor of the matrix and in subsequently transforming the precursor by heat treatment so as to obtain the desired matrix material. Typically, the precursor is a resin. The gaseous process is chemical vapor infiltration (CVI). The preform is placed in an oven into which a gas is admitted containing one or more components forming a gaseous precursor for the matrix material. The conditions inside the oven, in particular temperature and pressure, are adjusted so as to enable the gas to diffuse into the pores of the preform and deposit matrix material on the fibers of the preform, either by a component of the gas decomposing, or else by a reaction between a plurality of components. Such methods are well known in themselves, both for forming carbon matrices and for forming ceramic matrices.
Proposals have already been made to introduce fillers into the pores of fiber structures that are to constitute the fiber reinforcement of thermostructural composite material parts prior to densifying the fiber structures with the composite material matrix. The intended purposes are to reduce the fraction of the volume of the fiber structure that is represented by the pores in order to reduce the time taken by densification, and/or to impart special properties to the resulting composite material parts, and in particular to improve mechanical properties.
The fillers consist in particular of powders or of short fibers made of carbon or ceramic. A known method of introducing fillers consists in impregnating the 3D fiber structure with a suspension of fillers in a liquid. Nevertheless, it is found in practice to be impossible to distribute the fillers in desired manner within fiber structures, i.e. in uniform manner or in a manner that is not uniform but that is controlled.

Method of making a three-dimensional fiber structure of refractory fibers


A first computer system may be configured to execute a first application in a first virtual machine. A second computer system may be coupled to the first computer system. In response to a failure, the first computer system is configured to failover the first virtual machine to the second computer system. A carrier medium comprises first instructions which, when executed, initiate a failover of a first virtual machine. An application executes on the first virtual machine. The failover occurs from a first computer system on which a failure occurs to a second computer system.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to the field of highly available computer systems and, more particularly, to the failing over of applications in computer systems, including clustered computer systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Certain applications are often required to be available virtually uninterrupted, either 24 hours a day or at least during working hours. Various efforts have been undertaken to provide high availability services to support the high availability of such applications. Such highly-available applications may include email servers, web servers, database servers, etc.
Typically, efforts to provide high availability for a given application have focused on detecting that the application has failed and getting the application re-started. An application may fail due to an internal coding error in the application, an error in the operating system on which the application is running, an error in the hardware of the computer system on which the application is running, or a combination of any of the above errors. The errors may cause the application, or the operating system, to cease executing (e.g. a crash) or to stop functioning (e.g. a hang).
In some cases, each application for which high availability is desired may be assigned to a separate computer system. In this configuration, a failure of one application may not affect the operation of the other applications on the other computer systems. Additionally, this configuration allows for variations in the operating system on which the applications are run (e.g. different versions of the same operating system, or different operating systems). The cost of obtaining and maintaining separate computer systems for each application may be considerable.
Another method is to cluster a group of computer systems using specialized software (referred to as a cluster server) to control the group of computer systems. A given application may be executed on a first computer system of the group. The cluster server monitors the operation of the application and, if the cluster server detects that the application has failed, the cluster server may close the application on the first computer system and restart the application on another computer system. Typically, such cluster servers involve identifying, for each application supported by the cluster server, all of the state in the computer system that is needed to restart the application. In practice, such identification may be problematic and frequently involves making use of undocumented features of the application. Additionally, some applications may not function correctly when restarted on another machine. For example, the Exchange2000 application from Microsoft Corporation may not access a mailbox database used when the application was executing on another machine because Microsoft's Active Directory may identify that other machine as the owner of the database.


A canister filter for use with a swimming pool water circulation and filtration system includes a lower manifold with two pump fittings so that two pumps may be connected to one filtration canister. The canister also has an upper manifold with two fittings for connections to different main drains, an equilizer port fitting, and a relief port fitting. The canister housing may optionally contain a venturi tube that can be used to augment the suction of a single pump to allow the elimination of a second pump, or, alternatively, allow additional main drains to be added to the pool without increasing the number of pumps. The single canister filter can thus be used with two pumps and drains or two sets of drains, while providing relief in the event the drains are blocked.

The present invention relates to swimming pool filtration generally and to canister filters in particular.
The technology for maintaining the clarity and cleanliness of swimming pool water has developed significantly over the past 50 years. Currently, most new pools have at least three filters. There is a first filter for removing fine, suspended particulate such as dust and bacteria. This filter may is typically a tank containing sand or diatomaceous earth. There is a second filter for capturing floating debris, such as leaves and twigs. This second filter is often referred to as a skimmer because it is located along the side of the pool where it skims this floating debris to readily separate it from the water using a coarse mesh basket.
Typically, swimming pools also have a third filter, called a canister filter, for capturing sediment and heavier debris, such as water-logged leaves, from the bottom of the pool. This filter is positioned in line between the main drains of the pool, commonly located near the lowest point in the pool, and the suction side of the pump that delivers the pool water to the first filter.
The canister filter contains a strainer or fine-mesh, bag-like sieve to trap sediment and thus allow its removal periodically by the pool caretaker.
As the number of residential pools has increased, so, too, has the design of residential pools evolved to become larger and more customized. The residential owner demands that the pool require less maintenance and either be self-cleaning or have systems that make it easier to clean. Skimmers and suspended matter filters generally do a good job of removing floating and suspended debris and dirt. Sediment, however, requires more effort. Consequently, additional floor drains, pop-up cleaning jets built into the walls and floor of the pool, and robotic cleaners have been developed to facilitate the sweeping or vacuuming of sediment from the pool floor to the return lines. However, there remains a need for a better way to keep pools clean, and to manage sediment collection better.