A mower includes a cutting mechanism extending, in a work position, transversely to the direction of travel during work; a hitch structure connectable to the hitch device of a motor vehicle; a carrying beam articulated on the one hand to the hitch structure by a first articulation and on the other hand to the cutting mechanism by a second articulation; a lightening device which includes an elastic element intended to lighten the cutting mechanism in the work position; a control device which includes a body connected to the hitch structure by a third articulation; a tie rod connected to one of the ends of said elastic element and sliding on the other hand in said body; a stop element limiting, at least in one direction, sliding of the tie rod with respect to the body; and a set-down member connected, in the set-down position, to the carrying beam by the stop element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mower which includes:
a cutting mechanism extending, in the work position, transversely to the direction of travel during work; PA1 a hitch structure intended to be connected to the hitch device of a motor vehicle; PA1 a carrying beam articulated on the one hand to the hitch structure by means of a first articulation and on the other hand to the cutting mechanism by means of a second articulation; PA1 a lightening device which includes: PA1 a set-down member intended, in the set-down position, to be connected to the carrying beam by means of said stop element. PA1 a cutting mechanism which extends, in the work position, transversely to the direction of travel during work; PA1 a hitch structure intended to be connected to the hitch device of a motor vehicle; PA1 a carrying beam which is articulated on the one hand to the hitch structure by means of a first articulation with a longitudinal axis which is at least substantially parallel to the direction of travel during work and on the other hand to the cutting mechanism by means of a second articulation with a longitudinal axis which is also at least substantially parallel to the direction of travel during work; PA1 a lightening device which includes an elastic element intended to lighten the cutting mechanism in the work position, and a control device; PA1 and PA1 a stand. PA1 he withdraws the pin from the tie rod in order to allow the latter to slide further into the body connected to the hitch structure when the cutting mechanism pivots downward about the second articulation and thus cancel out the action of the elastic element; PA1 he also detaches the stand from the hitch structure in order to fix it to the beam by means of said pin; PA1 he pivots the cutting mechanism downward; PA1 he rests the mower on the ground by lowering the hitch device of the motor vehicle; PA1 and PA1 he then detaches the hitch structure from said hitch device. PA1 in the work position, the set-down member extends for the most part above the carrying beam; and PA1 in the set-down position, the set-down member extends for the most part below the carrying beam. PA1 the length of said linking element is short enough not to allow the set-down member to be placed in the set-down position when only the stop element is connected to the tie rod; PA1 the length of said linking element is long enough to allow the set-down member to come at least into close proximity with the ground when only the stop element is connected to the tie rod.
an elastic element intended to lighten the cutting mechanism in the work position, and PA2 a control device which includes:
a body connected to the hitch structure by means of an articulation; PA3 a tie rod connected on the one hand to one of the ends of said elastic element and sliding on the other hand in said body; PA3 a stop element intended to limit, at least in one direction, the sliding of the tie rod with respect to the body;
2. Discussion of the Background
Such a mower is known to those skilled in the art.
This known mower includes:
The control device includes a tie rod connected on the one hand to one of the ends of the elastic element and sliding on the other hand in a body connected to the hitch structure.
In the work position the sliding of the tie rod is limited in the direction of the elastic element by means of a pin which passes transversely through said tie rod and butts against the body, which makes it possible to tense the elastic element in order to lighten the cutting mechanism.
In the work position the stand is connected to the hitch structure by means of two holding studs fixed to the latter and on which said stand gets hooked by means of two holes provided in it.
It will be observed that the stand is connected to the pin by means of a cable so that it cannot be detached therefrom.
In order to bring the mower from the work position into the transport position, the operator pivots the cutting mechanism upward about the second articulation by means of an operating element.
For this purpose the elastic element is relaxed, the tie rod is slid into the body so as to disengage the pin therefrom and the cutting mechanism extends substantially vertically.
In order then to bring the mower from this transport position into the set-down position, the operator carries out the following operations:
The mower is set down.
In order to bring the mower from the set-down position into the transport position, the operator connects the hitch structure to the hitch device of the motor vehicle, raises the mower, pivots the cutting mechanism upward, puts the pin in place in the tie rod so as to limit the travel thereof inside the body so as to tense the elastic element lightening the cutting mechanism when the latter is pivoted downward again into a work position, and stows the stand on the hitch structure.
This mower does, however, present a number of drawbacks, especially as regards the safety of the operator and the use of said mower.
As described previously, the stand is connected to the hitch structure only by means of two studs, which leaves open the possibility that the operator when hitching the mower might stow the stand in the work and transport position without making sure that the pin is correctly in place in the tie rod.
Such an oversight would result in the cutting mechanism not being lightened during work, which would lead to damage and premature wear of the mower, especially of the cutting mechanism, thus risking exposing the operator of the mower to danger, especially when the cutting mechanism includes elements driven at high speeds.
Conversely, there is the risk that the operator might not stow the stand in the intended location on the hitch structure, and this also presents risks for the user during work. In such circumstances the stand is connected to the mower only by means of the cable, and this allows said stand a great freedom of movement which may cause damage to the mower and breakage of the cable leading inevitably to the loss of the stand, which would run the risk of compromising the correct operation of other machinery used on the same plot of land for subsequent work, such as tedders, swathers, balers, silage loaders, etc.
As described earlier, the stand is connected to the hitch structure only by means of the two holding studs. It will be observed in addition that during work, especially on a difficult and uneven plot of land, there is a risk of the stand working loose from the studs and then being connected to the mower only by the cable which in this case runs the risk of breaking for the same reasons as those explained hereinabove, and leading then to the same consequences.
In such circumstances, when the cable is no longer fulfilling its function, there is then the risk that the operator, with a view to setting down the mower, might place the stand in the set-down position without removing the pin from the tie rod. In the set-down position the upper part of the stand is intended to extend inside a housing provided on the carrying beam, which housing holds said stand laterally and vertically toward the top without the pin. The pin is normally intended to hold the stand vertically toward the bottom in order to prevent it from falling out when the mower is raised.
When unhitching the mower from the motor vehicle, as the elastic element is not relaxed, there is the risk of the hitching structure pivoting violently upward about the first and second articulation under the action of the elastic element, thus exposing the operator to evident danger.
As described earlier, the stand is normally connected to the pin, by means of the cable, but the assembly formed by the stand, the cable and the pin is not secured to the mower. This stand/cable/pin assembly can easily be detached from the mower and runs the risk of being mislaid by the operator. In such circumstances the operator will tend to set down the mower by means of make-shift elements and these will have the risk of not adequately ensuring the stability of said mower and thus of exposing the operator to evident danger.
It will be further observed that the pin may, especially in the transport position and with a view to setting down the mower, easily be withdrawn from the tie rod with just one hand, and this is not favorable to operator safety. There is the risk during this operation of the operator placing his other hand in a region which could become a danger zone when the pin is withdrawn from the tie rod. His other hand could then inadvertently actuate some other device which would also run the risk of exposing the operator to danger.


The powder composition for paper manufacturing of the invention contains a hydrophobic organic compound (A), an emulsifying and dispersing agent (B), and optionally water-soluble saccharides (C) added based on necessity and has an average particle diameter of 0.1 to 2,000 μm.

In terms of global environmental preservation, it has been required to save pulp consumption and accordingly, it has been required to make paper lightweight and increase the waste paper addition amount. However, the paper obtained simply with a decreased amount of pulp added has deteriorated opacity owing to the thinness of the paper, resulting in inferior quality.
Meanwhile, if the mixing ratio of waste paper is increased, the whiteness is deteriorated owing to the remaining ink in the waste paper pulp and the pulp itself is made thin during the recycling process to result in thin paper having a deteriorated opacity.
In order to prevent the decrease in thickness of paper due to it being lightweight, various methods for increasing the bulk and a method for using cross-linked pulp, a method for mixing synthetic fibers, a method for filling gaps among pulp fiber fillers such as an organic matter or the like, and a method for introducing voids have been known; however these methods are improper for recycling of pulp and deteriorate the smoothness of paper.
On the other hand, in order to improve the whiteness and opacity, a method of adding a large amount (e.g. 5 to 20% by weight) of an inorganic filler such as calcium carbonate, kaolin, white carbon or the like has been employed in this field. However, if a large amount of the inorganic filler is simply added, the weight of the paper is increased significantly and therefore, even if the pulp amount is saved and the inorganic filler is increased, the paper cannot be made lightweight. Particularly, in the case when inorganic filler is added to paper pulp, a large amount of the filler is required to be added and it makes the paper more difficult to be lightweight.
Recently, bulking agents for improving the bulky property of paper by adding an agent to the paper manufacturing process have been disclosed (JP-B 2971447, JP-A 2002-115199).
Conventionally, in a paper product production process, a variety of paper manufacturing chemical agents are added for improving the paper's qualities and its productivity, e.g. improving gloss, being water-proof, its sizing property, its toughness property and the like. These paper manufacturing chemical agents have solubility in water in a wide range.
In the case where agents having high solubility in water, they may be added in a form of an aqueous solution before the paper manufacturing process or applied as a solution to the surface of paper after manufacturing or are impregnated in the paper with the solutions to provide desired functions; however in the case where oil agents for the paper manufacturing have low solubility in water, it is difficult to evenly add or apply the agents if they are not dissolved once in solvents and that results in a problem such as recovery of the solvents.
Use of the oil agents for paper manufacturing having low solubility in water for paper manufacturing leads to technical difficulty of the paper manufacturing process and disadvantages in the process. On the other hand, by utilizing the low solubility of the oil agents for paper manufacturing in water, it has been tried to use the agents as paper quality improving agents. (JP-B 2971447, WO-A 98/03730)
EP-A 220941 discloses a granular solid composition containing a ketene dimer and a sealing agent.

Powder composition for paper manufacturing


The present invention relates to carbohydrates capable of acting as receptors for malaria antigens present on the surfaces of malaria infected erythrocytes. The receptors according to the invention comprises negatively charged glycosaminoglycan-like moities, preferably sulphated. The invention also relates to novel malaria polypeptides capable of acting as ligands in relation to the receptors according to the invention. The invention also encompasses the use thereof as medicaments, pharmaceutical compositions containing the same as well as antibodies directed against said new ligands.

On a worldwide basis, malaria is one of the most common infectious diseases. Even though it has been largely eliminated from North America and Europe, it remains the most serious infectious disease in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. According to the World Health Organisation, WHO, there are about 100 million new cases each year, and about 300 million people in the developing countries exhibits chronical malaria infections. Malaria is caused by four species of Plasmodium, of which Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum are most frequently involved in human infections. The vector responsible for transmitting malaria to humans is the Anopheles mosquito and only malaria infections caused by Plasmodium falciparum may be fatal to humans.
After inoculation in the body, the sporozoites of Plasmodium begin to reproduce within liver cells. Multiplication of Plasmodium sporozoites occurs by schizogony, in which a single sporozoite can produce as many as 40,000 merozoites. The invasion of erythrocytes by hepatic merozoites begins the erythrocytic phase of malaria, causing fever and other severe manifestations.
Erythrocytes infected with the malaria parasite P. falciparum disappear from the peripheral circulation as they mature from the ring stage to trophozoites. This phenomenon is known as sequestration and results from parasitized erythrocyte adherence to microvascular endothelial cells and erythrocytes in diverse organs. Severe Plasmodium falciparum-malaria is characterized by excessive sequestration of infected- and uninfected erythrocytes in the microvasculature of the affected organ.
Thus, Plasmodium falciparum is an intracellular protozoan, which during its vertebrate life cycle invades and multiplies in liver and red blood cells. The virulence of the parasite is associated with the capacity of the infected erythrocyte to adhere to endothelial cells and to erythrocytes, so called resetting. This may cause impaired local oxygen delivery and thereby death of the human host (Miller, L. H., F. Good, and G. Milon. 1994. Malaria pathogenesis. Science 264, 1878–1883, Pasloske, B. L. and R. J. Howard. 1994. Malaria, the red cell, and the endothelium. Ann. Rev. Med. 45, 283–295, Marsh, K., M. English, J. Crawley, and N. Peshu, 1996. The pathogenesis of severe malaria in African children. Ann. Trop. Med, & Parasitol. 90, 395–402). The most malignant form of the infection is cerebral malaria, due to a massive sequestration of infected and uninfected erythrocytes in the brain micro-vasculature.
After being transported from the internal parasite, antigens involved in the binding of cells are thought to be concentrated and subsequently exposed to the exterior of the erythrocyte at minute (≈100 nm in diameter), electron-dense excrescence's called knobs (Atkinson, C. T. and M. Aikawa, 1990. Ultrastructure of malaria-infected erythrocytes. Blood Cells 16, 351–368). One such antigen is Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein-1 (PfEMP1), a polypeptide of 200–350 kDa encoded by the var family of P. falciparum genes (Howard, R. J., J. W. Barnwell, and V. Kao, 1983. Antigenic variation in Plasmodium knowlesi malaria: identification of the variant antigen on infected erythrocytes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 80, 41294133, Su, X. -Z, V. M. Heatwole, S. P. Wertheimer, F. Guinet, J. A. Herrfeldt, D. S. Peterson, J. A. Ravetch, and T. E. Wellems. 1995. The large diverse gene family var encodes proteins involved in cytoadherence and antigenic variation of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes. Cell 82, 89–100, Baruch, D. I., B. L. Pasloske, H. B. Singh, X. Bi, X. C. Ma, M. Feldman, T. F. Taraschi, and R. J. Howard. 1995. Cloning th P. falciparum gene encoding PfEMP1, a malaria variant antigen and adherence receptor on the surface of parasitized human erythrocytes. Cell 82, 77–87). The feature of antigenic variation and switching of the surface of the pRBC has been attributed to the var-genes. Even though up to 150 such genes are harboured in the genome, only one PfEMP1 is thought to be expressed at any one time. PfEMP1 has features of an adhesive molecule and has been associated with the cytoadherent properties of the infected red cell (Smith, J. D., C. E. Chitnis, A. G. Craig, D. J. Roberts, D. E. Hudson-Taylor, D. S. Peterson, R. Pinches, C. I. Newbold, and L. H, Miller. 1995. Switches in expression of Plasmodium falciparum var genes correlate with changes in antigenic and cytoadherent phenotypes of infected erythrocytes. Cell 82, 101–110, Baruch, D. I., J. A. Gormley, C. Ma, R. J. Howard, and B. L. Pasloske. 1996. Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 is a parasitised erythrocyte receptor for adherence to CD36, thrombospondin, and intercellular adhesion molecule 1. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 93, 3497–3502). For example, the expression of PfEMP1-encoding var genes has been shown to correlate with the capacity of the pRBC for binding to host receptors, including CD36 and ICAM-1 (Baruch, D. I., J. A. Gormley, C. Ma, R. J. Howard, and B. L. Pasloske. 1996. Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 is a parasitised erythrocyte receptor for adherence to CD36, thrombospondin, and intercellular adhesion molecule 1. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 93, 3497–3502, Gardner, J. P., R. A. Pinches, D. J. Roberts, and C. I. Newbold, (1996). Variant antigens and endothelial receptor adhesion in Plasmodium falciparum. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 93, 3503–3508). A role for PfEMP1 in resetting was recently suggested by Rowe et al (Rowe, J. A., J. M. Moulds, C. I. Newbold, and L. H. Miller. 1997. P. falciparum resetting mediated by a parasite-variant erythrocyte membrane protein and complement-receptor 1. Nature 388:292–295). Complement receptor 1 was found to be the host-receptor. However, it is beleived that it cannot be the only one used by rosetting parasites.
In WO 96/33736, one PfEMP1 variant is disclosed by sequence. However, this is only one of several possibly existing variants, all of which are different as to functional sequences as well as adhesive properties.
Accordingly, due to the complex nature and/or mechanism of malarial antigenic variation and the virulence thereof, there is still a great need for methods and compositions which may be useful in the treatment, diagnosis and prevention of malaria infections.


An electronic system for testing a material includes at least one module for mechanically mounting on the material. The module includes a signal generator for generating a signal generator signal. The module also includes a stimulus signal delivering device (SSDD) and an SSDD circuit for providing a device signal derived from said signal generator signal to the material. The module also includes a sensor and a sensor circuit for receiving an interaction signal derived from interaction of the device signal with the material.

Acoustic monitoring systems and other stimulating and sensing electronic devices may be located on substrates, such as aircraft and other vehicles, bridges, buildings, machinery, pipelines, and other structures, to check for cracks, de-lamination, corrosion, or other degradation or damage. Many papers have been published showing these devices.
Lamb waves have long been used for nondestructive test, and a review article, "Review of IAR NDI Research in support of Ageing Aircraft," incorporated herein by reference, by Fahr, Komorowski, Forsyth, Chapman, NDT.net—January 1999, Vol. 4 No. 1, and available at http://www.ndt/article/padndt98/12/12.htm, cites many references. The article provides a review of nondestructive test, including several ways of using the acoustic waves generated with piezoelectric transducers to test materials. The paper also sites research papers describing fatigue mechanisms of aging aircraft that can be tested with lamb waves to find such defects as corrosion, delamination, and cracks. The paper describes several ways of coupling piezoelectric transducers to the material under test but includes no description of the source of stimulation or data analysis. An extensive wiring harness between the piezoelectric transducers appears to be needed to connect the piezoelectric transducers to racks of electronics that provide the stimulating waveform and that receive and analyze the data.
"Structural Health Monitoring in Composite Materials Using Frequency Response Methods," Kessler, et al, Nondestructive Evaluation of Materials and Composites, Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 4336 (2001), provides a "survey of candidate methods for the detection of damage in composite materials."
"Design of piezoelectric-based structural health monitoring system for damage detection in composite materials," Kessler and Spearing, Smart Structures and Integrated Systems, Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 4701 (2002), describes the use of Lamb wave techniques to test specimens containing damage and the use of piezoelectric patches as actuators and sensors.
"Optimization of Lamb Wave Actuating and Sensing Materials for Health Monitoring of Composite Structures, Kessler and Dunn, Smart Structures and Materials 2003: Smart Structures and Integrated Systems, Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 5056 (2003), further describes the effectiveness of Lamb wave methods for health monitoring of composite structures and provides results concerning the sensing patch and algorithms for filtering resulting signals.
"Packaging of Structural Health Monitoring Components," Kessler et al., Smart Structures and Materials 2004: Smart Structures and Integrated Systems, Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 5391 (2004) further describes "the ability of Lamb waves methods to provide reliable information regarding the presence, location and type of damage in composite specimens." The paper also provides ways to package a wired structural health monitoring device with components for mounting on a substrate to be tested. The package includes leads extending to a function generator and to a data acquisition device. The paper mentions the need for further research to produce a fully functional SHM system that would "include the batteries, wireless communication and local storage device as well as system software."
Such systems have required separate pairs of wires 20, 20′ extending from each acoustic actuator/sensor 22 of array 23 of such actuator/sensors to its own rack 24 of large electronic devices, as shown in FIGS. 1a, 1b, and 2. Each rack 24 includes programmable function generator 26 and digital storage oscilloscope 28. At least one computer 30 is also needed, and that computer 30 can serve all the racks 24 of electronic devices and all the actuator/sensors 22. Each programmable function generator 26 provides a desired waveform to the actuator/sensor 22 acting as an actuator 27. Digital storage oscilloscope 28 provides memory for receiving and recording data sensed by those actuator/sensors 22 acting as sensors 29. Computer 30 then receives the data from digital storage oscilloscopes 28 and provides data analysis, as shown in FIG. 2.
One system, available commercially from Acellent, Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., can be used for analyzing substrate 32 on which it is mounted. The system includes array 23 of actuator/sensors 22 and wiring integrated on insulating film 40 extending to connector 42 to which a wiring harness, including wires 20, 20′ for each actuator/sensor, were connected. Wires 20, 20′ within this wiring harness could extend to the racks 24 of electronics located off of the substrate, such as schematically illustrated in FIG. 2. Alternatively, the racks of electronics were shrunk to a "smart suitcase," as shown in product literature provided by Acellent available on line at http:/www.acellent.com/products_layer.htm in which 30 sensor/actuators were wired to the smart suitcase. Thus, a wiring harness with 60 wires would be connected from an array of Acellent system actuator/sensors 22 to the electronics located in the smart suitcase. That electronics, including both the signal generation and the data acquisition hardware, was provided in the suitcase, which weighed about 18 pounds.
The need for separate pairs of wires 20, 20′ for each actuator sensor 22 and the need for a separate rack 24 of large electronic devices for each actuator/sensor 22 or for a smart suitcase with those electronic devices has limited the number of actuator/sensors 22 that could be provided on a structure, the types of structures that could be monitored, the frequency of monitoring, and the duration of monitoring. The ability to monitor during actual operation of certain structures, such as aircraft wings was also limited.
A source of electrical stimulation has been applied to a material through electrodes or through a device, such as capacitor, that includes a portion of the material. Impedance measurements have been used to provide important information about the material. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,911,828 to Brossia et al., provides a system for monitoring the effectiveness of a coating on a substrate surface and indicating the failure of the coating to adequately protect the surface from corrosion, degradation, and the like. The system includes a sensor array positioned in contact with the coating utilizing a number of sensor electrodes connected to a single integrated circuit or a number of separate individual sensor circuits. The electrodes of the sensor array make measurements of the electrochemical impedance characteristics of the coating and provide such data by way of telemetry to a data interrogation device that is periodically be placed in proximity to the sensor array. The interrogation device may serve to both power the sensor array and trigger it to acquire data. A nominal parameter N′, which is the product of the impedance magnitude and the phase angle, is utilized as a direct indication of the resistance and capacitance characteristics of the coating and therefore a direct indication of the coatings effectiveness. Variations in the frequency of the interrogation signals transmitted from the data interrogation device signal frequency would permit not only the discreet interrogation of a single sensor at a time but also the acquisition of signal data associated with a variety of sensor frequencies.
A paper, "Overview of Piezoelectric Impedance-Based Health Monitoring and Path Forward," by Gyuhae Park, et al., The Shock and Vibration Digest, Vol. 35, No. 6, November 2003, p. 451-463 ("the Park paper"), incorporated herein by reference, describes an approach to piezoelectric impedance-based health monitoring with piezoceramic (PZT) materials.
The impedance based health monitoring system is based on the recognition that "the electrical impedance of the PZT is directly related to the mechanical impedance of the host structure, allowing the monitoring of the host structure's mechanical properties using the measured electrical impedance. Consequently, any changes in the electrical impedance signature can be considered an indication of changes in the structural integrity." In this approach changes in properties of the host structure can be detected simply by monitoring the electrical impedance of the PZT patch over a range of frequencies of the stimulating vibratory signal.
The Park paper describes using "piezoelectric sensors/actuators to acquire dynamic responses of a structure" over the range of frequencies and discusses the relationship between defect size and frequency of signal. The Park paper mentions that the sensors can be used to check the perfection of the bonding of the piezoelectric sensors/actuators to the structure.
The Park paper lists alternate non destructive evaluation techniques, including ultrasonic technology, acoustic emission, magnetic field analysis, penetrant testing, eddy current techniques, X-ray analysis, impact-echo testing, global structural response analysis, and visual inspections. It notes that pulse-echo techniques can be nicely integrated with the impedance method. The Park paper also mentions deploying a network of sensors, in which "each individual PZT patch is activated as an actuator in turn, and the rest of the PZTs act as sensors scanning a large area."
Under a discussion of "future issues," the Park paper states, "the development of standalone, miniaturized impedance measurements system should be pursued." It also notes that the deployment of a dense array of sensors "potentially produces difficulties and complexities in data acquisition and processing. The efficient management of data from a largely distributed sensing system is an important and challenging issue."
The Park paper also notes a "drawback in using multiple sensors is the wiring harnesses needed to connect the sensors to signal processing and computers for obtaining the required information regarding the health of the host systems. Therefore, the integration of wireless telemetry systems into the impedance-measuring unit is imperative to manage and operate the sensing devices."
The Park paper also notes, "recognizing the fact that it takes much more energy to transmit data than to perform the local computation, it is important to embed local processing capabilities at the sensors and use a telemetry system to send only essential data."
The Park paper also states, "another important issue in designing such a system is the management of the power consumption." It recognizes a proposal "to use the voltages generated by natural or ambient vibration in a system. The proposed device is coupled with the PZT, stores the electric energy in a capacitor (or recharges a battery), regenerates it through discharge in a controlled signal for diagnostics and runs the telemetry of the wireless sensing system."
The Park paper states that "a device, which incorporates algorithms in the areas of impedance acquisitions, embedded signal processing, telemetry, and power management mentioned above into one package, will provide significant potential in structural health monitoring and damage prognosis efforts. This device would have a network of sensors in control and can act as a station between sensor networks and the central health monitoring station."
However, such a desired device has not been available for monitoring structures. Nor has a way to make such a device been provided. This description and such a device are provided in the present patent application. In addition, a better scheme is needed to reduce or eliminate the wiring and to reduce or eliminate the racks of large electronic devices, and this scheme is also provided by this patent application.

Miniature stimulating and sensing system


A policy control function, PCF, node, comprising: transmitting means for transmitting a message related to information for updating policies of at least one of User Equipment, UE, access and Protocol Data Unit, PDU, Session selection, to a UE via an Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF node.

3GPP is currently specifying the next generation of a mobile architecture, denoted as 'NextGen' or 5th generation (5G) architecture. One of the main key issues for NextGen networks is to allow for Network Slicing that enables the operators to create networks customized to provide optimized solutions for different market scenarios which demands diverse requirements.
The following Network Slicing definitions and principles have been agreed in Non-Patent Literature 1 V1.4.0 and Non-Patent Literature 2 V1.2.0 (listed in non-alphabetical order):                S-NSSAI—An S-NSSAI (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance information) identifies a Network Slice.        S-NSSAI is comprised of;                    A Slice/Service type (SST), which refers to the expected Network Slice behavior in terms of features and services;            A Slice Differentiator (SD). which is optional information that complements the Slice/Service type(s) to allow further differentiation for selecting a Network Slice instance from the potentially multiple Network Slice instances that all comply with the indicated Slice/Service type. This information is referred to as SD.                        S-NSSAI scope—The S-NSSAI can have standard values or PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network) specific values. S-NSSAIs with PLMN-specific values are associated to the PLMN ID of PLMN that assigns it. An S-NSSAI shall not be used by the UE (User Equipment) in access stratum procedures in any PLMN other than the one to which the S-NSSAI is associated.        NSSAI—The Network Slice Selection Assistance Information is a collection of S-NSSAIs.        Allowed NSSAI—an NSSAI provided by the serving PLMN during e.g. a registration procedure, indicating the NSSAI allowed by the network for the UE in the serving PLMN for the current registration area. For each PLMN, the UE shall store the Configured NSSAI and, if any, the Allowed NSSAI. When the UE receives an Allowed NSSAI for a PLMN, the UE shall store the received Allowed NSSAI and override any previously stored Allowed NSSAI for this PLMN.        Configured NSSAI—an NSSAI that has been provisioned in the UE. A UE can be configured by the HPLMN (Home Public Land Mobile Network) with a Configured NSSAI per PLMN. A Configured NSSAI can be PLAIN-specific and the HPLMN indicates to what PLMN(s) each Configured NSSAI applies, including whether the Configured NSSAI applies to all PLMNs, i.e., the Configured NSSAI conveys the same information regardless of the PLMN the UE is accessing (e.g. this could be possible for NSSAIs containing only standardized S-NSSAIs).        Requested NSSAI—may be either:                    the Configured-NSSAI, or a subset thereof as described below, if the UE has no Allowed NSSAI for the current PLAIN; or            the Allowed-NSSAI, or a subset thereof as described below, if the UE has an Allowed NSSAI for the current PLAIN, or            the Allowed-NSSAI, or a subset thereof as described below, plus one or more S-NSSAIs from the Configured-NSSAI for which no corresponding S-NSSAI is present in the Allowed NSSAI and that were not previously permanently rejected (as defined below) by the network for the present tracking area.                        Network Slice—A logical network that provides specific network capabilities and network characteristics.        Network Slice instance—A set of Network Function instances and the required resources (e.g. computer, storage and networking resources) which form a deployed Network Slice.        NSSP—Network Slice Selection Policy. The network operator may provision the UE with NSSP. The NSSP includes one or more NSSP rules each one associating an application with a certain S-NSSAI.
The contents of Non-Patent Literature 1 and Non-Patent Literature 2 are incorporated herein by reference.
The network operator (HPLMN (Home Public Land Mobile Network)) may provision the UE with Network Slice Selection Policy (NSSP). The NSSP includes one or more NSSP rules each one associating an application with a certain S-NSSAI. A default rule which matches all applications to a S-NSSAI may also be included. The UE shall store the NSSP until a new NSSP is provided to the UE by the HPLMN (Non-Patent Literature 1, 126.96.36.199).
At UE context establishment during registration, the AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) is provided with the NSSP by the PCF (Policy Control Function) via the Npcf_AMPolicyControl_Get operation (Non-Patent Literature 2, s220.127.116.11). FIG. 1 illustrates further details of the UE Context Establishment during registration.
This procedure concerns both roaming and non-roaming scenarios.
In the non-roaming case the V-PCF is not involved:
1. The AMF decides to establish UE Context with the PCF during registration procedure.
2. The AMF sends Npcf_AMPolicyControl_Get to the PCF to retrieve the access and mobility control policy. The request includes the following information: UE Identity (SUPI (Subscriber Permanent Identifier)), subscription notification indication and, if available, Service Area Restrictions, and RFSP (RAT/Frequency Selection Priority) index which are retrieved from the UDM (Unified Data Management) during the update location procedure, and may include access type and RAT (Radio Access Technology) type, PEI (Permanent Equipment Identifier), ULI (User Location Information), UE time zone, and service network information.3. The H-PCF gets policy subscription related information if not available from the UDR (Unified Data Repository) using Nudr_User_Data_Management query service operation and makes a policy decision. Then the H-PCF responds to the Npcf_AMPolicyControl_Get service operation, and provides AMC (Adaptive Modulation and Coding) Rules and UE Policy, to the AMF. The acknowledgement includes the following information: Service Area Restrictions, RFSP Index, UE Policy (e.g. NSSP, SSCMSP (Session and Service Continuity Mode Selection Policy), DNN (Data Network Name) Selection Policy).4. The AMF deploys the access and mobility control policy, which includes storing the Service Area Restrictions, provisioning the UE Policy and Service Area Restrictions to the UE and provisioning the RFSP index and Service Area Restrictions to the RAN (Radio Access Network).
The UE uses UE Configuration (e.g. NSSP) to determine whether ongoing traffic can be routed over existing PDU (Protocol Data Unit) sessions belonging to other Network Slices or established new PDU session(s) associated with same/other Network Slice (Non-Patent Literature 1, 188.8.131.52.2).

UE configuration and update with network slice selection policy


A method of managing oil fields include installing oil field sensors, coupling them to a local CPU having memory, programming the CPU for data collection and data analysis, and coupling local oil field CPUs to a web server. Human experts are granted access to oil field data in real time via the Internet. The local CPUs provide different levels of data to the web server. The web server provides the option to view raw data, partially analyzed data, or fully analyzed data. The local CPUs are programmed with parameters for analyzing the data and automatically determining the presence of anomalies. Upon detecting the occurrence of an anomaly, the local CPUs are programmed to notify one or more human experts by email, pager, telephone, etc. If no human expert responds to the notification within a programmed period of time, the local CPU automatically takes a programmed corrective action.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to methods and apparatus for oil field management. More particularly, the invention relates to methods and apparatus for remotely monitoring oil field reservoir data in real time.
2. State of the Art
During the production of fluids such as hydrocarbons and/or gas from an underground reservoir, it is important to determine the development and behavior of the reservoir to allow production to be controlled and optimized and also to foresee changes which will affect the reservoir in order to take appropriate corrective measures.
Methods and devices for determining the behavior of underground reservoirs, for example by measuring the pressure of fluids, are well known in the prior art. It is known to locate a pressure gauge at the bottom of a production well and connect it to the surface by a cable or other communication means. It is also known to generate a pressure pulse in one well and measure the change in pressure in a nearby well. With these methods, it is necessary to carry out extensive model fitting and complex calculations to determine the behavior and properties of the reservoir.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,823 discloses methods and apparatus for long term monitoring of reservoirs. The methods include lowering a sensor into a well to a depth level corresponding to the reservoir, fixedly positioning the sensor while isolating the section of the well where the sensor is located from the rest of the well, and providing fluid communication between the sensor and the reservoir. The apparatus include at least one sensor responsive to a property (e.g. pressure) of fluids and means for perforating a cement layer to provide a channel for fluid communication between the sensor and the reservoir. The methods and apparatus provide a long term installation for monitoring an underground fluid reservoir traversed by at least one well.
All of the known methods and apparatus for monitoring reservoirs require that the data be analyzed by human experts in order to interpret it. This analysis typically occurs on site, requiring human experts to travel from one site to another in order to interpret oil field data. It would clearly be advantageous to allow human experts to access this data remotely, thereby saving otherwise wasted travel time.
Communication systems are known in the art whereby oil field data is transmitted to a central location for analysis. For example, the WELLWATCHER™ system from Schlumberger continuously transmits (via satellite) subsurface sensor data to a centrally located analysis and data repository center. Although the WELLWATCHER™ system provides many advantages, there remain several disadvantages of oil field data analysis which are not addressed by the WELLWATCHER™ system. One apparent disadvantage is that the "central location" may not be conveniently located for all of the human experts involved with a particular oil field. Another, less apparent, disadvantage is that there is too much raw data.
One of the disadvantages of oil field data analysis that has gone largely unaddressed in the art is that most of the analyzed data provides no important information, yet requires as much effort to interpret as the data which provides important information. This is to say that, more often than not, the analyzed data indicates that the oil field is producing at an efficient rate and there have been no changes in the reservoir requiring corrective action. As a result, human experts analyzing oil field data spend most of their time analyzing data that provide no new information about the reservoir.

Methods and apparatus for remote real time oil field management


A battery having an electrode unit in which edges of electrode plates are mechanically and electrically connected to a fixing and conducting plate is obtained. A projection is formed at an edge of each electrode plate, and projections are inserted into a grove formed on the fixing and conducting plate. Energy beam is radiated to the fixing and conducting plate along a wall defining the groove, and metal forming the groove is melted and fills a gap between the projection and the groove. The filling metal is solidified at a condition that the melted metal surrounds the projection. The electrode plate is firmly connected to the fixing and conducting plate by a combination of the projection and the surrounding metal. The electrode plates are stably maintained at a positional relationship that the electrode plates extend parallel with each other leaving a gap between adjacent electrode plates, and the electrode plates are connected to the fixing and conducting plate with a reliable electric conductivity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery and a method of producing the same. The term "battery" as used in this specification is a general term for devices that utilize stored energy to supply electrical power, and refers to various secondary batteries and capacitors.
2. Description of the Related Art
A battery having an electrode unit formed from a plurality of electrode plates and a single fixing and conducting plate is known. Usually, the plurality of electrode plates are positioned parallel with each other, leaving a gap between adjacent electrode plates such that the plurality of edges, of the plurality of electrode plates, is aligned in the same plane. The fixing and conducting plate is arranged perpendicular to the plurality of electrode plates, and makes contact with the abovementioned plurality of edges of the plurality of electrode plates aligned in the same plane. The abovementioned plurality of edges of the plurality of electrode plates aligned in the same plane are fixed to the fixing and conducting plate, whereby as a result, the plurality of electrode plates are fixed in the position parallel with each other, leaving a gap between adjacent electrode plates such that the plurality of edges of the plurality of electrode plates are aligned in the same plane. Moreover, the plurality of electrode plates is connected electrically.
At present, the electrode plates and the fixing and conducting plate perpendicular thereto are connected together by soldering. In a case where nickel (Ni) is used as a solder material, the technology for soldering the electrode plates and the fixing and conducting plate is disclosed in Japanese unexamined patent application publication 2001-93505, for example. Specifically, a method for soldering the fixing and conducting plate to electrode plates is disclosed, wherein the electrode plate edges are coated with Ni solder material, the fixing and conducting plate is arranged perpendicular to the electrode plates, and then an energy beam is radiated onto a surface of the fixing and conducting plate on the side opposite that which contacts the electrode plates, causing the Ni solder to melt.
According to the method disclosed in Japanese unexamined patent application publication 2001-93505, when the electrode plate edges are coated with Ni solder material, variations in the thickness of the coated Ni solder material are unavoidable. If the thickness of the coated Ni solder material varies, the electrical resistance at the contacts between the fixed and conducting plate and the electrode plates will also vary.
Thus, the present invention provides an electrode unit capable of stabilizing the electrical resistance at the contacts between the electrode plates and the fixing and conducting plate that is perpendicular to the electrode plates. Additionally, the present invention provides a manufacturing method capable of stabilizing the electrical resistance at those contacts.

Battery and method of producing the same


A computer system executes an application that requires transfer of data to or from the computer system. The system responds to requests from the application, by allocating storage for a data buffer, verifying that the application is authorized to access the buffer, converting an address of the buffer utilized by the application to a corresponding system address and mapping the system buffer address to an index. The system also responds to a subsequent transmit or receive request from the application, by accessing the data buffer based on the index such that no storage allocation, address conversion, or access verification is required for the transmit or receive request after the transmit or receive request is made. The computer system includes a communications adapter at an input or output port and the data is transferred between the communications adapter and the buffer without any intermediary buffering. Thus, the transmit and receive requests are processed expeditiously.

The invention relates generally to computer systems, and deals more particularly with a buffering technique to expedite transfer of data between an application program executing in a computer and an external source or destination of the data.
In a typical network environment, a server computer manages resources such as a direct access storage device (DASD) which contains data required or written by an application executing in a client computer. If the data is extensive it is important to expedite the rate of data transfer. There are three "legs" of the data's journey from the DASD to the application in the case of a read operation-fetching from the DASD and movement within the server computer, transmission along a cable or through air waves, and receipt and movement within the client computer. Likewise, there are three legs of the data's journey from the client computer to the DASD in the case of a write operation-movement within the client computer, transmission along the medium, and movement within the server computer and receipt in the DASD. The present invention focusses on the data movement within the client computer or within the server computer for both read and write operations.
A prior art Network File System (NFS) with an IBM OS/2 operating system was structured as follows. The client computer included a buffer interposed between the transmission medium and the client application such that the data need only make one "stop" before being available to the client application from the transmission medium in the case of a read or to the transmission medium in the case of a write. This in itself was an improvement by the NFS system over other systems which required two sequential stops for the data, first into a system receipt buffer and then into an application buffer in the case of a read or first in an application buffer and then into a system transmit buffer in the case of a write. Naturally, a single stop is faster than two sequential stops, and viable provided necessary processes and safeguards are utilized. These include allocation of memory for the buffer, pinning of the allocated memory (marking of the addresses to prevent page-out of the RAM buffer to DASD), buffer definition and checking of access rights by the application to the buffer.
In the NFS system, to further expedite the data transfer, the buffer was "pre-allocated", i.e. defined at the beginning of the application execution before the data transfer was actually needed. Thus, when the data transfer was actually needed, there was no time consumed in defining the buffer. The buffer definition was initiated by a request from the application to a system function (a "device driver"). In response, the system function allocated the buffer of the size requested by the application. Then, the system function returned the starting address of the data buffer to the application. Later when the application requested to read data from or write data to the server, the application provided to the system function the starting address of the buffer that was to be used for the data transfer.
It should be noted that before a buffer could be used, three time consuming events need occur--pinning, access checking and address conversion. Pinning and access rights checking were described above, and "address conversion" is the process of converting an address utilized by the application to an address utilized by the system function that manages the buffer. For example, the application may support only virtual addresses whereas the system function may support only physical addresses. In the NFS system, at least one of these time consuming events occurred during processing of a data transfer request.
For a DosRead/DosWrite request, the application specifies the address of its source or target buffer in its own address space (virtual or linear). This address is pinned, checked for appropriate access rights, and converted to a system physical address by an OS/2 kernel before being passed to the Device Driver. PA1 For a DosDevIOCtl scatter/gather list request, during processing of a data transfer request, the application uses a series of virtual or linear addresses to specify a list of buffers to which data is to be scattered, or from which it is to be gathered. This list of addresses is contained in a parameter structure and communicated across the application-to-device driver interface by another address. In this case, the device driver, not the kernel, must pin and verify access rights of first the parameter structure, then do exactly the same operation for each address in the scatter/gather list (including conversion to a physical address if the address is to be used for DMA targeting). PA1 For a second, more efficient type of DosDevIOCtl request, buffers were previously available in pinned, physical storage. During processing of a data transfer request, the application filled-in a data structure in its memory space that included the physical address of the desired buffer. Though the physical address of the buffer communicated inside the parameter structure was pre-mapped to the device driver, the address of the parameter structure itself had to be passed by the application during processing of a data transfer request. While this eliminated the need to perform physical locking and access rights verification of the data buffer, the parameter structure access rights had to be verified before the address information contained inside could be used by the device driver to access the pre-mapped data buffer.
While the foregoing NFS system was expeditious in transferring data between the server and an application executing in the client computer by requiring only one stop in the data transfer and avoiding some of the foregoing events during run-time, improvements are desired to further expedite the data transfer rate.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to further expedite the rate of data transfer between an application executing in a computer and a communications adapter or other I/O device of the computer.

Data buffering technique in computer system

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention relates to a metallic molded sheet including a metallic sheet having first ridges continuously formed along a first direction and second ridges continuously formed along a second direction which is perpendicular to the first direction, in which the metallic molded sheet has cross-sectional shapes along the first direction and the second direction, each having an identical thickness and continuing sinusoidally, and the metallic molded sheet has a planar shape being a corrugated surface in which ridge lines of first waveforms along the first direction and ridge lines of second waveforms along the second direction perpendicularly intersect each other.

Since an automobile during engine operation produces exhaust gases at high temperatures of 900° C. or more, exhaust system parts, such as an exhaust manifold, a catalyst system, pipes, a muffler, and the like undergo high temperatures. Therefore, a large number of heat shielding covers are provided in their peripheries for the purposes of prevention of thermal damage and prevention of burn injury. Further, since these heat shielding covers are in many cases provided in narrow and extensive ranges in the vicinities of the high-temperature exhaust system parts, they often tend to be such complex and large-sized covers as to conform to the shape of matching members. In addition, control of CO2, which has its inception in the issue of global warming in recent years, is an important challenge, and, for automobiles, individual parts are required to be more lightweight. In particular, in the case of the heat shielding covers around automobile exhaust systems whose temperatures tend to be high, as described above, the number of places where they are used is ever increasing, and the light weight has been an extremely important task.
Conventionally, deep-drawn products of steel sheets (galvanized steel sheets, aluminized steel sheets, or the like are actually used due to problems in rust prevention) have been frequently used as these heat shielding covers. Since the steel sheets exhibit elongation required for deep drawing and have sufficient strength and rigidity, the steel sheets have satisfied shape retainability and durability against stone bounding and the like which are required as the heat shielding covers. However, large-sized heat shielding covers weigh as much as several tens of kilograms, and fixing portions for supporting them are also required to have strength and durability, so that tendencies toward greater size and heavier weight are naturally underway, which is contrary to the tendency toward lighter weight. In addition, even in sheets which excel in elongation such as steel sheets, low-length portions are partially present in deep drawing which is accompanied by reduced sheet thickness, and stress-concentrated portions where fracture can occur during deep drawing forming or which can be a cause of fracture are inherent. Hence, there are frequent defects in which these stress-concentrated portions lead to breakage in high-load environments (high temperature, high vibration, salt damage environment, long-time assurance, etc.) as in automobiles. The prevention of starters of these fractures is also an important task in providing a highly reliable heat shielding cover.
In order to overcome these problems, a number of inventions have already been made and put to practical use. For example, a heat shielding cover is known in which semispherical protrusions (embosses) having complex shapes and different diameters are imparted to a steel sheet or an aluminum sheet by drawing (refer to patent document 1). According to this publication, it is possible to provide high rigidity for a sheet of equal thickness by the portion of the protrusion, and since the shape retainability increases, the function of the heat shielding cover can be demonstrated, and light weight can also be realized. However, since the imparting of the protrusions is dependent upon drawing, the molding of the cover shape is dependent upon the material characteristics which the original sheet has. As long as a steel sheet having an elongation rate of several tens of percent is used, the case would be different, but in the case of an aluminum sheet several percent to ten-odd percent is a limit of its elongation rate, and it is difficult to say that sufficient deep drawability can be ensured. Furthermore, as for the protruding portions, the sheet thickness becomes thinner than the planar portions, so that the strength is low, and there are cases where cracks, pinholes, or the like are produced during the shape forming.
In addition, a sheet is also known in which ridges having inwardly curved side walls are regularly arranged in a two-dimensional plane by bending (refer to patent document 2). According to this publication, the shape retainability as a cover is improved by the rigidity which the ridges possess. In addition, as the material stored in the ridges having reentrant side walls returns to its original shape owing to the molding force during the molding of the cover, moldability similar to that of deep drawing is consequently demonstrated, and the percentage of the material stored in the ridges becomes equivalent to the elongation rate in principle. For this reason, moldability into a lightweight and complex shape is provided without producing a reduction in the sheet thickness within that range, and it becomes possible to ensure durability in a high-load environment. However, if the sheet is compressed in its thickness direction during the press molding of the cover, the material stored in the ridge portions is released and at the same time undergoes shrinkage in ridges in their vicinities, but an inverse folding force is loaded to the reentrant portions in the ridges. Since a metal sheet is ordinarily work hardened during machining such as side wall forming by strike bending, and the aluminum sheet or the like, in particular, has a small elongation rate, there is a possibility that the bent portion becomes fractured due to the inverse bending force loaded on the reentrant side wall, and it is apprehended that this fractured portion may become a flaw in a vibrational environment, and a very small fracture may progress and lead to the breakage of the cover. In addition, there are cases where a crack occurs along the ridge during molding.
Patent Document 1 JP-A-2000-136720
Patent Document 2 JP-T-2001-507282

Metallic molded sheet and heat shielding cover


Disclosed are a substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy allowing surface-enhanced Raman signals to be notably improved, even in cases of long-term storage, by producing the substrate so that metal nanoparticles thereon are distanced several nanometers apart, and a method for producing the substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy at a large scale with simple equipment and at a low production cost.

1. Field
The following description relates to a substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy allowing Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic signals to be notably improved, even in cases of long-term storage, by producing the substrate so that metal nanoparticles thereon are distanced several nanometers apart, and to a method for producing a substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy at a large scale with simple equipment and at a low production cost.
2. Description of Related Art
Raman scattering or the Raman Effect is an inelastic photon scattering phenomenon. When photons are scattered from an atom or molecule, most photons are elastically scattered (Rayleigh scattering), such that the scattered photons have the same energy (frequency and wavelength) as the incident photons. A small fraction of the scattered photons (approximately 1 in 10 million) are scattered by an excitation, with the scattered photons having a frequency different from, and usually lower than, that of the incident photons. In a gas, Raman scattering can occur with a change in energy of a molecule due to a transition to another (usually higher) energy level.
Raman Effect (Raman shift) is exhibited in almost organic molecules including not only by polar molecules but also by non-polar molecules which have induction polarizability when Raman spectroscopy using Raman scattering is applied. It is thus more suitable for the detection of biomolecules such as proteins, genes and the like since it is not affected by interference caused by water molecules.
On the other hand, specific wavelengths of Raman emission spectrum represents chemical composition and structure features so that it can be used to directly analyze materials using Raman signals.
Even though an analyte can be analyzed directly, it has not been practically used, except to academic researches, because it requires costly equipments to detect very week signals and has very low reproducibility of signals. In order to overcome such drawbacks, in 1974, Fleischmann et al. reported enhancements of Raman signals of pyridine adsorbed on a silver electrode roughened by successive oxidation-reduction cycles. The signals were 106 higher than expected, and they were originally explained as being due to the additional surface area provided by the roughening of the surface. That is, the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy is a phenomenon showing enhancements of Raman signals of a targeted molecule when the molecule is present around the metallic nanostructure.
Analysis using the surface-enhanced Raman scattering provides information which can be difficult to obtain through a typical Raman analysis. It is needed to study how a material to be analyzed interacts with a surface in order to determine whether a surface-enhanced Raman scattering analysis is possible. Since various surface interactions are involved between a material to be analyzed and the surface of a metal, enhanced Raman signals, which cannot be provided by a typical Raman analysis, are adsorbed. The surface-enhanced Raman scattering may occur when a material to be analyzed is adsorbed or close to a metallic surface. Coherent free electron oscillations that exist at the interface between a metal and incident light must occur to efficiently enhance Raman emission. This is called as a surface plasmon which provides electromagnetic enhancement. The incident light creates surface plasmons (electromagnetic effect) on a metal surface which enhance Raman emission through interaction (charge-transfer effect) with an analyte.
Roughness of the surface of a substrate on which an analyte is placed roles an important factor for occurrence of surface plasmons and enormous enhancement of Raman signals therefrom. Thus, various studies using nanotechnologies have been developed to roughen the surface of a substrate to provide nanostructures such as nanometer-sized columns, linear broken surface or nanoparticles.
Generally, optical, electrical, physical and chemical properties of a metallic nano material can be controlled by changing its size, shape, crystalline structure and the like. Precious metal nanoparticles composed of Au or Ag strongly resonate with light in the visible region to yield strong absorption and scattering.
A surface plasmon resonance frequency varies with various factors, for example, such as kind, for example, such as Au, Ag, Cu, Pt, Pd and the like, size, and shape of metal nanoparticles, a solvent into which metal nanoparticles are dispersed, a kind of laser (incident light) and the like. Thus, surface-enhanced Raman signals can be obtained by controlling these factors.
Surface-enhanced Raman scattering is a technique to analyze a trace amount of a material by enhancing Raman signals through surface Plasmon resonance on a metal surface including nanometer-sized structures, for example, such as metal particles or patterns. Reproducibility of signals should be resolved to commercialize the surface-enhanced Raman scattering technique. Producing Raman probes should be also resolved through structural control of nanoparticles or patterns to commercialize the surface-enhanced Raman scattering technique. However, there is still limit to reproducibly produce enhanced Raman signals at a large scale. One approach to resolve those problems is patterning a substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy in a large scale. This approach includes a top-down method, for example, such as an e-beam lithography and a focused ion beam milling, and a bottom-up method, for example, such as patterning using a mold and a colloidal lithography.
The bottom-up method allows massive parallel processing and rapid production of patterned nanostructures economically at a large scale. On the other hand, the top-down method allows excellent control of size and shape of particles, but requires high production cost and has limitation in implementing at a large scale.
However, since the surface-enhanced Raman scattering technology can detect even with a trace amount of an analyte at a low intensity, much attention has been given to their study in a biosensor application field. The surface-enhanced Raman scattering technology can provide information on the chemical structure of an analyte in a narrow spectrum and allow multiple detections since each molecule has its own unique Raman signal unlike existing fluorescence analysis. Thus, a great deal of development research is currently under way on detections of bio materials (DNAs, proteins, cells, etc.) and disease diagnosis devices utilizing the surface-enhanced Raman scattering technology. In addition, surface-enhanced Raman diagnosis devices having continuous reproducibility can be implemented using microfluidic devices and Raman spectroscopic technique.
Accordingly, inventors of this following description have found a substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy which allows surface-enhanced Raman signals to be notably improved, even in cases of long-term storage, by producing the substrate so that metal nanoparticles thereon are distanced several nanometers apart, and a method for producing the substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy at a large scale with simple equipment and at a low production cost. Inventors have also found a method for producing a substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy which includes forming uniform protuberant structures having protruded curved surface on a polymer substrate using plasma dry etching, and depositing a metal using vapor deposition to provide a substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy having metal nanoparticles distanced several nanometers apart on the metal.

Substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and method for producing same

Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials

Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology


A two-piece cable tie is provided that can be more readily assembled and achieves a low insertion force while maintaining desired strap retention force. The cable tie includes a metal locking device that is bent at a predetermined bend angle and then precisely located within a locking device receiving cavity. The cable tie includes a strap including a first end and a free end and a locking head secured to the first end of the strap along a strap attachment axis. The locking head includes a strap accepting channel in the head that has a strap entry end and a strap exit end on opposite ends of a strap accepting channel axis. The strap accepting channel divides the locking head into a first part and a second part, with the first part being secured to the first end of the strap and the second part including metal locking device receiving cavity adjacent to and open toward the strap exit end of the locking head and an extending wall located between the receiving cavity and the strap accepting channel. The metal locking device, which is preferably prebent, is mounted within the metal locking device receiving cavity by having a fixed end mounted to a support slot of the end wall of the locking head and oriented substantially parallel to the strap accepting channel axis. The metal locking device further includes a free end angled at an acute angle relative to the strap accepting channel axis and extending into the strap accepting channel. When mounted, the free end preferably substantially rests upon a fulcrum point of the extending wall and extends beyond the wall by a predetermined distance into the strap accepting channel.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to a two piece cable tie with a preformed bent metal locking device.
2. Description of Related Art
Plastic cable ties having metal locking device inserts are well known in the art. Examples of such include U.S. Pat. No. 3,457,598 to Mariani and U.S. Pat. No. 5,517,727 to Bernard et al.
Cable ties of this type include a metal locking device partially embedded at an angle within a strap accepting channel of a cable tie head. The metal locking device is situated at an angle that allows insertion of a cable tie strap in an insertion direction, but allows for engagement of the locking device with the strap when it is pulled in a removing direction to prevent removal. The metal locking device of such conventional cable ties is in the form of a cantilevered beam that is fixed at one end and extends into the strap accepting channel at the free end.
Most of such cable ties are formed using a straight section of metal as the locking device. To achieve the desired angular relationship relative to a strap insertion channel, the straight locking device must be inserted into a metal locking device receiving cavity at an angle. However, clearances to achieve such mounting are difficult due to the minimal space provided by the strap accepting channel. Moreover, achieving a proper angular relationship within such tight constraints can be difficult to achieve.
An alternative solution can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,891 which provides a straight metal locking barb that is inserted into a locking barb receiving cavity parallel to the strap accepting channel. Then, once the locking barb has been mounted into a mounting surface of the head, the locking barb is mechanically bent to have an obtuse angle so that a sharpened free end of the locking barb is within the strap accepting channel. However, there are several difficulties with such a method of installation. First, the size of the cavity and locking barb are quite small. Achieving a desired bend angle within such constraints would be nearly impossible. Second, to achieve a desired bend angle requires overbending. That is the metal must be bent by a certain extra angular amount than a desired angle because upon release of the bending force the metal will slightly relax and elastically straighten out by a certain degree. Due to the provision of a stop member in the 891 patent bending may not occur beyond an angle where the locking barb abuts the stop member without possible damage to the stop member. However, due to the elasticity of the metal upon bending, the free end of the locking barb will straighten out by a certain amount after the bend. This leaves the free end of the locking barb located an undesired angular distance away from the stop member.
Another patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,251 provides a different type of cable tie with a pair of bent locking barbs. The cable tie of the 251xe2x80x2 patent is a four-piece tie that utilizes a pair of barbs within a locking head having a pair of strap passageways that allow passage of a non-integral strap for surrounding a bundle or the like. However, the patent is silent as to how the barbs are formed. The locking head does not appear to specifically include a stop member. However, to the extent that a stop member is provided, the locking barbs are spaced by a certain substantial distance above the member so as to be freely pivotal or bendable by a certain degree. The 891 patent discusses the 251 patent briefly and alleges that the barbs in the 251 patent are prebent. Nonetheless, there is no specific teaching of how such prebending could be performed, the resulting structure or any advantages to prebending. If anything, the 891 patent""s teaching of bending after insertion of the locking barb into the cavity teaches against use of prebent barbs.
There is a need for a two piece cable tie with an improved locking device structure that can be readily inserted into a cable tie locking head.
There also is a need for a two piece cable tie with a bent metal locking device that has a predetermined bend angle and is precisely located within a locking device receiving cavity.
There also is a need for a low profile two piece cable tie having a prebent metal locking device provided in a cable locking head that is oriented with a strap accepting channel parallel to a strap attachment axis.
It is an object of the invention to provide a two piece cable tie with a locking device that can be assembled more readily.
It is another object of the invention to provide a two piece cable tie with a bent locking device that can be bent at a predetermined bend angle and precisely located within a locking device receiving cavity.
It is another object of the invention to provide a cable tie having a bent locking device provided in a cable tie locking head that is oriented with a strap accepting channel parallel to a strap attachment axis.
The above and other objects are achieved by a cable tie comprising: a strap including a first end and a free end; a locking head including a strap accepting channel in the head that divides the locking head into a first part and a second part, the strap accepting channel having a strap entry end and a strap exit end on opposite ends of a strap accepting channel axis the first part of the locking head being secured to the first end of the strap along a strap attachment axis, the locking head further including a metal locking device receiving cavity adjacent to and open toward the strap exit end of the locking head and an extending wall located between the receiving cavity and the strap accepting channel; and a prebent metal locking device mounted within the metal locking device receiving cavity by having a fixed end mounted to a support slot of the end wall of the locking head and oriented substantially parallel to the strap accepting channel axis, the metal locking device further including a free end angled at an acute angle relative to the strap accepting channel axis and extending into the strap accepting channel, the free end substantially resting upon a fulcrum point of the extending wall.
The invention also provides a method of making a cable tie comprising the steps of: molding a cable tie strap with a first end and a free end and a locking head secured to the first end of the strap, the locking head including a strap accepting channel having a strap entry end and a strap exit end aligned along a strap accepting channel axis, the strap accepting channel dividing the locking head into a first part and a second part with the first end of the strap being secured to the first part, the locking head further including a metal locking device receiving cavity adjacent to and open toward the strap exit end of the locking head and an extending wall located between the receiving cavity and the strap accepting channel: forming a metal locking device, the metal locking device being formed with a fixed end and a free end that is angled at a predetermined acute angle relative to the fixed end, the free end also having a predefined total free length TFL; and inserting the metal locking device into the metal locking device receiving cavity with the fixed end being substantially parallel to the strap accepting channel axis until the fixed end is securely mounted in a slot of the locking head and the free end has a predefined overlap length OL that extends from the extending wall into the strap accepting channel.

Cable tie with bent locking device and method of manufacture therefor


The present invention relates to methods, kits, and compositions for detecting and/or diagnosing metastatic potential of cancer cells or for evaluating prognosis in a patient with cancer by detection of the protein expression level of an HLA class I molecule and/or the copy number variation of a polynucleotide encoding the HLA class I molecule. The present invention also relates to the use of the protein expression level of an HLA class I molecule and/or the copy number variation of a polynucleotide encoding the HLA class I molecule as a prognosis biomarker and metastasis predictive biomarker of cancer.

Gastric cancer is among the malignancies with highest morbidity worldwide. Most patients with gastric cancer die of metastasis or relapse, leading to high mortality of the disease. Compared with other organs, the stomach tissue contains relatively abundant lymphatic structures, contributing to the relapse and metastasis of gastric cancer via the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is rich in immune components, proper activation of immune cells can reduce the probability of relapse and metastasis through killing tumor cells. However, tumor cells often escape from the lysis of immune cells, the mechanisms of which are not completely clear. Therefore it is of significant clinical value to design, on the basis of the tumor immune evasion mechanisms, effective immunotherapeutic strategies, which have become another efficient anti-cancer treatment after surgery.
Human immune system can be divided into innate and adaptive components. The adaptive immunity functions through B and T lymphocytes and serves as a secondary response towards specific antigen but usually takes effect after a period of time. Contrary to it, the innate immunity, including natural killer cells (NK cells), is the first line to defense tumor cells and pathogen. NK cells can react and exert cytotoxicity within 4 hours in vitro and in vivo, via release of perforins, NK cytotoxic factors, and tumor necrosis factors. NK cells have been found to lyse tumor cells in a short amount of time, thus recent emphasis has been made on the development and clinical utilization of NK immunity to treat tumor.
The cytotoxic activity mediated by NK cells is intricately regulated by the balance between activating signals and suppressive signals. The proteins of HLA-A, B, and C (i.e., the classic HLA class I molecules) expressed on target cells interact with inhibitory receptors on NK cells and cause anergy. On the other hand, IL-2 and IL-12 secreted by dendritic cells activate NK cells.
Various remedial practices were devised based on the regulation mechanisms in order to achieve tumor regression by altering the suppressed status of NK cells, the most renowned ones including using allogenic NK cells and disrupting the inhibitory receptors on NK surface. These practices significantly enhanced the anti-cancer effects of NK-related immune therapies, but they also gave rise to auto-immune symptoms. Therefore, it remains one of the plausible means of enhancing the outcome of NK therapies to remold the cancer cells.

Methods and compositions for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer


This hollow fiber membrane module is provided with: a cylindrical case having a first end and a second end in the direction of height; a plurality of hollow fiber membranes accommodated in the cylindrical case; and a first potting unit attaching the end parts of the plurality of hollow fiber membranes positioned at the first end of the cylindrical case while the end parts are open. The hollow fiber membranes have a rupture strength of 23 MPa or more. The filling rate for the hollow fiber membranes is 40-80%.

In recent years, a separation membrane such as microfiltration membrane or ultrafiltration membrane is utilized in various processes including water purification treatment, water production and wastewater treatment fields, food industry and medical fields, etc., because it has advantages of energy saving and space saving and has features of power saving, product quality enhancement, etc.
On the other hand, when membrane separation is applied to raw liquid, a membrane-impermeable substance such as suspended substances (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "suspended solids") and organic matters contained in the raw liquid gradually sticks and deposits on the membrane surface or in a membrane pore to cause clogging of the separation membrane. As the liquid flow resistance of the separation membrane is consequently increased, the power necessary for membrane separation increases, and membrane separation cannot be eventually performed. When it becomes impossible to continue the membrane separation, cleaning of the separation membrane with a chemical solution is generally conducted so as to recover membrane separation performance, but if clogging of the separation membrane proceeds rapidly, the frequency of chemical cleaning is increased, and the processing cost rises.
Various membrane separation operation techniques have therefore been developed with an attempt to continuously maintain the membrane separation performance over a long period of time while eliminating clogging of the separation membrane. Examples thereof include back-washing of passing permeated liquid, water, etc. from the permeation side to the raw liquid side to push out a substance stuck in a membrane pore or on a membrane surface; air scrubbing by feeding a gas from the lower part of a hollow-fiber membrane module to shake the hollow-fiber membrane (i.e., separation membrane in hollow fiber form) and physically cleaning it (see, for example, Patent Document 1): and a flushing method of flowing raw liquid or a chemical solution at a high linear velocity in parallel to a membrane surface on the raw liquid side of a hollow-fiber membrane (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.