A dynamic MRA study of a subject is performed using a 3D fast gradient-recalled echo pulse sequence. The frame rate of the resulting series of reconstructed images is increased by sampling a central region of k-space at a higher rate than the peripheral regions of k-space. Artifacts caused by variations in signal strength as the contrast agent enters the region of interest are reduced by renormalizing the acquired data. 2D image frames are reconstructed using planes passing near the center of k-space to enable the operator to select which 3D data sets should be used to reconstruct diagnostic images.

The field of the invention is magnetic resonance angiography ("MRA"), and particularly, dynamic studies of the human vasculature using contrast agents which enhance the NMR signals.
Diagnostic studies of the human vasculature have many medical applications. X-ray imaging methods such as digital subtraction angiography ("DSA") have found wide use in the visualization of the cardiovascular system, including the heart and associated blood vessels. Images showing the circulation of blood in the arteries and veins of the kidneys and the carotid arteries and veins of the neck and head have immense diagnostic utility. Unfortunately, however, these x-ray methods subject the patient to potentially harmful ionizing radiation and often require the use of an invasive catheter to inject a contrast agent into the vasculature to be imaged.
One of the advantages of these x-ray techniques is that image data can be acquired at a high rate (i.e. high temporal resolution) so that a sequence of images may be acquired during injection of the contrast agent. Such "dynamic studies" enable one to select the image in which the bolus of contrast agent is flowing through the vasculature of interest. Earlier images in the sequence may not have sufficient contrast in the suspect vasculature, and later images may become difficult to interpret as the contrast agent reaches veins and diffuses into surrounding tissues. Subtractive methods such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,225 entitled "Real-Time Digital X-ray Subtraction Imaging" may be used to significantly enhance the diagnostic usefulness of such images.
Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) uses the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) phenomenon to produce images of the human vasculature. When a substance such as human tissue is subjected to a uniform magnetic field (polarizing field B.sub.0), the individual magnetic moments of the spins in the tissue attempt to align with this polarizing field, but precess about it in random order at their characteristic Larmor frequency. If the substance, or tissue, is subjected to a magnetic field (excitation field B.sub.1) which is in the x-y plane and which is near the Larmor frequency, the net aligned moment, M.sub.z, may be rotated, or "tipped", into the x-y plane to produce a net transverse magnetic moment M.sub.t. A signal is emitted by the excited spins, and after the excitation signal B.sub.1 is terminated, this signal may be received and processed to form an image.
When utilizing these signals to produce images, magnetic field gradients (G.sub.x G.sub.y and G.sub.z) are employed. Typically, the region to be imaged is scanned by a sequence of measurement cycles in which these gradients vary according to the particular localization method being used. Each measurement is referred to in the art as a "view" and the number of views determines the resolution of the image. The resulting set of received NMR signals, or views, are digitized and processed to reconstruct the image using one of many well known reconstruction techniques. The total scan time is determined in part by the number of measurement cycles, or views, that are acquired for an image, and therefore, scan time can be reduced at the expense of image resolution by reducing the number of acquired views.
Most NMR scans currently used to produce medical images require many minutes to acquire the necessary data for a clinically useful image. The reduction of this scan time to seconds rather than minutes is the major obstacle in performing clinical dynamic studies using MRI methods. The most common MRI method currently used for non-triggered, time-resolved imaging is to use an echo-planar imaging ("EPI") pulse sequence such as that first described by Peter Mansfield (J. Phys. C. 10: L55-L58, 1977). In principle the EPI scan enables imaging of dynamic processes occurring with periods measured on the order of a few hundred milliseconds. However, time-resolved EPI is otherwise un-suitable for contrast enhanced MRA because it exhibits a low contrast between blood and surrounding tissues due to the long time intervals (e.g. 100 ms) between RF excitations. EPI also has enhanced sensitivity to a variety of flow-related artifacts, and EPI images can be blurred due to T.sub.2 *-modulation of k-space.
A number of methods have been developed to increase the temporal resolution of MRI scans using pulse sequences that are applicable to MRA. In a method known in the art as "MR fluoroscopy" and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,012, the subject is scanned by continuously and repeatedly acquiring the N phase encoding views needed for a complete image. Rather than waiting for an entirely new set of N views before reconstructing the next image, however, images are reconstructed at a much higher rate by using the most recent N views. In other words, an image is reconstructed from newly acquired views as well as views used in reconstructing previous images in the dynamic study. While very high temporal rates are achieved with MR fluoroscopy, the image contrast is not satisfactory for MRA because the central views in k-space, which dominate the overall image contrast, are still updated at the much slower inherent scan rate (i.e. N.times.TR).
Another method for increasing temporal resolution of MRI images is referred to in the art as "keyhole" imaging. As described, for example, by R. A. Jones, et al. in "Dynamic, Contrast Enhanced, NMR Perfusion Imaging Of Regional Cerebral Ischaemia In Rats Using K-Space Substitution", SMR Eleventh Annual Meeting 1992 abs. 1138, a sequence of images is acquired during a dynamic study in which a contrast agent is injected in the subject. The first image in the sequence is a reference image in which all the phase encoding views (e.g. 128 views) are acquired. Subsequent images are produced, however, by only acquiring the central views (e.g. the central 32-views). These keyhole scans can obviously be acquired much faster than complete scans and the temporal rate is increased proportionately. The keyhole images are reconstructed using the most recent central k-space views combined with the outer, peripheral k-space views from the reference scan. Unfortunately, in situations where the low spatial frequency changes in the reconstructed images do not capture the evolution of the dynamic study, k-space keyhole imaging is not appropriate. This is a problem when contrast changes in small regions are to be studied, and in such studies the number of central views acquired must be increased to the point where the gain in temporal resolution is lost.
Related to the k-space keyhole imaging method is a method known in the art as limited field of view ("FOV") dynamic imaging. As described, for example, by Hu and Parrish, published in Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Vol. 31, pp. 691-694, 1994, and by Frederickson and Pelc, 3rd SMR, 1, 197.1995; this method is applied to dynamic studies in which the changing part of the image occupies no more than one half the full FOV. A reference image representing the static part of the image is produced at the beginning of the study and a series of images encompassing only the dynamic, central portion of the image are produced using half the number of phase encoding views. These dynamic images can be acquired at a higher temporal rate because only half the number of views (either the odd or even views) need be acquired. The dynamic and static portions of the image are combined to produce a corresponding series of full FOV images. Of course, if changes occur in the static portion of the image, the information obtained from these regions will no longer accurately remove artifacts aliased into the small FOV.
MR angiography (MRA) has been an active area of research. Two basic techniques have been proposed and evaluated. The first class, time-of-flight (TOF) techniques, consists of methods which use the motion of the blood relative to the surrounding tissue. The most common approach is to exploit the differences in signal saturation that exist between flowing blood and stationary tissue. This is know as flow-related enhancement, but this effect is misnamed because the improvement in blood-tissue contrast is actually due to the stationary tissues experiencing many excitation pulses and becoming saturated. Flowing blood, which is moving through the excited section, is continually refreshed by spins experiencing fewer excitation pulses and is, therefore, less saturated. The result is the desired image contrast between the high-signal blood and the low-signal stationary tissues.
MR methods have also been developed that encode motion into the phase of the acquired signal as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 32,701. These form the second class of MRA techniques and are known as phase contrast (PC) methods. Currently, most PC MRA techniques acquire two images, with each image having a different sensitivity to the same velocity component. Angiographic images are then obtained by forming either the phase or complex difference between the pair of velocity-encoded images. Phase contrast MRA techniques have been extended so that they are sensitive to velocity components in all three orthogonal directions.
Despite the tremendous strides made in recent years, at many clinical sites MRA is still considered a research tool and is not routinely used in clinical practice. More widespread application of either TOF or PC techniques is hampered by the presence of a variety of deleterious image artifacts, which can mask and, in some cases, even mimic pathology. These artifacts generally result in a lower specificity, as well as compromised sensitivity.
To enhance the diagnostic capability of MRA a contrast agent such as gadolinium can be injected into the patient prior to the MRA scan. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,213 the trick is to acquire the central k-space views at the moment the bolus of contrast agent is flowing through the vasculature of interest. This is not an easy timing to achieve as part of a routine clinical procedure and a number of solutions have been proposed.
In co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/622,718 entitled "Three-Dimensional Digital Subtraction Magnetic Resonance Angiography" a method is described for rapidly acquiring a series of 3D MRA data sets during a dynamic study. While this method provides the desired temporal resolution at clinically suitable image resolutions, two problems are present. First, image artifacts in the form of signal loss inside blood vessels are produced. These artifacts can lead to a misdiagnosis. Second, a huge amount of MRA data is produced during the dynamic study, and the processing time required to reconstruct images is excessive.

Digital subtraction magnetic resonance angiography with image artifact suppression


To effectively improve flame propagation speed utilizing active species in an internal combustion engine 10 that promotes combustion utilizing active species. The internal combustion engine 10 is provided with an internal combustion engine main body 11 that combusts fuel air mixture in a combustion chamber 20 and an active species generation unit 13 that generates active species in a region which a flame surface has not yet reached during flame propagation in the combustion chamber 20. In a region which the flame will eventually pass through, the active species generation unit 13 generates the active species while the flame surface has not yet reached the region.

Conventionally, there is known a technology of promoting combustion utilizing active species such as OH radical. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2007-113570 discloses an ignition device employing a technology of this kind. The ignition device disclosed by Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2007-113570 is provided in an internal combustion engine such as a gasoline engine. In this ignition device, fuel air mixture that has been ignited is irradiated with a microwave so as to cause plasma discharge, increase radical concentration, and promote flame propagation.


A system and method for molecular dynamic simulation includes a database for storing data pertaining to at least one biomolecular system, a memory device for storing instructions for performing at least one algorithm having an electrostatic interaction calculating function and a multiple time step function, and subdividing forces on a basis of distance over which the forces act, and a processor for processing the data by executing the instructions in order to propagate the biomolecular system from a first set of coordinates to a second set of coordinates. The system and method significantly speed up the molecular dynamics simulation of biomolecular systems in which there are long-range and short-range electrostatic interactions and in which there are fast and slow motions, and make practicable the simulation of large protein solutions and thus, can be used to simulate protein folding and the binding of substrates to protein molecules.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a system and method for molecular dynamic simulation, and more particularly, to a system and method for molecular dynamic simulation which may use an algorithm having an electrostatic interaction calculating function (e.g., Ewald, particle mesh Ewald (PME), etc.) and a multiple time step function (e.g., reversible reference system propagator (RESPA, etc.)) to propagate a protein system from one set of coordinates to another in conformation space.
2. Description of the Related Art
Molecular dynamics simulations of all-atom models of proteins in water are of great current interest (J. A. McCammon and S. C. Harvey, Dynamics of Proteins and Nucleic Acids (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1987); K. M. Merz, Jr. and S. M. LeGrand, The Protein Folding Problem and Tertiary Prediction (Birkhauser, Boston, 1994); J. Gunn and R. A. Friesner, Annu. Rev. Biophys. Biomol. Struct. 25. 315 (1996)). To elucidate protein folding pathways, for example, it will be necessary to simulate trajectories of duration longer than 1 microsecond (K. M. Merz, Jr. and S. M. LeGrand, The Protein Folding Problem and Tertiary Structure Prediction (Birkhauser, Boston, 1994)).
The long-range electrostatic forces in biomolecular systems make such simulations computationally intensive and lead to computational bottlenecks. Further, the dynamics in such systems usually have multiple time scales. The fast motions typical of the vibrations of intramolecular bonds require small (e.g., sub-femtosecond) time steps for stable integration of the equations of motion, and after propagating each short time step, all of the forces, including the long-range forces, must be recalculated. Since the calculation of the long-range forces is the most CPU intensive part of molecular dynamics, minimizing this part of the computational effort can lead to a great reduction of the computational cost. For this reason, considerable effort has been expended in devising methods for reducing the frequency with which the long-range forces must be recalculated, and reducing the computational effort required to compute these forces themselves.
One way to reduce the large computational cost associated with all-atom simulations is to use implicit solvent models, such as the generalized Born (GB) model, (W. C. Still, A. Tempczyk, R. C. Hawley, and T. Hendrickson, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 112, 6127 (1990)), together with stochastic dynamics with terms representing solvent friction. These models often generate very useful and interesting insights for protein folding, but it is generally difficult, if not impossible, to generate trustworthy chemical kinetic or transport information from this approach.
For realistic simulations of protein folding dynamics, all atom-based models with explicit solvent will be required. One method for reducing the computational costs of calculating the long-range forces in all-atom models is to truncate them with a spherical or minimum image truncation. This approach is very common in the literature. Unfortunately, spherical truncation or minimum image truncation is known to give rise to unphysical effects (M. Belhadj, H. E. Alper, and R. M. Levy, Chem. Phys. Lett, 179, 13 (1991); D. M. York, T. A. Darden, and L. G. Pedersen, J. Chem. Phys. 99, 8345 (1993)), and it is now widely recognized that one should not truncate the long-range electrostatic forces.
The conventional Ewald method for calculating the full Coulomb interaction in periodic systems without truncation has computational complexity that is at least of order O(N3/2). To speed up the calculation of these periodic long-range electrostatic forces, two general classes of more efficient algorithms have been developed: one is the fast multipole methods (FMM), first proposed by Greengard et al. (L. Greengard, The Rapid Evaluation of Potential Fields in Particle Systems (MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1998)) and then extended to periodic systems by Francisco et al. (F. Figueirido, R. Zhou, R. Levy, and B. J. Berne, J. Chem. Phys. 106, 9835 (1997), which scales as O(N); and the other is the mesh-based Ewald methods (such as PME or the equivalent P3ME variants based on the original work of Hockney) which interpolate the point charges onto a mesh and then utilize the fast Fourier transform (FFT) to speed up the reciprocal space evaluation in the Ewald sum. These mesh-based methods scale as O(N log N). Despite the improved computational complexity of the FMM or mesh-based methods, the conventional Ewald method gives superior accuracy in determining the electrostatic forces and potentials.
Deserno and Holm (M. Deserno and C. Holm, J. Chem. Phys., 109, 7678 (1998)), have written a comprehensive and thoughtful analysis of various mesh-based Ewald methods. They compared the particle-particle particle-mesh Ewald method (or P3ME method) of Luty et al. (B. A. Luty, I. G. Tironi, and W. F. van Gunsteren, J. Chem. Phys. 103, 3014 (1995)), with the particle mesh Ewald (PME) method of Darden and with the smoothed particle mesh Ewald (or SPME) method of Essmann et al. (U. Essmann, L. Perera, M. L. Berkowitz, T. Darden, H. Lee, and L. G. Pedersen, J. Chem. Phys. 103, 8577 (1995)), and concluded that both P3ME and SPME are considerably more accurate than PME method, and that the P3ME method is slightly more accurate than the SPME method for the same number of mesh points.
To reduce the frequency with which the long-range electrostatic forces are calculated, the reversible RESPA (r-RESPA) method (M. Tuckerman, B. J. Berne, and G. J. Martyna, J. Chem. Phys. 97, 1990 (1992)) proves very helpful. Further, in a previous publication (S. J. Stuart, R. Zhou, and Bruce J. Berne, J. Chem. Phys. 105, 1426 (1996)), a method for combining Ewald with RESPA was described. However, in that paper it is shown that a subdivision of the force, in which the real-space part of the force was included in the inner loop of r-RESPA, whereas the Fourier space part was combined into the outer loops, was inefficient. This followed because the Fourier space part contains contributions to the force which vary rapidly in time. These fast parts of the Fourier space contribution restrict the choice of the outer loop time step and thus lead to more frequent calculations of the Fourier space part than necessary.
Unfortunately, the inefficient Ewald r-RESPA strategy was adopted by others. For example, this strategy was used by Procacci et al. to combine Ewald with RESPA (P. Procacci and M. Marchi, J. Chem. Phys. 104, 3003 (1996)), and later to combine particle mesh Ewald (PME) with RESPA (P. Procacci, T. Darden, and M. Marchi, J. Phys. Chem. 100, 10464 (1996)). In this strategies, real space/reciprocal space decomposition was still used for the electrostatic forces. The Fourier, or reciprocal space (k-space), forces in PME were put in the middle of a three-level (near, medium, and long) distance-based real-space force decomposition, which leads to the real long-ranged k-space contributions being updated too often (even more often than the "long"-range real-space forces), and the short-ranged k-space contributions being updated not often enough.

System and method for molecular dynamic simulation

International Business Machines Corporation


Surgical devices and methods are provided for preventing the formation of post-operative adhesions. In one device, an envelope of bioabsorbable material defines at least one opening, and a layer of bioabsorbable adhesion-preventing material is disposed on an exterior surface of the envelope. A rigid or semi-rigid barrier member is at least partially disposed in a space inside the envelope, without adhering to the envelope such that the barrier member can be pulled out of the envelope through the opening. In another device, a rigid or semi-rigid barrier member is removably attached to a layer of bioabsorbable adhesion-preventing material by a controlled adhesive. In another device, a rigid or semi-rigid bioabsorbable barrier member, such as compressed cellulose, is attached to a layer of bioabsorbable adhesion-preventing material. The envelope of bioabsorbable material may include cellulose or oxidized regenerated cellulose. The adhesion-preventing material may include chemically modified sodium hyaluronate and carboxymethylcellulose.

Two problems frequently encountered during the closure of surgical incisions of the abdomen are risk of injury to the bowel and the postoperative formation of adhesions to the abdominal wall.
Bowel injury leads to significant risk of infection, poor wound healing, hernia formation, and death. Bowel injury may be undetected at the time of surgery, leading to leakage of intestinal content into the abdominal cavity with resulting infection. If not diagnosed and treated promptly, this type of bowel injury carries a high risk of peritonitis, poor wound healing, hernia formation, and possible death. A mechanical barrier placed within the abdominal cavity prior to surgical closure of the abdominal wound reduces the risk of bowel injury during closure. Currently, surgeons occasionally utilize various barrier type devices during the closure of the abdomen to reduce the risk of bowel injury. These devices may be rigid such as a flat steel surgical retractor. Semi-rigid devices made of rubber or plastic are also utilized for this purpose, examples of which are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,964,417 and 4,747,393. These devices are not bioabsorbable and must be removed prior to completion of the surgical closure of the abdomen and therefore ultimately do not reduce the risk of postoperative adhesions. Surgical closure of the abdomen performed with the assistance of these currently available devices carries a significant risk of postoperative adhesion formation which may result in bowel obstruction.
Postoperative adhesions are the most frequent cause of small bowel obstruction, a common condition with significant morbidity and mortality, often requiring surgical intervention. The majority of these patients suffer obstruction due to intra-abdominal adhesions. These adhesions are the result of scar formation frequently associated with prior abdominal surgery. Bowel obstruction due to abdominal adhesions causes pain, vomiting, and may lead to gangrene of the bowel. Bowel obstruction due to adhesions frequently requires surgical treatment which may lead to a recurrent cycle of scar formation, obstruction, and surgery. A product which prevents the development of adhesions between the bowel and abdominal wall may be placed within the abdominal cavity prior to surgical closure of abdomen. Such a product may be a prosthesis made of silicone elastomer and/or polypropylene mesh fabric, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,441. Such a device however is not bioabsorbable. Currently, surgeons occasionally utilize various adhesion preventing materials during the closure of the abdomen to reduce the risk of postoperative adhesions. Products known to be effective in the prevention of adhesions include chemically modified sodium hyaluronate and carboxymethylcellulose, such as provided in SEPRAFILM® brand adhesion barrier manufactured by Genzyme Corporation, Cambridge, Mass. However, these materials are difficult to apply, being extremely friable, and having a tendency to stick to any surgical instrument once wetted after contacting tissue. Such a material also generally is provided as a thin layer or coating of material which is easily penetrated and therefore does not reduce the risk of injury to the bowel or other underlying tissue during closure of a surgical incision.
There currently exists no device which addresses all of the aforementioned problems during the closure of a surgical incision, such as in abdominal surgery. Efforts to employ current adhesion-preventing materials with current barrier devices leads to displacement of the adhesion-preventing material, rendering it ineffective. There remains a need therefore for a surgical device and method which reliably prevents injury to the bowel or viscera during closure of a surgical incision, while also aiding in reducing or preventing postoperative surgical adhesions.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Device and method to facilitate safe, adhesion-free surgical closures


A modular transaction station, comprising a frame; a monocoque counter assembly secured to the frame; and a pair of mounting sleeves extending about at least a portion of the periphery of the frame. The first mounting sleeve is secured to the frame, and the second mounting sleeve is securable to at least one of the frame and the first mounting sleeve, such that the transaction station may be secured within an opening in a wall with a portion of the wall bounding the opening positioned between the first and second mounting sleeves.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to transaction stations which are used, for example, as bank teller windows. More particularly, the present invention provides a modular transaction station which combines a frame, a monocoque counter assembly and a mounting apparatus as an integral unit.
2. Description of Related Art
Numerous businesses utilize transaction stations whereby an attendant on one side of a wall or partition transacts business with a customer who is located on the other side. For example, such transaction stations have been used for many years by banks in order to provide its customers with drive-in teller windows. Bank customers can complete their transactions without ever having to leave their vehicle, while the bank teller remains protected within the building. Numerous other types of businesses, including, for example, gas stations and fast-food restaurants, also utilize similar transaction stations in order to transact business with customers without a need for the customer and attendant (e.g., a gas station attendant) to be physically located on the same side of the wall or other partition within which the station is located.
Transaction stations such as those described above generally require a counter assembly behind which the attendant is positioned, one or more panes of glass through which the customer and attendant may observe one another, a movable drawer or other device which allows the customer and attendant to exchange items (e.g., money, food, etc.), and a means for mounting the entire station within a wall or other partition. Often, these transaction stations must be specially built for each installation, and assembling the entire station can be a difficult and time-consuming process. Further complicating the production and installation of these transaction stations is the fact that most require electrical wiring to operate electronic drawers, audio systems, lighting and other necessary electronic equipment. Particularly in the case of bank teller windows, these transaction stations also must be sturdy and provide some measure of safety and security for the bank teller. Providing all of these features in a single transaction station, however, is generally a complicated and costly process, often requiring that each station be custom-designed for the particular needs of the business.
Thus, there is a need for a modular transaction station which provides all of the above-described features in a single, modular unit which may be readily installed in an opening in a wall or partition.


A wireless emergency detection and alert system includes a primary wireless emergency communication device having an emergency detection and alert application to determine the presence of an emergency condition, based on information received indicating an emergency condition from a sensor associated with the primary wireless emergency communication device, and to execute at least one of a visual or sensual alarm of the at least one detected emergency condition by the primary wireless emergency communication device and to wirelessly transmit an alert signal and an alert message of the detected emergency condition to at least one secondary communication device, the alert message including at least to one of an SMS message, a text type message or a voicemail. The primary wireless emergency communication device also generates an audible alert, a visual alert, or a tactile alert, an alert message or combination thereof, in response to the detection of an emergency condition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless emergency detection and alert system including at least one primary wireless emergency communication device to determine the presence of an emergency condition, based on information received from at least one sensor, and to execute a visual or sensual alarm of the detected emergency condition and to wirelessly transmit an alert signal and an alert message of the detected emergency condition to at least one secondary communication device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sensors, such as carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors, are typically installed in homes, residential buildings, and commercial buildings, such as shopping malls, as a way to detect emergencies such as carbon monoxide leaks and smoke/fires, for example. Sensors, such as standalone carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors, are typically run off 9-volt battery or 120-volt house current and are activated automatically by carbon monoxide, smoke, or manually by someone who discovers the emergency and pulls the fire alarm attached to a structure, such as a wall. Once the sensor is activated, it emits at least one visual cue, such as flashing lights, audio sounds, and even olfactory cues to alert people in the vicinity of the emergency, so that they can escape early and unharmed. These cues also enable the people in the area of the emergency to call emergency personnel and alert them to the situation.
Such detectors, associated with such sensors, can also be adapted to automatically send a wireless signal, such as a text message to a small, limited number of predetermined phone numbers. Such sensors typically are associated with an access point or central device. However, if the access point or central device becomes damaged or inoperable, the system likely will not be able to perform emergency detection and notification.
Thus, an emergency detection and alert system for a mobile communication device addressing the aforementioned problems is desired.

Emergency detection and alert device and system utilizing a mobile communication device


A method and apparatus, such as a secure distribution server, receives encrypted information from a sender, wherein the encrypted information is for transmission to a plurality of intended recipients. In addition to the encrypted information, the method includes receiving an encrypted secret key that is encrypted using a public key associated with the secure distribution server. The method and apparatus decrypts the encrypted secret key to produce a decrypted secret key. The method and apparatus then encrypts the decrypted secret key with the corresponding public key of at least one (or each of a plurality of) intended recipient(s) to produce at least one (or plurality of) recipient-specific secure secret keys. The method and apparatus then forwards the received encrypted information sent by the sender and also sends at least one recipient-specific secure secret key to a corresponding intended recipient.

The invention relates generally to secure communication systems and methods and more particularly to secure communication systems and methods employing secure network elements such as servers.
Secure information systems are known which employ, for example, secure e-mail servers. For example, public key-based encryption systems may employ a secure server that performs the encryption of the information, such as encrypting an e-mail or other collection of information after it is received by a sending unit, such as a wireless or non-wireless PDA, internet appliance, telephone, laptop computer, desktop computer or any other mobile or non-mobile device. In such systems, the secure server encrypts the information using a secret key, such as a symmetric key generated by the secure server. In order to decrypt the document, an intended recipient also needs the secret key. Therefore, the secure server retrieves a public key of an encryption key pair associated with the intended recipient and encrypts the secret key with the public key of the recipient and forwards the encrypted information and the encrypted secret key to the recipient on behalf of the sender. However, with such systems, the secure server typically must encrypt the information. This can result in an insecure system since the information desired to be encrypted is encrypted only after it is sent to the server. Alternatively, in other prior art systems, the message information is encrypted by the sender, and then decrypted by the server and re-encrypted by the server for transmission to the intended recipients. Requiring the server to perform the bulk encryption of the message information adds additional processing requirements on the server.
In yet another type of secure information system, a sending unit retains the public key certificates of each of the intended recipients in a local cache or obtains them from a lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) server, from a public key certificate directory such as an X.500 type directory, or other suitable certificate source. Obtaining each of the recipient public key certificates by the sending unit can require significant complexity and significant processing capabilities. For example, where a sending unit (sender) wishes to send a large message having many recipients, the public key for each of the recipients must be located by some manner. This can require many time consuming retrievals by the sending unit. Moreover, this is typically done on a real time basis with larger messages thus requiring the sender to perform the encryption during an on line session. The overhead and processing requirements can be burdensome and significantly reduce the performance of certain types of senders such as hand held devices, for example, that typically have limited amounts of processing capability and limited bandwidth connections to a network.
Moreover, for personal trust relationships, such as those where the sender and recipient are not in the same community of trust, meaning that they do not share the same certificate authority (CA), or belong to certificate authorities that are cross certified as trusting one another or that do not share a common root certificate of a trust authority embedded in a browser or other suitable application, the sender and recipient require a copy of the public key certificates through another mechanism. A problem with personal trust relationships is that sending units must typically manage them themselves and there is no secure way to readily share external user's certificates across a broad set of internal sending units. A difficulty is that external user certificates cannot be validated using CA signatures because the certificate is not cross certified to the internal sending unit's CA (or user's CA). When there is no ability to verify the signature on a certificate, user devices are forced to store keys locally (as opposed to in a public directory).
Also, it would be desirable to improve deployment capabilities in systems that have many sending units. For example, having smaller sending unit cryptographic software modules to enable suitable secure information sessions would be desirable.
Another secure information system requires the sender to encrypt a document or other information using a secret key and then the sender contact the secure server to have the secure server obtain a public key associated with an intended recipient. The secure server retrieves the public key in real time from a certificate authority and transmits the public key back to the sender. The sender encrypts the secret key with the public key and transmits the encrypted document and the encrypted secret key to the secure server for transmission to the recipient. However, such a system requires dialog back and forth between the sending unit and the secure server and the sending of the public keys back during an on line connection when the document is being encrypted. Therefore, off line secure communication is not readily facilitated. For example, where the sending unit is a portable unit and the user is not connected with the secure server (for example, while the user is in an aircraft), it would be desirable to allow the sending unit to perform at least portions of the encryption process. In addition, such systems require the sending unit to encrypt a copy of the symmetric key for each of the intended recipients. Since a sending device does not have access to the network while in offline mode, the symmetric key will have to be encrypted with a public key that is stored on the device. Typically this is accomplished by having the sending device cache the public key certificates of potential intended recipients. In the case of handheld devices, the caching utilizes valuable storage that is often in short supply. Where there is a long distribution list for a message, for example, many recipients may be listed, this can require the sending unit, such as a small hand held device or other unit, to perform large amounts of processing and require large amounts of storage for the generation of the encrypted keys for each of the recipients.
Also, another known technique employs SSL (or other transport layer security schemes) to deliver sensitive email from a sender initially to a server. The sender typically authenticates to the server using a password and sends a message over the secure transport to a server. The server then sends an insecure notification email to one or more recipients, informing them that a message is available at the server. A recipient then supplies a password and downloads the message from the server, again using SSL or other secure transport for security. This scheme has the advantage that only browser software is required to send or receive email. However, the messages are typically only secured in transit. If the recipient retains a copy of the message, this scheme does not add security for the message copy. Similarly, if a message is composed offline pending a network connection, the sender holds an insecure copy of the message.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved secure information apparatus and method.

Secure communication apparatus and method


A configuration unit (1) and a method for configuring a sensor (2) comprising a transmitter (4) and a plurality of receivers (6) are provided. The configuration unit is operatively connected to the transmitter and the plurality of receivers, and is adapted to estimate the location of a static element (8) based on a probing signal (5) transmitted by the transmitter and based on a return signal (7) received by the plurality of receivers. The return signal is generated by reflection of the probing signal against the static element. Moreover, the configuration unit is adapted to configure the sensor, for presence detection of a target (9), based on the estimated location of the static element.

The use of artificial lighting to achieve practical or aesthetic effects is continuously increasing. Both for indoor and outdoor applications, there are numerous examples of lighting systems including e.g. light bulbs, LEDs, and spot lights for offices, restaurants, museums, advertising boards, homes, shops, shop windows, and so on.
Whatever the light source may be, however, there is a wish to save energy. For this purpose, presence detection sensor solutions may form a central role in realizing energy-efficient lighting systems, wherein the sensors may provide information on e.g. locations of a person, person movement trajectories and/or the number of persons in e.g. a room. This information may be transferred to a lighting control system controlling a lighting function of a light source, such that more or less light may be provided at the predicted location of the person. For example, if a person is estimated to be present at a specific location in a room, a light source may be turned on such that light is provided at that specific location of the room. This location may be close to e.g. a desk, a book shelf, or a chair, where the person is predicted to be located, and the control of the light source may improve the lighting for the person who e.g. will study at the desk, find a book in the shelf, or sit down in the chair to read.
However, current presence detection sensors are often associated with cumbersome and/or difficult installation procedures for changing the settings of the sensors. Thus, there is a need for new devices and methods providing a more convenient and/or effective sensor configuration.

Configuration unit and method for configuring a presence detection sensor


The product is basically a heating blanket that is adapted in size to fit around a canister of refrigerant used to recharge heat pumps, air conditioners and refrigerators in a commercial or home setting. The blanket has a heating element within it which heats the canister when placed around the canister. From one corner of the blanket is an electrical cord which runs to a small control unit and then to a plug that fits a common 110 voltage household outlet. The control unit consists of a fitting that is designed to be attached to the valve on the top of the refrigerant canister. This fitting is attached to a pressure sensitive valve that sense the pressure of the refrigerant that passes through the valve. This pressure sensitive valve turns off the flow of electric to the blanket when the gas hits a certain pressure.

Heating and air conditioning systems are usually designed to be recharged with refrigerant at a certain given pressure. The refrigerant usually comes in a cylinder under pressure. The pressure for recharging an air conditioning system is usually the pressure of the gas when the outside temperature of the cylinder is around 70 degrees. Of course, these cylinders are made out of metal and thus, the inside gas and liquid are at the temperature of the outside air. When the temperature drops below 70 degrees Fahrenheit, the pressure within the cylinder also drops. The inventor has found that in the art there is no effective way of heating the cylinder. Most individuals in the field usually heat their cylinders by approximately two different methods.
The first method is by placing the cylinder in a tub of hot water. The problems with this method is that you must get a tub of hot water to heat the cylinder. On a reasonably cold day if you are working outside you may need a few tubs of hot water before you can get the cylinder up to the working temperature. This method also takes a reasonably long time to bring the cylinder up to temperature. A much faster, however, far more dangerous method is to heat the cylinder with a blow torch. The big problem with this is if overheat the cylinder will explode. Thus, one of the objectives of this invention is to heat the cylinder quickly and thus save time on the job. The second objective of this invention is to heat the cylinder safely. Applicant's invention will heat the cylinder, not only quickly, but also safely and will shut off the heat when the cylinder reaches the proper temperature. Another objective of the invention is to make it easy to operate and easy to store within the individual's van or truck when he is going out or coming home from repressurizing a heating and air conditioning system. Another objective is to make the system inexpensive to produce and manufacture. The features that achieve these goals is that the applicant has created a heating blanket that wraps around the cylinder and heats the cylinder to the specific temperature. Applicant controls this temperature by using a pressure valve and when the refrigerant reaches the proper temperature, the heat system is shut off. Thus, the system not only quickly heats the refrigerant cylinder but also safely heats the cylinder.

Heating unit for refrigerant charging cylinders


A system for acoustically monitoring a heartbeat includes an acoustic body having a first material in contact with a second material, a density and a propagation speed of sound of the first material is matched with a density and a propagation speed of sound of a human body, and a density and a propagation speed of sound of the second material is matched with the density and the propagation speed of sound of the first material, a covering material in contact with a first surface of the acoustic body formed by the first material, and a microphone acoustically coupled to a second surface of the acoustic body formed by the second material.

Detecting a heartbeat of an occupant of a seat, such as a vehicle seat, currently requires placing a microphone on the seat surface of the seat. However, the microphone is a rigid structure that reduces the comfort of the occupant. These current techniques are necessary because non-contact monitoring of a heartbeat is very difficult and inefficient when an air gap between the body and the microphone is present because sound pressure from the heart beating within the body is mostly reflected back into the body because of poor acoustic coupling between the human body and the air.
Accordingly, a need exists for improved monitoring a heartbeat through a seat and transferring the heartbeat sound to a microphone located remotely from the body.

Microphone with structural matched filter for heart rate measurement

TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC.


A method and system for automatically detecting and optimally compensating a wide range of die leakage currents in dynamic circuits is presented. A self-adaptive keeper tracks the leakage and reduces the leakage effects by optimally controlled compensation current. The self-adaptive keeper utilizes a 2-stage embedded current mirror circuit, a dummy cell and a keeper transistor to compensate leakage current. The load impact of the self-adaptive keeper on the dynamic circuit components (for example, the impact on memory cells) is minimized by a dummy cell which detects and matches the instant leakage current. Amplification in the 2-stage embedded current mirror circuit provides an optimal current strength in the keeper transistor. The optimally amplified leakage current is utilized to compensate for a leakage induced voltage drop at the circuit's output. Thus, the self-adaptive keeper ensures the robustness of the circuit in real time and does not create any negative trade-off on read latency.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to integrated circuits and in particular to leakage current in integrated circuits. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to compensation of leakage current in integrated circuits.
2. Description of the Related Art
In Integrated circuit (IC) fabrication technology, lower threshold voltages and smaller transistor geometry result in higher leakage current, which is defined as the current passing through a transistor when it is turned off. Threshold voltage refers to the voltage at which transistors turn on. Leakage current consumes power and reduces standby time for portable devices that use battery power. Consequently, reducing leakage current without sacrificing too much performance is one of the major challenges in IC designs. Leakage current is more problematic as IC circuits become smaller. This is because leakage current increases at a high rate as transistor size decreases.
Increasing the sub-threshold leakage current with process scaling has forced designers to upsize the keeper (which provides a stabilizing effect) in dynamic circuits in order to achieve an acceptable robustness in the worst case leakage corner. Various studies have shown that there is a wide range of variation in die-to-die Negative Field Effect Transistor (NFET) leakage. This variation indicates that a large number of low leakage dies suffer from the performance loss due to an unnecessarily over sized keeper. Unfortunately, the excess leakage dies still do not satisfy the robustness requirements with a keeper sized for the faster corner leakage. This inability to satisfy performance requirements reveals the drawbacks of a conventional keeper used under a wide range of inter or intra-die variation.
A Process-Compensation-Dynamic (PCD) circuit technique has been proposed to improve overall robustness and delay variation spread by (a) restoring robustness of worst-case leakage dies and (b) improving performance of low-leakage dies. Unlike prior fixed-strength keeper techniques, the PCD circuit technique utilizes a programmable keeper, which is optimally programmed based on the respective die leakage. In the PCD implementation, a digitally programmable 3 bit keeper is applied on an 8-way register file's Local Bitline (LBL). Each of the three binary-weighted keepers, with respective widths W, 2 W and 4 W, may be activated or deactivated by asserting pre-coded 3-bit globally routed control signals. These global signals need to be incorporated with the die leakage statistics, and are incorporated with manually conducted off-line sampling and statistical procedures. Thus, the use of these globally-routed control signals is usually costly and time consuming.

Compensation for leakage current from dynamic storage node variation by the utilization of an automatic self-adaptive keeper


An apparatus and method to simultaneously evaluate the drainage, retention and formation characteristics of paper pulp comprising mixing the paper pulp furnish in the top chamber of the apparatus, releasing the furnish into a middle chamber via a valve having a cone shaped structure for even distribution of the furnish onto a wire screen, and utilizing a time delay before opening a vent valve in order to attenuate impingement forces. The apparatus utilizes a rotating blade under the wire screen to duplicate the pulsation forces of full scale papermaking equipment, an externally applied means to assist in the removal of water similar to a paper machine couch roll. Data generated during the foregoing steps is fed into a computer to evaluate the entire free water drainage process of the furnish. The device is able to set parameters to simulate the water removal process on most paper machines via level control and duration of pertinent variables.

In a typical paper machine, a pulp furnish consisting of fibers and filler slurry is jetted from a headbox onto a moving paper forming surface, usually a wire. The wire is an endless loop; the top carrying pulp furnish is usually called the forming section. Underneath the forming section are many stationary drainage elements. They assist drainage in different ways depending on their design and position on the machine.
First, the wire travels across a series of hydrofoils (or table rolls in early models of Fourdrinier machine). White water drains from the pulp in response to the gravity and to the pulsation forces generated by these drainage elements. (The drainage in this period is therefore referred to as the pulsation/gravity drainage). Furnish consistency increases gradually and dewatering becomes more difficult as the wire travels farther down the table. Vacuum assisted hydrofoils are used to sustain higher drainage, and then high-vacuum flat boxes are helpful in removing as much water as possible. Finally, a suction couch roll provides suction forces to improve water removal. The sheet then transfers to the pressing and drying sections for residual water removal.
The efficiency of a paper or paperboard making process is determined by many factors. At the wet end, important factors are the drainage rate of the furnish, the retention of fibers or fillers, and the formation. They affect machine runability, the production rate, white water system cleanliness, cost and quality of the product, etc. For instance, poor retention of filler and fines lowers the opacity of the paper. Ineffective single-pass retention of fiber and filler results in a high solid content in the white water system. Accumulation of fines in the headbox retards drainage. When drainage is poor the web may contain too much water to withstand the stress exerted by the press roll; therefore, the machine has to slow down and the production rate suffers. If the drainage is high, the papermakers can either pursue a higher production rate, or they can dilute the headbox furnish to allow for better formation. Formation impacts the strength, the appearance of the paper sheet and many other aspects. All these factors influence machine runability.
Improving drainage, retention, and formation are continual tasks for papermakers. The rate of water removal is often the rate determining step in the total papermaking process. For a given paper machine, the rate of water removal can be changed by changing fiber composition, degree of refining, non-fibrous materials (clay, titanium dioxide, calcium carbonate, etc.), and/or by the addition of wet end chemicals.
A wide range of retention aids, drainage aids, and formation aids are utilized in the paper industry to achieve this goal. To predict on-machine performance, the papermakers usually rely on certain types of testing devices. Unfortunately, a drainage testing device may be misleading if its drainage mechanism is dissimilar from the production machine's drainage. The effect of various drainage mechanisms will be clarified while reviewing conventional devices relevant to this invention.
Testing results obtained from most of the prior art devices are incomplete, because they do not duplicate the paper machine free water removal process. First, these devices are either for gravity or vacuum drainage exclusively. Their testing disregards the sequential drainage process normally found on paper machines, i.e., a pulsation/gravity drainage followed by a vacuum drainage. Secondly, pulsation forces are lacking in those devices. On the other hand, pulsation forces are known to have a major impact on drainage of furnishes on paper machines. Third, conventional devices cannot assess the inter-dependent variables (drainage, retention, and formation) in a single test. Details of those devices and their deficiencies are discussed in the Related Art Section. Therefore, there is a need for a device that approximates the dewatering process existing on a paper machine, is reproducible, and is laboratory-sized.

Apparatus for simulating processing parameters and predicting variables in a papermaking operation including sequential pulsation, gravity and vacuum drainage, fines retention and paper formation


A shaft (1) with a co-rotating element (2) which is secured to it and has a surface located perpendicular to the axis (3) of the shaft, the welding taking place in the fillet formed between the seating surface (4) of the shaft (1) and axially normal surface (6, 8) of the element. To achieve a durable join without adversely affecting true running, a welding bead (20) starts at a starting point (21) on the surface (6; 8) located perpendicular to the axis (3) of the shaft (1), leads to the fillet and then leads back to an end point (21′) on the surface (6; 8) located transversely with respect to the axis of the shaft.

The invention relates to a shaft with a co-rotating element fitted and secured to it, the shaft being cylindrical at least in the region in which the element is fitted, and the element having a cylindrical seating surface and at least one surface which is located perpendicular to the seating surface, and the welding taking place in the fillet formed between the seating surface of the shaft and that surface of the element which is located perpendicular to the seating surface. The term region is to be understood as meaning the location where the element is secured and the area surrounding it in at least one longitudinal direction.
The shaft may be a drive shaft, transmission shaft, crankshaft, camshaft or balancing shaft of a piston engine, and the co-rotating element may therefore be any desired flange, a wheel or gear, part of a clutch, a cam or a balancing weight. Consideration may be given in particular to shafts which run at high rotational speeds and are therefore subject to high demands in terms of accuracy and true running. Shafts of this type generally consist of a heat-treated steel or a case-hardened steel, while the elements often consist of a carburizing steel or a case-hardened steel and/or are forgings, investment castings or sintered parts.
Materials which are advantageous and preferred for the co-rotating part are steels with a carbon content of less than 0.45% or cast iron or nodular cast iron, with at least 40% of the matrix of the basic microstructure being formed by ferrite, remainder pearlite, martensite or bainite.
With parts of this type it was hitherto held to be an immutable law that a direct welded joint—in particular by arc welding—has to be avoided, apart from special solutions using friction welding or laser welding. There are two reasons for this: firstly, heating of the shaft causes it to be distorted, which has an adverse effect on true running; secondly, cracks are formed at the start and/or end of the welding bead, reducing the long-term strength and/or leading to premature fractures. The formation of the cracks can be explained, inter alia, by the fact that the establishing and collapsing of the arc cannot be synchronized with the melting of the welds.
It is an object of the invention to make parts of this type accessible to direct welding, in particular arc welding. The shaft and element are to be welded in such a way that a long-term joint is formed without the accuracy, true running or long-term strength being impaired.

Shaft comprising a part connected thereto by welding


A system and method for providing a current, standardized and comprehensive vehicle condition report while also creating lead generation data. Embodiments described herein can process vehicle information, vehicle appraisal, and computerized arrangements that enable shoppers to investigate, locate, specify, requisition, purchase, or otherwise exchange information concerning vehicles.

Online shopping has revolutionized the way people purchase everything from shoes to stereos. But the larger the purchase, the more anxious a consumer becomes for some guarantee that the product will be worth the asking price. Accordingly, for the modern consumer, purchasing a vehicle can be a complicated task. Many prospective buyers use the internet to identify vehicles that may be located hundreds of miles away, making vehicle inspection a difficult undertaking Even before a suitable vehicle is located, a consumer undergoes a decision-making process that includes several steps.
A consumer must first decide what kind of vehicle best meets his or her needs. Criteria may include size, make, model, aesthetics, price, and a host of additional features. Vehicles meeting the desired characteristics may be located anywhere in the world and, unlike buyers from years past, today's consumers benefit from the internet's wide reach as a tool to help locate cost-effective options or vehicles that are rare (e.g., limited production or antique). Conventionally, vehicle searches can be performed through services such as AutoTrader.com, Cars.com, or eBay. These services allow users to locate new or used vehicles and may also provide information such as vehicle history, vehicle options, and a description of the vehicle's overall condition.
Once a suitable vehicle has been located, a consumer may next wish to determine whether the vehicle's history justifies a listed purchase price. Such a determination could involve an inspection of insurance records or it might require research into accident reports or state title and registration documents. In the past, such information was difficult to reliably locate. However, in recent years, services such as CarFax, AutoCheck, and Kelly Blue Book have made vehicle accident reports and historical information easier to obtain. Such services allow buyers and sellers to transact business with some information about a vehicle's reported history and subjective value. But offsite vehicle consumers are still without a way to determine a vehicle's current mechanical and aesthetic condition in a standardized and reliable format.
One conventional system attempts to generate leads by determining an offer price for a vehicle using historical data, such as wholesale sales that occur at vehicle auctions and dealerships, and dealer selected buyer criteria. However, this system does not provide access to current data regarding a vehicle's actual mechanical and aesthetic condition in a standardized format.
Similarly, another conventional system attempts to allow a consumer to search a database containing used vehicles for a variety of sellers that can be queried to provide search results that include vehicles having only clean title histories. Yet, as above, the database includes only vehicle histories and does not provide current standardized vehicle condition reports.
As yet another example, a conventional system generates an automated vehicle specific valuation of a used car based on the physical and historical attributes of that vehicle. However, the system's scoring method does not account for the actual current condition of a vehicle. Accordingly, users of such a system are not able to make completely informed vehicle purchase decisions.
There is currently no system that provides purchasers with access to reliable, detailed, standardized information related to the current mechanical and aesthetic condition of a vehicle. Also, there is currently no system that provides a uniform interface through which users may objectively compare the current mechanical and aesthetic condition of multiple vehicles. Accordingly, there exists a need for a system that offers real-time access to standardized information about a vehicle's current mechanical and cosmetic condition.
In addition, after a desired vehicle's mechanical and aesthetic condition has been confirmed, a purchaser may need to arrange financing, insurance and/or vehicle shipping. Buyers who purchase a vehicle that is located far away and who wish to take delivery in person may need to make flight or other travel arrangements. Providers of these purchase-related services have a need for reliable lead-generation information so that they can efficiently focus their marketing efforts on those who are most likely to appreciate them.

System and method for providing a vehicle condition report


The present bifurcated roller tool includes a pair of rollers which rotate independently of the other. The rollers are rotatably engaged on a distal frame portion which has a pair of roller engaging portions. The roller engaging portions are separated from each other via a V-shaped medial frame section. The medial frame section defines a receiver which permits the reception of a paint tray divider. The paint tray divider separates two receptacle portions of a paint tray. A frame for the bifurcated roller includes an intermediate frame portion leading from a handle to one of the roller engaging portions of the distal frame portion. The other of the roller engaging portions includes a free outer end and it is over this end that roller covers are slid off the roller mounts and other roller covers slide onto their respective roller mounts. The roller cover which engages the roller mount proximate to the intermediate frame portion slides over the medial frame portion and onto and off the other of the roller mount when it is to be replaced or cleaned. The intermediate frame portion and roller engaging portions define sections of a rod such that the frame for the bifurcated roller is integral and one-piece.

The bifurcated roller shown by U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,095 includes several drawbacks. For example, the roller is manufactured from two conventional rollers, using two conventional frames. Prior to welding the two conventional frames together, one of the conventional frames is cut below the handle and such handle is thrown away, contributing to the expense of the bifurcated roller.
Another drawback is that this bifurcated roller includes an excessively long open space or slot between the rollers. This length wastes the framing rods which form the slot. Further, the slot tends to undesirably act, especially if sticky from paint, as a receptor for newspapers and tape.

Bifurcated roller with paint tray divider receiver and integral frame


A new, more efficient memory translation algorithm facilitating the acquisition of a most appropriate translation in a target language from among those of nearly narrowed-down candidates of translation by separately applying the so-called dimension reducing functions of a template automaton and the LSI (latent semantic index) technique. Both the template automaton and the LSI principle play an important role in implementing an efficient process of narrowing down an efficient solution space from among the many example sentences of the databases in a target language by exploiting their respective unique search space reduction function. Once developed into a fully operational system, an expert editor rather than an expert translator can tune up the translation memory system, markedly widening the range of available experts who can utilize the system.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of translation memory and, more particularly, to a new computer-aided translation system suitable for technical materials now widely used in the localization of computer software.
2. Description of the Related Art
The idea of translation memory is basically very simple. Translation memory serves to increase the efficiency of the translation process of technical documents, saving considerable time by prompting the answer to the question: "How did I translate this or a similar sentence last time?" A translation memory provides a powerful tool for automatic translation of sentences that have been previously translated by experts and stored within the translation memory database, with minor differences in an original segment being accounted for by suggesting a translation of a similar segment found in the databases. The translation memory should preserve the format of the original document, restoring such format once the translation is complete.
Automatic translation of sentences that have been stored in a database is certainly very easy, provided that the syntactical sentence structure as well as the entire word usage including word order used in both documents are consistent and identical throughout the documents. Unfortunately, any natural language used in practice is context-sensitive and is sharply distinguished from the artificial languages such as programming languages in that extensive use of ambiguous expressions is allowed, including synonymies and polysemies and ambiguous syntactical structures, for example. Therefore, a most difficult and challenging task required of translations based on a translation memory scheme is the matching of sentences which have a similar, or exactly the same, meaning but which are expressed using different words or in terms of differing structural expressions. This difficulty may be resolved with the help of the latent semantic index (LSI) matching principle.
To allow processing of flexible, context-sensitive natural languages, which are characterized by ambiguities, a template automaton structure has been designed as set forth in Japanese Patent No. 2887660, exploiting the FSA (finite state automaton)-based ATN transitional rules. This template automation structure allows for multiple expressions of ambiguous words and ambiguous syntactic structures while retaining the clarity in diverse meanings of the sentences, where each of the paths in the template constitutes a complete and meaningful context-sensitive sentence. The template structure is capable of storing and representing sentences using different expressions or structures denoting equivalent meanings provided the language is restricted to one of the natural languages.

Computer-assisted memory translation scheme based on template automaton and latent semantic index principle


A method for deposition of silicon carbide according to an embodiment includes preparing a wafer in a susceptor; introducing first etching gas into the susceptor; introducing second etching gas into the susceptor; producing an intermediate compound by introducing a reactive raw material into the susceptor; and forming a silicon carbide epitaxial layer on the wafer by reacting the intermediate compound with the wafer.

In general, among technologies to form various thin films on a substrate or a wafer, a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) scheme has been extensively used. The CVD scheme results in a chemical reaction. According to the CVD scheme, a semiconductor thin film or an insulating layer is formed on a wafer surface by using the chemical reaction of a source material.
The CVD scheme and the CVD device have been spotlighted as an important thin film forming technology due to the fineness of the semiconductor device and the development of high-power and high-efficiency LED. Recently, the CVD scheme has been used to deposit various thin films, such as a silicon layer, an oxide layer, a silicon nitride layer, a silicon oxynitride layer, or a tungsten layer, on a wafer.
For example, to deposit a silicon carbide thin film on a substrate or a wafer, a reactive raw material capable of reacting with the wafer needs to be introduced. According to the related art, a silicon carbide epitaxial layer is deposited by introducing silane (SiH4) and ethylene (C2H4) serving as a standard precursor or methyltrichlorosilane (MTS) as a raw material, heating the raw material to produce an intermediate compound such as CH3 or SiClx, and introducing the intermediate compound to react the intermediate compound with a wafer disposed in a susceptor.
However, carbon and silicon are not uniformly distributed on a surface of the wafer on which the silicon carbide epitaxial thin film layer is deposited but the silicon is highly distributed on the surface of the wafer. In this case, since the silicon increases surface roughness of the wafer, the silicon may cause a defect in the epitaxial wafer.
Therefore, a method capable of modifying a surface of the silicon carbide wafer is required.

Method for deposition of silicon carbide and silicon carbide epitaxial wafer


A method of synthesizing or growing a compound having the general formula Mn+1AXn(16) where M is a transition metal, n is 1, 2, 3 or higher, A is an A-group element and X is carbon, nitrogen or both, which comprises the step of exposing a substrate to gaseous components and/or components vaporized from at least one solid source (13, 14, 15) whereby said components react with each other to produce the Mn+1AXn (16) compound.

Recent studies have shown that ternary and quaternary compounds having the general formula Mn+1AXn exhibit unusual and exceptional mechanical properties as well as advantageous electrical, thermal and chemical properties. Despite having high stiffness these ceramics are readily machinable, resistant to thermal shock, unusually damage tolerant, have low density and are thermodynamically stable at high temperatures (up to 2300° C.).
Mn+1AXn compounds have layered and hexagonal structures with M2X layers interleaved with layers of pure A and it is this structure, comprising exceptionally strong "metallic" M-X bonds together with relatively weak M-A bonds, which gives rise to their unusual combination of properties.
Mn+1AXn compounds are characterized according to the number of transition metal layers separating the A-group element layers: in "211" compounds there are two such transition metal layers, in "312" compounds there are three and in "413" compounds there are four. 211 compounds are the most predominant, these include Ti2AlC, Ti2AlN, Hf2PbC, Nb2AlC, (Nb,Ti)2AlC, Ti2AlN0.5C0.5, Ti2GeC, Zr2SnC, Ta2GaC, Hf2SnC, Ti2SnC, Nb2SnC, Zr2PbC and Ti2PbC. The only known 312 compounds are Ti3AlC2, Ti3GeC2, Ti3SiC2. Ti4AlN3 and Ti4SiC3 are the only 413 compound known to exist at present. A very large number of solid solution permutations and combinations are also conceivable as it is possible to form solid solutions on the M-sites, the A-sites and the X-sites of these different phases.
Michel Barsoum has synthesized, characterized and published data on the Mn+1AXn phases named above in bulk form ["The Mn+1AXn Phases: A New Class of Solids", Progressive Solid State Chemistry, Vol. 28 pp201-281, 2000]. His measurements on Ti3AlC2 show that it has a significantly higher thermal conductivity and a much lower electrical resistivity than titanium and, like other Mn+1AXn phases, it has the ability to contain and confine damage to a small area thus preventing/limiting crack propagation through the material. Its layered structure and the fact that bonding between the layers is weaker than along the layers (as in graphite) give rise to a very low friction coefficient, even after six months exposure to the atmosphere. Polycrystalline samples however do not have such a low friction coefficient and tend to be brittle at room temperature.
Barsoum's synthesis process, for the Mn+1AXn phases he studied, involved the simultaneous application of high temperature and high pressure to starting materials in bulk form in a hot isostatic press. The starting materials react under pressure to produce Mn+1AXn phases. The methods used for producing epitaxial binary carbide films (such as chemical vapour deposition, CVD and physical vapour deposition, PVD) are carried out at high temperatures (1000-1400° C.). Films grown or synthesized at lower temperatures tend to be amorphous or compact grained. As yet there is no method that is able to produce crystalline/epitaxial thin films or coatings of Mn+1AXn at a relatively low temperature.

Method of synthesizing a compound of the formula M


A front structure of a motor vehicle has a lower bumper that runs in the vehicle transverse direction, and an upper bumper arranged above the lower bumper. The lower bumper and upper bumper are supported on the vehicle structure via crash boxes. The lower bumper defines a closed hollow profile and is supported on a front-end body, in particular on a luggage compartment depression, of the motor vehicle via the associated crash boxes.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a front structure of a motor vehicle having a lower bumper that runs in the transverse direction of the vehicle and an upper bumper arranged above the lower bumper.
2. Description of the Related Art
EP 1 451 041 B1 discloses a generic front structure of a motor vehicle in which a foam layer with a front surface is provided on the front side of an upper bumper to limit the forces that act on the legs of a pedestrian in the event of a collision with the pedestrian. A lower bumper is at approximately the same level as or in front of the front surface of the upper bumper, and lateral ends of the two bumpers are fastened to longitudinal beams of the motor vehicle. Energy-absorbing crash boxes are arranged between the two bumpers and the longitudinal beams of the motor vehicle. The crash boxes extend further forward for the lower bumper than for the upper bumper. This design is intended to create an impact-friendly front structure so that only forces below a certain limit value are introduced into the legs of the pedestrian in the event of a collision with a pedestrian. Furthermore, the front structure should be able to absorb energy of a high-energy impact, such as an impact against another motor vehicle or against a fixed obstacle. Both of these demands should be met as far as possible without an increase in length of the motor vehicle.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a front structure for a motor vehicle that improves pedestrian protection and an energy absorption capability.

Dr. Ing. h.c.F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft