In a negative electrode active material for a lithium ion secondary battery including a silicon oxide capable of absorbing and desorbing lithium ions, a silicon oxide having structural units each in the form of a tetrahedron in which a silicon atom is located at its center and silicon or oxygen atoms are located at its four vertices is used. The structural units are arranged randomly to form an amorphous structure. In the case that the number of oxygen atoms located at the four vertices in the structural units is represented by n (n=0, 1, 2, 3 or 4) and the structural units are represented by Si(n), the number of the structural units NSi(n) in the silicon oxide satisfies the following relations (1) to (3).

In recent years, reduction in size and improvement in performance have become increasingly evident in portable information terminals such as personal computers (PCs), cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), and audio visual devices such as video recorders and memory audio players, for which lithium ion secondary batteries are used.
As such reduction in size and improvement in performance continues, the improvement in capacity of lithium ion secondary batteries has been needed. In the conventional lithium ion secondary batteries, a lithium-containing transition metal oxide, such as lithium cobaltate or lithium nickelate, is used for a positive electrode, and a carbonaceous material, such as graphite, is used for a negative electrode. However, the improvement in capacity achieved by a combination of these materials in commercially available lithium ion secondary batteries has been approaching the limit of improvement.
Under these circumstances, examination has been made on selection and design of such a negative electrode active material that enables improvement in capacity in lithium ion secondary batteries to be accomplished. The negative electrode active materials for improvement in capacity that are under examination are exemplified by metal lithium, aluminum to be alloyed with lithium, silicon, tin, and the like (e.g., Non-patent Document 1). Among these, silicon has a large theoretical capacity. For this reason, there has been proposed a lithium ion secondary battery in which silicon is used as an active material (e.g., Patent Document 1).
However, since silicon undergoes a significant volume change during the reaction with lithium ions, the current collecting performance is reduced by repeated charge and discharge, making it impossible to achieve sufficient cycle characteristics.
As a negative electrode active material for solving this problem, there has been proposed SiOx (0<x<2) (e.g., Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3). The SiOx has a high capacity and exerts stable cycle characteristics. However, Li having been inserted in the SiOx during charge in the early stage is not completely released therefrom, causing a so-called irreversible capacity to increase.
In view of the above, the use of a lithium silicate compound originally containing Li has been proposed. For example, a lithium silicate compound represented by LiySiOx (0<y, and 0<x<2), such as Li4SiO4, Li2SiO3, Li2Si2O5, Li4Si3O8, and Li6Si4O11, has been proposed (Patent Document 2). Moreover, in order to obtain favorable cycle characteristics, there has been proposed a negative electrode active material obtained by heating SiOx to crystallize it so that a diffraction peak corresponding to the (220) plane of Si can appear in the X-ray diffraction pattern (Patent Document 3).
In addition, in order to suppress the volume expansion due to charge and discharge, there has been proposed a negative electrode active material including silicon with an oxidation number of 0, a silicon compound having a silicon atom with an oxidation number of +4, and a lower oxide of silicon having a silicon atom with an oxidation number of greater than 0 and less than +4 (e.g., see Patent Document 4).
Furthermore, there has been proposed a SiO thin film studied with the use of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the thin film including silicon with an oxidation number of 0, a silicon compound having a silicon atom with an oxidation number of +4, and a lower oxide of silicon having a silicon atom with an oxidation number of greater than 0 and less than +4. The charge-discharge reaction mechanism of the SiO thin film has also been disclosed (e.g., see Non-patent Document 2).
In a silicon oxide having a chemical composition represented by SiO, on a microscopic scale, Si and SiO2 are present in a phase separation state. It is known therefore that SiO represents an average composition (e.g., Non-patent Document 3).
The silicon oxide has structural units having a tetrahedral geometry. Other forms of silicon oxide other than SiO2 (hereinafter referred to as intermediate oxides) can be represented by Si2O, SiO, and Si2O3 in accordance with the number of oxygen atoms on the vertices of the tetrahedron, one, two, and three, respectively. These intermediate oxides are thermodynamically unstable and are extremely difficult to present as a simple crystal. Presumably for this reason, SiO represents an average composition as described above. It should be noted that X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of the intermediate oxides as described above clearly detects two separate peaks attributable to Si and SiO2.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2002-83594
Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Hei 6-325765
Patent Document 3: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2004-71542
Patent Document 4: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2005-183264
Non-patent Document 1: Solid State Ionics, 57, 113-115 (1998)
Non-patent Document 2: Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 152 (10), A2089 (2005)
Non-patent Document 3: Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 204 (2), 202-203 (1996)

Negative electrode active material and negative electrode using the same and lithium ion secondary battery

Abstract: [                  Formula                                                              1                ]                                                                                NSi                                      (              0              )                                            ∑                          NSi                                            (                n                )                                                    ≥        0.1                            (        1        )                                                      Nsi                                      (              4              )                                            ∑                          NSi                                            (                n                )                                                    ≤        0.1                            (        2        )                                                      Nsi                                      (              1              )                                +                      NSi                                      (              2              )                                +                      Nsi                                      (              3              )                                      ≠        0                            (        3        )


A sorbent media protective device includes an enclosure having a gas inlet, gas outlet and a thin-film multilayer indicator. The thin-film multilayer indicator is proximate sorbent media that can sorb a vapor of interest flowing from the gas inlet towards the gas outlet. The indicator includes a porous detection layer whose optical thickness changes in the presence of the vapor, located between a semireflective layer and a reflective layer permeable to the vapor. With equilibration at the applied vapor concentration between at least a portion of the media and the vapor, the vapor can pass through the reflective layer into the detection layer and change the detection layer optical thickness sufficiently to cause a visibly discernible change in the indicator appearance if viewed through the semireflective layer.

Various chemical, optical or electronic indicators have been proposed for warning users of disposable personal respirators, powered air purifying respirators, haz-mat suits and other protective devices of the presence of undesired materials. For example, an end-of-service-life indicator ("ESLI") can warn that a filter element in such a device may be approaching saturation or may be ineffective against a particular material. Patents and applications relating to personal protection or respiratory protection (and in some instances to sensors or indicators in general or to ESLIs in particular) include U.S. Pat. No. 1,537,519 (Yablick), U.S. Pat No. 3,966,440 (Roberts), U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,887 (Magnante), U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,586 (Jones et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,358 (McAllister et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,514 (Eian), U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,719 (Burleigh), U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,706 (Jones), U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,942 (Meathrel), U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,380 (Leichnitz), U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,594 (Stetter), U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,544 (May et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,774 (Fehlauer), U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,554 (Vo-Dinh), U.S. Pat. No. 5,512,882 (Stetter et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,949 (Debe et al. '949), U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,296 (Debe et al. '296), U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,725B1 (Bernard et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,756B1 (Curado et al.) and U.S Pat. No. 6,701,864 B2 (Watson, Jr. et al.); US. Patent Application Publication Nos. US 2004/0135684 A1 (Steinthal et al.), US 2004/0189982 A1 (Galarneau et al.), US 2004/0223876 A1 (Kirollos et al.) and US 2005/0188749 A1 (Custer et al.); and PCT Published Patent Application No. WO 2004/057314 A2.

Organic vapor sorbent protective device with thin-film indicator


According to one embodiment of the invention, a method for managing security for an organization is provided. The method includes receiving a plurality of requests from a plurality of parties. Each request is a request for permission to implement a deviation from a security rule. Each request includes a statement describing a benefit associated with the deviation. The method also includes determining a risk associated with the deviation. The method also includes deciding whether to approve each request based on the determined risk and the statement. The method also includes storing the requests and a status of each request. The status indicates whether the request is approved. The stored requests includes at least one approved request. The method also includes deciding, after a predetermined time period, whether to continue an approval of the approved request.

An organization may adopt different measures as part of its security program to ensure that its tangible and intangible properties are protected. For example, a company may use a firewall for network protection, security guards for protection of physical locations, and access cards to control access to sensitive areas. To control and standardize many aspects of an organization's security, a security policy is generally promulgated within the organization with the expectation that the policy will be properly implemented by those within the organization.
As the organization expands and branches out to diverse and sometimes unrelated fields, the organization's security policy may become increasingly difficult to implement. Further, because of the diverse and often competing needs of different parties in an organization, it may be difficult to formulate a security policy that allows all parties within the organization to engage in their respective activities without unduly hindering some of the group from their activities or exposing some of the groups to an unacceptable level of security risk.

Method and system for security control in an organization

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


This invention relates to isolated nucleic acid fragments encoding all or a substantial portion of a corn 4-.alpha.-glucanotransferase. The invention also relates to the construction of chimeric genes encoding all or a portion of a corn 4-.alpha.-glucanotransferase, in sense or antisense orientation, wherein expression of the chimeric gene results in production of altered levels of corn 4-.alpha.-glucanotransferase in a transformed host cell.

Corn starch is an important component of food, feed, and industrial products. Broadly speaking, it consists of two types of glucan polymers: relatively long chained polymers with few branches known as amylose, and shorter chained but highly branched molecules called amylopectin. Its biosynthesis depends on the complex interaction of multiple enzymes (Smith, A. et al., (1995) Plant Physiol. 107:673-677; Preiss, J., (1988) Biochemistry of Plants 14:181-253). Chief among these are ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, which catalyzes the formation of ADP-glucose; a series of starch synthases which use ADP glucose as a substrate for polymer formation using a-1-4 linkages; and several starch branching enzymes, which modify the polymer by transferring segments of polymer to other parts of the polymer using a-1-6 linkages, creating branched structures. However, based on data from other starch forming plants such as potato, and on corn mutants, it is becoming clear that other enzymes also play a role in the determination of the final structure of starch. In particular, debranching and disproportionating enzymes not only participate in starch degradation, but also in modification of starch structure during its biosynthesis. Different models for this action have been proposed, but all share the concept that such activities, or lack thereof, change the structure of the starch produced.
This is of applied interest because changes in starch structure, such as the relative amounts of amylose and amylopectin or the degree and length of branching of amylopectin, alter its function in cooking and industrial processes. For example, starch derived from different naturally occurring mutants of corn can be shown on the one hand to differ in structure and correspondingly to differ in functional assays such as Rapid Visco analysis, which measures changes in viscosity as starch is heated and then cooled (Walker, C. E., (1988) Cereal Foods World 33:491-494). The interplay of different enzymes to produce different structures, and in turn how different structures correlate with different functionalities, is not yet completely understood. However, it is understood that changing starch structure will result in alteration in starch function which can in turn lead to new applications or reduced processing costs (certain starch functionalities can at present only be attained through expensive chemical modification of the starch).
The role of corn 4-.alpha.-glucanotransferase (EC 18.104.22.168; also known as "disproportionating enzyme") in starch biosynthesis, in particular in affecting the degree of branching, indicates that over-expression or reduction of expression of such genes in corn could be used to alter branch chain distribution of corn starch. While 4-.alpha.-glucanotransferase genes have been described from other plants (Takaha et al., (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268:1391-1396), a 4 .alpha.-glucanotransferase gene has yet to be described for corn.


A process for forming a mode size converter with an out-of-plane taper formed during deposition with a shadow mask is disclosed. Mode-size converters according to the present invention can have any number of configurations. Measured coupling efficiencies for waveguides with mode size converters according to the present invention show marked improvement.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical coupling into a planar waveguide and, in particular, to a mode size converter for coupling light into and out of a planar waveguide and to efficiently transform guided light within continuous waveguide structures.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The increasing prevalence of fiber optic communications systems has created an unprecedented demand for devices for processing optical signals. Planar devices such as optical waveguides, couplers, splitters, and amplifiers, fabricated on planar substrates, like those commonly used for integrated circuits, and configured to receive and process signals from optical fibers are highly desirable. Such devices hold promise for integrated optical and electronic signal processing on a single semiconductor-like substance.
The basic design of planar optical waveguides and amplifiers is well known, as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,119,460 and 5,563,979 to Bruce et al., 5,613,995 to Bhandarkar et al., 5,900,057 to Buchal et al., and 5,107,538 to Benton et al., to cite only a few. These devices, very generally, include a core region, typically bar shaped, of a certain refractive index surrounded by a cladding region of a lower refractive index. In the case of an optical amplifier, the core region includes a certain concentration of a dopant, typically a rare earth ion such as an erbium or praseodymium ion which, when pumped by a laser, fluoresces, for example, in the 1550 nm and 1300 nm wavelength ranges used for optical communication, to amplify the optical signal passing through the core.
Many designs have been disclosed for the purpose of mode size or spot size conversion in planar optical wave guide devices. In general, a change in the core of the wave guide, either to it's index or to it's cross sectional dimensions, over a suitably long distance is utilized to effect a change in the mode size or mode order of the guided light wave. The requirement for gradual change in the properties that govern the mode size is well understood with regard to efficient or 'adiabatic' transformation, which results in loss-less conversion of the guided light to a mode having transformed properties such as size, order, shape or propagation constant.
In practice however, it is difficult to change the dimensions of a planar wave guide without loss due to roughness or to non-uniform changes in the wave guide. In particular, sufficiently slowly varying dimensions with a sufficiently smooth surface, so that the light is efficiently converted in its modal properties, without scattering or loss due to roughness or to non-uniform changes in the dimensions or index of the wave guide is very hard to achieve, particularly for high contrast or refractory wave guide materials.
In-plane (i.e., in the plane of the substrate) as well as out-of-plane (i.e., perpendicular to the plane of the substrate) tapers can be achieved by lithographic and etching means. However, it is difficult to achieve sufficiently uniform results for a portion of a film or wave guide tapered over a few mm to a few cm regions across, for instance, a production silicon wafer having dimensions of 100 to 300 mm.
Therefore, there is a need for tapered waveguides with low surface roughness in order to provide mode size conversion with low coupling loss.

Mode size converter for a planar waveguide


According to an aspect of the present invention, a liquid crystal display panel includes a pixel array including data lines through which a data voltage is supplied, gate lines through which a gate pulse is supplied, a plurality of sub-pixels arranged at intersections of the data lines and the gate lines, Tx lines provided with a touch driving signal and connected to Tx electrodes, and Rx lines connected to Rx electrodes, wherein an shield area including an shield pattern to which a voltage at a level different from the data voltage and the touch driving signal is supplied is formed between each of the Tx electrodes and each of the Rx electrodes.

1. Field
This document relates to a liquid crystal display panel including a touch sensor and a liquid crystal display using the same.
2. Related Art
A user interface (UI) enables communication between a person (user) and various electric and electronic devices such that the user can easily control the electric and electronic devices. Typical examples of the user interface include a keypad, a keyboard, a mouse, an on-screen display (OSD), a remote controller having an infrared or RF communication function, etc. Recently, the user interface has been evolved to a touch UI, a speech recognition UI, etc., which can improve user's emotion and convenience of operation. The touch UI is installed in portable information devices. To implement the touch UI, a touch panel capable of recognizing a user touch is required.
A capacitive touch panel can be applied to various applications because it has durability and visibility of a display image higher than those of a resistive touch panel and can recognize multi-touch and proximity touch. The capacitive touch panel recognizes a touch by applying a touch driving signal to transmitter (Tx) electrodes and then sensing charges generated due to a voltage variation in receiver (Rx) electrodes using mutual capacitance generated between the Tx electrodes and Rx electrodes.
The capacitive touch panel can be implemented as an on-cell type touch panel having capacitance sensors formed on a display panel or an in-cell type including the capacitance sensors formed in a display panel. In the case of the in-cell type, since Tx electrodes are separated from Rx electrodes, liquid crystal electric field for driving sub-pixels overlapped on a Tx electrode is affected by a data voltage supplied through a data line to drive sub-pixels overlapped on an Rx electrode adjacent to the Tx electrode. For example, liquid crystal electric field for driving the sub-pixels overlapped on the Tx electrode is affected by the data voltage supplied through the data line to drive the sub-pixels superposed on the Rx electrode adjacent to the Tx electrode to result in "black gray level light leakage", which cannot represent black gray level even though black gray level voltage is applied.

Liquid crystal display panel including touch sensor and liquid crystal display using the same


An exemplary device for providing electric service is disclosed. The exemplary device includes a housing, and a meter receptacle having a supply side an a load side. The meter receptacle can connect between a power source at the supply side and a facility at the load side, and can receive an electric load device. A switch connects to the meter receptacle and has a construction power position in which is disconnects the electrical connection between the facility and the power source, and a permanent power position in which it connects the facility and the power source. The device has one or more outlets that can connect to the power source at least when the switch is in the construction power position. The device also has a switch position indicator that can indicate whether the switch is in the construction power position or the permanent power position.

Construction sites typically require a source of electricity to provide power for various devices and uses such as, for example, electrical tools, lighting, and other equipment that may be used at the construction site. During this time, the electricity may be referred to as temporary power or construction power, and such power is generally provided at a construction site by way of a temporary connection to an electrical distribution system or power grid either through an overhead or underground connection. Depending on the regulatory rules that are in force where the construction power is being provided, construction power may be provided solely as unmetered construction power, solely as metered construction power, or as either metered or unmetered construction power.
Prior devices and methods have been used to provide construction power. These prior devices and methods suffer from numerous problems and disadvantages, especially for builders, developers, and contractors. For example, temporary power connections and installations at a construction site are often labor-intensive, time consuming, difficult to install and secure, dangerous, and difficult to maintain. Furthermore, the process of requesting a power connection is a time consuming process that may take an average of 7 to 10 days. Since the timing of power availability is uncertain for the builder, the builder is unable to effectively and efficiently plan and utilize resources toward the construction project.
In a typical procedure for obtaining construction power, a builder installs a temporary service pole (i.e., a structure having the desired wiring), and requests the local inspection authority to inspect the pole, the wiring and the installation. If the structure is not approved by the inspector, then a red tag, indicating a failed inspection, is placed on the temporary service pole. At that time the builder's electrician is responsible for fixing the problematic portions of the temporary service pole. The builder then requests a subsequent inspection by the local inspection authority. If the inspector approves the temporary service pole, then a green tag is placed on the structure and an approval form is sent by the inspector to the power company that indicates that power may now be connected to the temporary service pole. A similar procedure must be followed when obtaining permanent power to a facility after construction is complete.
The numerous and various problems and disadvantages discussed above and suffered by builders have been exacerbated with the advent of electricity deregulation, which has been implemented throughout numerous countries and in various regions of other countries. Deregulation complicates and increases the difficulties of providing construction power because, often, numerous additional entities become part of the process of setting up, inspecting, approving, and transferring power from construction power to permanent metered power. Further, in regions where electricity is deregulated, an electric service delivery point reference number must be obtained before a meter is ever installed, whether for construction power or permanent power. Depending on the regulatory scheme and regulatory rules, the electric service delivery point reference number may be obtained, for example, from an Independent System Operator ("ISO"), a Transmission Distribution Service Provider ("TDSP"), or by contacting a Retail Electric Provider ("REP").
In Texas, for example, the electric service delivery point reference number is referred to as an ESI-ID and can only be established through the TDSP contacting the ISO. These ESI-IDs are used by the ISO, known in Texas as the Electric Reliability Council of Texas ("ERCOT"), to clearly identify every point of electricity delivery, including temporary service or construction service. The electric service delivery point reference number is important in that it identifies each meter to the ISO, the TDSP, and the applicable REP. A temporary ESI-ID must be obtained for a construction power installation for temporary power. This further prolongs the process because an ESI-ID will also have to be obtained for each facility that is being constructed by the builder at the construction site.
Upon completion of construction at the site there is a need for a final inspection by the inspection authority to ensure that every built structure meets the local building codes. After this inspection the builder has to request permanent power for the structure. This request initiates a second setup of an ESI-ID at the residence. This second ESI-ID can often cause confusion for the ISO, the REP, and the TDSP because there is nothing that specifically identifies an ESI-ID as temporary or permanent and therefore power activation or termination can be easily confused. When the inspection approval form is received by the TDSP from the inspection authority and a request has been made for power at the site, the TDSP schedules the activation of service. The TDSP runs power either overhead or in conduit underground to the permanent meter base. This process can be riddled with problems because the TDSP needs a cleared right of way between the power supply transformer and the meter base. If this right of way is not cleared then a postponement will occur in the activation of permanent power. Keeping a clear right of way is difficult during construction because building materials are constantly being drop shipped to the site in order to complete the project. And the power company typically gives a 21 day window in which it will perform the distribution of power to the permanent location.
The request for permanent power is a time consuming process that takes an average of 7 to 10 days if no problems arise, and may range from 3 to 30 days in other cases. Since the timing of power availability is uncertain, the builder is unable to effectively perform circuit and system tests and complete the finishing work on the building. This is also a critical time for home builder because the home is essentially complete, but because power has not been established at the property, the property cannot be turned over to the new owners. This causes a loss of interest on the capital investment by the builder.
As is clear, numerous problems and disadvantages exist with current devices and methods for establishing and providing construction power at a construction site and then transitioning to providing permanent power at the constructed facility.

Device and method for providing electric service


Anti-idiotypic antibodies which recognise the idiotope of an antibody specific for a yeast killer toxin possess microbicidal activity. Fragments (e.g. decapeptides) of these anti-idiotypic antibodies, particularly those comprising CDR residues, also show microbicidal activity, as do peptides having 5 the same sequence but composed of D-amino acids, or including amino acid substitutions. Peptidomimetics of these microbicidal polypeptides are also provided. Antiviral activity is also seen.

Killer toxins (KTs) are proteins secreted by yeasts which are able to kill other yeasts or microorganisms which compete in nature for the same ecological niche [1]. Although they are attractive therapeutic tools, due to their wide spectrum of microbicidal activity, they are of no practical use because of their instability in the host physiological milieu as well as their antigenicity and toxicity. Instead, the use of anti-idiotypic antibodies which mimic KTs has been shown to be effective.
The killer toxin from Pichia anomala ('PaKT') has a wide spectrum of microbicidal activity against pathogens including Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Pneumocystis carinii, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus [2, 3, 4]. This observation has been exploited by the generation of a PaKT-neutralizing monoclonal antibody in mice (mAb KT4) [5] whose idiotype (Id) is able to induce the production of anti-idiotypic antibodies (antilds) [6, 7, 8]. These antilds represent the internal image of the active PaKT domain and as such exert its biological activities, including binding to the PaKT receptor (KTR) of susceptible microorganisms and broad spectrum microbicidal activity overlapping that of PaKT (FIG. 1).
Experimental animals in which these antibodies (′KTIdAb ) are raised by idiotypic vaccination with mAb KT4 have repeatedly been shown to be protected against mucosal or systemic challenges by C.albicans [7, 8]. There is also ample evidence of susceptibility in vitro to KTIdAb by diverse microbial pathogens such as M.tuberculosis (including multidrug resistant strains), P.carinii, and others [4, 9].
Idiotypic theory (FIG. 1) also predicted that antibodies against PaKT receptors would mimic PaKT activity. This has been demonstrated in animals and humans during the course of experimental and natural infections caused by PaKT-sensitive microorganisms [10]. Human natural anti-KTR antibodies have been shown to have microbicidal activity in vitro against C.albicans, M.tuberuclosis, and P.carinii, to inhibit P.carinii infectivity of nude rats, and to be protective against passive transfer in vivo, in an experimental model of rat vaginal candidiasis [4, 10, 11].
Based on these results, and in order to obtain standard KTldAb in sufficient amounts, rat monoclonal IgM (mAb K10) and mouse single-chain Fv (scFv H6) microbicidal antibodies have been obtained [12, 13]. These two antibodies have strong microbicidal effects in vitro against important pathogenic microorganisms including: C.albicans [12, 13]; C.krusei and C.glabrata (including fluconazole-resistant strains); Cryptococcus neoformans; A. fumigalus [14]; M.tuberculosis [4]; S.aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, E.faecium, and Streptococcus pneumoniae (including methicillin-, vancomycin- and penicillin-resistant strains) [15], S.mutans, Leishmania major, L.infantum and Achantamoeba castellani. Furthermore, they showed specific therapeutic activity in an experimental model of rat vaginal candidiasis by intravaginal administration [13]. In addition, K10 proved to be therapeutic against P.carinii pneumonia in rats infected by aerosol administration [16], and in mice transplanted with T cell depleted bone marrow against aspergillosis caused by nasal instillation [14].
Although the existence of scFv H6 has been reported, a method for its manufacture has not previously been disclosed, and nor has its amino acid sequence.
It is an object of the invention to provide further and improved antimicrobial and/or antiviral compounds.

Toxin-related antibodies with antimicrobial and antiviral activity


A method of powering one or more electronic devices in a tire monitoring system using a tire pressure based energy scavenger is provided. With this method, a tire is rotated on a surface to generate pressure changes within the tire. These pressure changes are then converted into electrical energy with a transducer and the energy is stored. The electrical energy or stored electrical energy can then be used to power one or more electronic devices in a tire monitoring system, such as a tire pressure sensor, temperature sensor, acceleration profile sensor, and/or a tire wear monitor. A tire monitoring system with a tire pressure based energy scavenger is also provided.

The concept of scavenging or harvesting energy from the environment has long been utilized in the form of wind, water, and solar energy. More recently, by means of suitable transducers, other forms of energy can also be gathered and transformed into electrical energy.
Various materials are used in energy harvesters. For example, transducers utilizing piezoelectric materials use the piezoelectric effect to affect the change between electrical energy and flexural or vibration changes, see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,771,007. Also available are pyroelectric transducers, which use temperature changes to effect the generation of electrical power, see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,528,898.
The use of piezoelectric transducers to generate electrical power from movement has been a goal in the defense industry where energy can be generated simply from walking, via a heel-strike transducer, to power man-portable electronic devices, see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,768,246. Such self-powered devices have also been proposed as motion detectors to send a signal when significant vibration occurs, see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,801,475. In the biomedical field, M. J. Ramsay et al. proposed using piezoelectric transducers to harvest energy from biological functions, in this case, fluctuations in blood pressure, to generate small amounts of electrical power, see, "Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting for Bio MEMS Applications", Smart Structures and Materials 2001: Industrial and Commercial Applications of Smart Structures Technologies, Anna-Maria McGowan (Ed.), Proceedings, SPIE Vol. 4332 (2001), p. 429.
In-tire electronics is another field where there has been much interest in energy scavenging and generation. Currently, tire monitoring devices are mounted within the wheel to monitor, for example, tire pressure, wheel imbalance, or tire wear. Powering these devices generally requires the use of batteries. The downside is that batteries have a restricted lifespan, add to the weight of the device, require additional wheel balancing, and do not operate well at the temperature extremes (−40° C. and 125° C.) encountered in this application.
Efforts have been made to investigate alternative methods of providing electrical power to these tire monitoring devices. One method, which is sometimes referred to as the passive approach, uses devices such as SAW filters. The filters are positioned in or on the wheel so that they can be activated by an external electromagnetic field and can then respond with information on the status of the wheel/tire, see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,571. Another method involves scavenging energy from the tire or wheel, in the form of vibrations or flexing of the tire wall. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,407,484 makes use of the motion of the tire; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20040100100 discloses a coil and magnet device attached to the wheel and the tire inner wall; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,847,126 harvests static electricity built up during the motion of the tire.
In addition, various designs and configurations for scavenging energy from the motion of the wheel or tire have been proposed, see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,725,713, 6,807,523, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20040211250. These consist primarily of piezoelectric structures embedded within the tire, which are flexed when the tire rotates. U.S. Pat. No. 6,175,302 discloses mounting such a piezoelectric structure separately in a tire valve. As is known in the art, the electrical energy thus produced can be stored by a variety of means, see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,703,474.
As one skilled in the art will appreciate, there is a continuing need for better, more cost-effective power scavengers for use in tire monitoring devices. Accordingly, there is a need in the art to develop new, efficient power scavengers for use in these devices.

Power generation utilizing tire pressure changes


Information is coded and segmented into a plurality of sub-packets. Each sub-packet contains identification information and a one-bit information status flag indicating whether the information is ‘new’ information or ‘continue’ information. The information to be transmitted is then applied to a scheduling algorithm that determines when the information is to be transmitted, how much information is to be transmitted and how many attempts at a successful transmission of the information is allowed. In this manner, the transmission of information can be performed in an asynchronous manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for an Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) technique for communication systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
The quality of communication channels within communication systems determines the efficiency of the communication system. One measure of efficiency is the system's throughput. The throughput is the amount of information that is successfully transmitted and received in a communication system for a defined period of time. It is therefore a goal of service providers (owners and operators of communication systems) to have as many of their communication channels as possible operating at an acceptable throughput.
In wireless communication systems, the communication channels used by a subscriber of such a system are commonly known as the air interface. The air interface is used for the exchange of information between a mobile (e.g., cell phone) and a base station or other communication system equipment. The air interface comprises a plurality of communication channels. The quality of any one of the channels of the air interface varies. Thus, for example, any particular channel between the base station and a mobile may have an acceptable throughput at one instant and unacceptable throughput at another instant. Service providers not only want to maintain the throughput of their air interface at an acceptable level, but also want to increase the throughput as much as possible.
Many times the information transmitted through a relatively low quality communication channel is adversely affected to such an extent that the information contains errors when received. In an effort to increase the throughput of such channels, communication systems apply the technique of retransmission of information. Transmitting equipment retransmits the information to receiving equipment a certain number of times to increase the likelihood that the information, once received, contains no errors or contains an acceptable number of errors. The receiving equipment can be either system equipment such as a base station or subscriber equipment such as a cell phone. Similarly, the transmitting equipment can also be system equipment or subscriber equipment. System equipment is any equipment owned and operated by the service provider.
A widely used technique for the retransmission of information due to errors detected at the receiving equipment is called Automatic Retransmission Request (ARQ). The ARQ method is a technique of confirming that information transmitted through a communication channel has been received without any errors. Receiving equipment sends a message to transmitting equipment confirming that the transmitted information was received without errors. If the transmitted information was received with errors, the receiving equipment sends a message to the transmitting equipment asking the transmitter to retransmit the information. The transmitter can retransmit all or part of the previously transmitted information using the same or different channel coding.
ARQ is typically used in concert with channel coding. Channel coding is the creation of redundancy in the transmitted information to allow receiving equipment to check as well as correct for errors. Also, the receiving equipment performs a corresponding decoding operation to obtain the information. The decoding operation is performed by a decoder. Two of the main ARQ methods are the Selective Retransmit (SR) protocol and the Stop-and-Wait protocol. In both SR ARQ and Stop-and-Wait ARQ, the concept of Incremental Redundancy (IR) is used. Incremental Redundancy (IR) and/or soft combining, are techniques used to improve the efficiency of ARQ. In IR, the receiving equipment attempts to combine, in the decoder, retransmitted information along with earlier transmissions of the same information that used the same or different coding. The decoding of combined information improves the performance of the decoding operation and increases the likelihood of successful decoding; decoding of combined information reduces the number of retransmissions that would be required to successfully receive the transmitted information. In the prior art, IR schemes that operate with SR ARQ and with Stop-and-Wait ARQ have been defined.
In the IR scheme operating with SR ARQ, data is typically encoded, formatted and packaged as packets comprising payload, header and trailer portions. The trailer and header portions are overhead in that they do not contain subscriber information; they contain information identifying the subscriber (i.e., identification information) and information on how to process the packet (i.e., process information). The information identifying the particular subscriber from whom the information in the payload of the packet originated is kept in the header. Also, the header contains information on how to soft combine, at the decoder, the received packets so as to properly decode the payload information.
An arbitrary number of copies of each block of information can be sent so that the original information can be derived from one or from a combination of the received packets of information. Different subscribers can transmit different amounts of information and at different rates. As described above, however, much information is needed to describe how the information is to be processed once it is received. The SR protocol is not bandwidth efficient because of the excessive overhead information. However, without the use of the header information, the receiving equipment is not able to identify, and properly combine and decode the received packets of information. To reduce the likelihood that the header information is contaminated resulting in errors, the header portion of the packets is heavily coded. The heavy coding is more robust coding that requires more redundancy to be added to the header information. Thus, the heavy coding creates even more overhead which reduces the throughput of the communication channels thus reducing the efficiency of the communication system.
In the IR scheme with Stop-and-Wait ARQ protocol, a block of information is coded into n packets where n is an integer equal to 2 or greater. Each one of the packets by itself or in combination with another packet or a portion of another packet can be used to decode the original block of information. One or more of the packets are transmitted during a time slot(s) assigned to a particular subscriber. The transmitted packets are received and decoded. If the decoding was successful (i.e., no errors detected or an acceptable number of errors detected), the receiving equipment transmits an ACK (ACKnowledge) message to the transmitting equipment indicating that the information was properly decoded and that a new block of information can be transmitted. If the decoding was unsuccessful (i.e., error detected or an unacceptable number of errors detected), the receiving equipment transmits a NACK (Negative ACKnowledge) which is an indication to the transmitting equipment to retransmit another group of packets (or another single packet) representing the same block of information. The ACK message is thus an example of a positive confirmation message and the NACK message is an example of a negative confirmation message. Upon reception of a NACK message the receiving equipment stores the received error-containing packet. The receiving equipment will attempt to combine this stored packet with subsequent repeat packet transmissions for the same block of information, to properly decode the information within such block. The ACK or NACK confirmation messages are hereinafter referred to as the ACK/NACK messages.
The receiving equipment transmits the ACK/NACK message following the reception of a packet in a particular time slot assigned to a subscriber. Thus, the ACK/NACK messages are transmitted in accordance with a particular timing relationship to the packet reception. The transmit equipment associates a particular ACK/NACK message with a particular packet transmission based on the time slot or the time period within which such a message was received. For example, an ACK/NACK message received during slot period m corresponds to a packet transmission in slot m-k, where k represents a particular number (including fractions of time slots) of time slots which is fixed by the communication system; m is an integer equal to 1 or greater an k is a number greater than zero. The number of time slots represented by k is a roundtrip delay for transmitting equipment representing the time elapsed between a transmission of a packet and the reception of a responding ACK/NACK message.
Upon receipt of a NACK (in a particular time slot) in response to a packet transmission, the transmitting equipment transmits a repeat packet representing the same block of information. The transmitting equipment transmits the repeat packet transmission a certain number of time slots following the receipt of the ACK/NACK message. Thus, the repeat packet is transmitted in accordance with a particular timing relationship to the received ACK/NACK message.
The receive equipment associates a particular repeat packet transmission with a ACK/NACK message based on the time slot or the time period within which such a message was received. For example, a repeat packet transmission received during slot period n corresponds to a ACK/NACK message transmitted in slot n-j, where j represents a certain number (including fractions of time slots) of time slots which is fixed by the communication system; n is an integer equal to 1 or greater and j is a number greater than zero. The number of time slots represented by j is a roundtrip delay for receiving equipment representing the time elapsed between the transmission of an ACK/NACK message and the reception of a repeat packet. Therefore, there is no need to transmit identification information in the headers of the packets because the packets can be identified and soft combined based on the time slot in which they were received.
The Stop-and-Wait protocol in the prior art is thus a Synchronous Protocol in that the repeat packet transmission are transmitted within a strict timing relationship (defined by the communication system) between transmitting equipment and receiving equipment. Consecutive packet transmissions of the same block of data are separated by a time period usually expressed in terms of number of slots where such time period is constant. In sum, when a transmission is made, an ACK/NACK message indicating a NACK (or ACK) followed by a repeated packet transmission (or a new packet transmission) must be transmitted a certain fixed number of slots later.
The Stop-and-Wait protocol as implemented in the prior art, has several drawbacks stemming from its synchronous nature and the manner in which it is typically implemented. Because of the strict timing relationship imposed on the transmissions, it is very difficult to accommodate different subscribers having different transmission rates or different roundtrip delays. Subscribers having different transmission rates transmit (or receive) information within different number of assigned consecutive time slots. For example, some subscribers use three time slots to transmit (or receive) their block of information while others use only one time slot. The transmission roundtrip delay is the amount of time elapsed between consecutive transmission of packets or group of packets. In the Stop-and-Wait protocol, the transmission roundtrip delay is kept fixed.
When a packet associated with a particular subscriber is transmitted, the transmitting equipment expects to receive an ACK or NACK within a certain number of time slots later, i.e., the ACK/NACK messages have a fixed roundtrip delay. Once the transmitting equipment receives the ACK/NACK message it transmits a new packet or transmits a repeat packet, i.e., a packet containing previously transmitted information. During the time period between transmissions, other transmissions (associated with other subscribers) can occur. However, due to a fixed transmission roundtrip delay, once the number of slots equaling the transmission roundtrip delay has elapsed, the next slot must be used for a new packet or a repeat packet transmission because the slot is reserved for such purpose. In other words, the other transmissions must be completed prior to the occurrence of the time slot reserved for the transmission of packets associated with a particular subscriber. The transmitting equipment is thus constrained to transmitting packets at predefined times for a particular subscriber. The constraint on time of transmission removes a great amount of flexibility from the transmitting equipment to transmit information during times of favorable channel conditions. Many communication systems have the capability to monitor the quality of their communication channels. It would be desirable for the transmitting equipment to either postpone or delay the transmission of information through a particular channel until that channel has favorable conditions. In this manner, the communication system can improve its throughput. However, because of the strict timing relationship imposed by the Stop-and-Wait protocol, the transmitting equipment, many times, is unable to take advantage of favorable channel conditions.
Another drawback with the Stop-and-Wait protocol is that it is not adaptable to changing channel conditions because the number of initial transmissions or retransmissions is fixed. In many cases the quality of a communication channel is such that a relatively large number of attempts, i.e., retransmissions, is needed to transmit an initial packet successfully. Depending on the channel conditions, the number of transmissions necessary to successfully transmit a packet may be more than what is allocated for that packet. When the number of attempts surpasses the number allocated, the subscriber is either dropped from the system or the block of information containing errors is accepted raising the error rate of the communication channel.
Therefore, what is needed is an ARQ technique that accommodates different subscribers having different transmission rates, different information lengths and different roundtrip delays. What is further needed is an ARQ technique which allows the transmitting equipment to schedule its transmissions during favorable channel conditions whenever possible so as to increase the throughput of that channel and thus the overall throughput of the communication system.

Method and apparatus for asynchronous incremental redundancy transmission in a communication system


A blood analysis apparatus configured such that a nozzle sucks a predetermined amount of a blood specimen in a specimen container, and dispenses the specimen to each blood cell counting part which obtains count data, and a control part processes the count data to perform blood analysis. In this apparatus, two or more blood cell counting parts (basophil counting part, LMNE counting part, red blood cell counting part, white blood cell counting part) are constituted to obtain the count data of the same particular blood cell type (white blood cells), and the control part calculates the ratio or number of the existing blood cell from each count data, and judges whether the amount of the blood specimen sucked in the nozzle is normal or insufficient by comparing respective calculation results to determine whether they are within the predetermined allowable ranges.

Red blood cells, platelets and white blood cells, which are blood cells, change in number variously reflecting the condition of the living body. For example, red blood cells are mainly involved in the transportation of oxygen and change in number according to symptoms such as anemia, polycytemia and the like. In acute leukemia, moreover, red blood cells, platelets and neutrophils decrease and, among white blood cells, when blast cells, which are supposed to become granulocytes, become cancerous and blast cells are present in not less than 3%, acute myeloid leukemia develops, and when lymphocytes become cancerous and blast cells are present in less than 3%, acute lymphocytic leukemia develops.
Thus, the ratio of blood cells varies depending on the disease.
Therefore, blood analysis involving counting the blood cells according to the kind thereof, and determining the frequency distribution relating to the number, form, ratio and the like, is an important measurement for diagnosis in medical care and the like.
As methods for counting blood cells in a blood specimen (blood cell counting method), an impedance method utilizing changes in electrical characteristics, flow cytometry which is an optical technique, a light-focused flow impedance method which is a combination of the aforementioned impedance method and flow cytometry and the like are known, and blood cell counting apparatuses (blood analysis apparatuses) configured to perform these methods are also known.
Counting in the field of blood analysis means not only the simple counting of blood cells but also measuring which particles having what volume are present and in what number.
Moreover, a hemolysis treatment, a contraction treatment, a staining treatment and the like are applied as appropriate to a blood specimen to distinguish red blood cells from white blood cells, and further classifying white blood cells, neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, monocytes and lymphocytes and counting them (what is called the classification of white blood cells into 5 types).
The mechanism of FIG. 1 is the mechanism of the main part of the blood analysis apparatus configured to count red blood cells and classify white blood cells into 5 types. As shown in FIG. 1, when a specimen container 1 containing a blood specimen is set at a predetermined position, a sampling nozzle 2 (a long and thin pipe which is also called a "needle") moves to suck the blood specimen in the specimen container 1, and discharges the same into each chamber (31, 32, 33, 34) in exclusive blood cell counting part 3, after which a counting device formed in or connected to the chamber obtains measurement data, and a control part (not shown) processes the measurement data and analyzes the frequency distribution and the like. Each blood cell counting part is composed of a chamber, which is a container receiving a blood specimen, and includes the device for performing the above-mentioned impedance method, flow cytometry and light-focused flow impedance method according to the blood cells to be counted, which operates according to the control part (e.g., computer). The obtained count data are sent to the control part. The details of each blood cell counting part are as mentioned below.
The sampling nozzle can move vertically and downwardly-upwardly due to the probe unit 6 provided with a moving mechanism 61 and a horizontally moving mechanism 62. The movements of inserting the sampling nozzle into the specimen container and each chamber to perform sucking and discharge are controlled by the control part (e.g., computer).
In a preferable embodiment, chambers formed to constitute each blood cell counting part include, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, BASO chamber 31 in the basophil counting part, a chamber 32 of the blood cell counting part for counting lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils and eosinophils, RBC chamber 33 in the red blood cell counting part, and WBC chamber 34 in the white blood cell counting part (for white blood cell counting, HGB analysis).
In the following explanation, the blood cell counting part for counting the aforementioned lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils and eosinophils is also referred to as a "LMNE counting part", taking each first letter from "lymphocyte", "monocyte", "neutrophil" and "eosinophil". Also, chamber 32 in FIG. 1, which is formed in the LMNE counting part, is also referred to as a "LMNE chamber". In the embodiment of FIG. 3, a flow cell (not shown) is connected to the LMNE chamber 32, and adapted to perform a necessary treatment with a reagent, performing the above-mentioned light-focused flow impedance method in the flow cell, and counting the aforementioned lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils and eosinophils.
In FIG. 1, the chamber shown by symbol 7 is a cleaning chamber for blood cell counting wherein the blood adhered to the sampling nozzle (hereinafter to be also referred to as "nozzle") is washed or cleaned, or an excess blood specimen in the nozzle is discarded.
In the blood analysis apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the nozzle 2, as shown in FIG. 2, sucks a predetermined amount of a blood specimen 100 into its long and thin conduit at one time, and discharges the same into each chamber in the blood cell counting part 3. To be more specific, the blood specimen in the first section A1 of the nozzle is discharged into a WBC chamber 34, the blood specimen in the second section A2 is discharged into a BASO chamber 31, and the blood specimen in the third section A3 is discharged into an LMNE chamber 32.
In each blood cell counting part containing the dispensed blood specimen, the count data specific to each blood cell counting part is obtained under the control of the control part, the count data obtained from each blood cell counting part are processed in the control part (not shown), and each of the object blood cells is analyzed for the frequency distribution and the like.
To precisely perform sucking, dispensing and discharging a predetermined amount of a blood specimen, the nozzle 2 is connected to a quantitative pump (not shown), and a working fluid 110 such as a diluting liquid and the like is filled in a conduit line between the nozzle 2 and the quantitative pump, whereby a sucking force F1 by the quantitative pump and a discharging force F2 can be accurately transmitted to the nozzle (FIG. 2). A predetermined amount of air 120 is interposed between the working fluid 110 and the blood specimen 100, whereby the working fluid 110 is separated from the blood specimen 100 (FIG. 2).
A method and mechanism thereof for dividing the predetermined amount of the blood specimen 100 sucked in the nozzle at predetermined ratios in the longitudinal direction of the conduit and sequentially dispensing the same in the chambers in each blood cell counting part are explained in detail in, for example, JP-A-11-218538.
As mentioned above, a problem associated with sucking a predetermined amount of a blood specimen in a sampling nozzle and dispensing the same in each blood cell counting part is a phenomenon of insufficient sucking of a blood specimen in the nozzle (insufficient specimen-sucking amount, also called sample short). This phenomenon includes not only a simple failure of a blood specimen to reach a predetermined height of the sampling nozzle, but also mixing of air bubble(s) in the middle part of the nozzle to cause insufficient specimen-sucking amount even when the blood specimen has reached a predetermined height of the sampling nozzle.
The insufficient specimen-sucking amount is developed when the amount of a blood specimen in a specimen container is not sufficient and, as the factors on the side of the apparatus, fouling and clogging of the nozzle and piping, operation failure of the driving part and the like.
When an insufficient specimen-sucking amount occurs, the results of blood cell counting in a blood cell counting part, in which a blood specimen is not sufficiently distributed, are different from those that should have been obtained, and may lead to incorrect diagnosis. For example, in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2, when an insufficient specimen-sucking amount wherein the specimen only reaches half way up to a third section A3 of the nozzle is developed, the following occurs. That is, in the LMNE counting part wherein the blood specimen in this section is dispensed, treatments such as mixing with a predetermined quantity of a reagent, hemolysis of red blood cells, staining and fixing of the object blood cell, and transfer thereof to a flow cell are performed in an LMNE chamber and the blood cells are counted. Therefore, the results of counting become lower than those when the specimen suck amount is normal.
Conventionally, insufficiency of specimen has been pointed out as a problem of various analysis apparatuses. Solution to the problem has been sought by taking note of the specimen in a specimen container, and imaging the amount thereof for detection or confirming the sucked amount of the specimen by using a sensor. However, these measures require a new sensor and an increased number of control circuits in the analysis apparatus, thus rendering the apparatus configuration more complicated.
When a blood specimen is sucked with a sampling nozzle, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, since stainless steel with high corrosion resistance is used as a material of the nozzle, it is difficult to directly detect the amount of the blood specimen sucked in the sampling nozzle by a sensor.
The problem of the present invention is to provide a blood analysis apparatus provided with a function to determine whether the amount of a blood specimen sucked in a sampling nozzle has reached a predetermined amount or is insufficient by a new technique.


Disclosed are a sculpturing resin composition which comprise comprising a polyoctenamer resin and a polyolefin copolymer and/or a modified polyolefin resin, and a process for sculpturing a sculptured product.. The sculpturing composition has an excellent property of not shrinking even after elapse a long period of time, and is capable of being molded by hand at moderate temperatures, sculptured or shaved with a chisel, etc., and also being polished or ground with a rasp, etc., in comparison with conventional sculpturing materials.. The anti-shrinking property of the polyoctenamer resin is found to be improved specifically by the mixing with a polyolefin copolymer and/or a modified polyolefin resin.

Heretofore, materials for modeling and/or sculpturing comprising clays for the manual production of plastic representations or sculptures or the like of all types, for example, a plaster of Paris, an oil-based clay such as Plasticine [e.g., see U.S. Pat. No. 3,558,340, Japanese Unexamined Patend Publication (Kokai) No. 53436/1977, No. 36324/1979], an oil-based wheat flour [e.g., see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 111128/1976, No. 533/1977], a mixture of wood powder, hydrocarbon oil and rubber-reinforced styrene resin (e.g., see U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,976), a mixture of crushed paper or pulp and binding material (ex. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No.1117/1975, No.38427/1978), a mixture of synthesized latex, starch and bread powder (e.g., see U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,054), a mixture of polyvinyl alcohol powder and polyhydric alcohol (e.g., see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No.125446/1976), and the like, have been widely known.
The above-mentioned materials for modeling and/or sculpturing have been widely used by professional sculptors, artists, non-professional hobbyist including students or children and other workers as pliable materials.
Of the above-mentioned prior arts, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,558,340 discloses a process of coating an object of oil or wax-based modeling clay which comprises several steps.
On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,456 discloses a modeling compound which comprises polyvinyl chloride powder and alkyl polyglycol ether and kaolin, and the like.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,071 discloses a plastic compound which is deformable by hand and serves for the production of models, motifs and other kinds of plastic representations.
The plastic compound for modeling is constituted of binding agents such as polyvinyl chloride or cellulose ether or ceresin wax, plasticizers and/or solvents, as well as fillers such as aluminum hydroxide.
The above-mentioned compounds can be molded with dies or by hands, and be sculptured with a chisel or a boaster and also be polished by a rasp or a sandpaper.
However, the above-mentioned compounds have many problems and disadvantages, as described hereinafter.
For example, the compounds typically cannot be used repeatedly, and, for example, a piece of work or product in a partially broken situation cannot be repaired or reformed, that is, a change from the softened state to the solidified state is typically irreversible.
Furthermore, fine hair cracks in a piece of work or product tend to occur over a long period after solidification.
Also, thin or fine parts cannot be formed without many difficulties because of weakness of flexural strength and/or self-supporting ability.
Furthermore, there is caused a problem of dusting while handling, and generally there is a requirement of a long time for drying or solidification.
Still further, there is also a disadvantage of difficulty in painting with colored paint brightly or clearly, because of a typical lack of smoothness or the above-mentioned fine hair cracks of the surface.
Additionally, it is difficult for such piece of work or product to be colored clearly by blending pigments or dyes.
For the purpose of overcoming the above disadvantages, recently, various kinds of resins have been used.
The examples include epoxy resins, polyurethane resins, acrylic resins, and polycaprolactones.
Of the above-mentioned resins, however, epoxy resins and polyurethane resins can be used only in special uses, because of resins having irreversible hardenability.
Acrylic resins can be only sculptured or shaved in addition to its high softening temperatures; accordingly, the application scope is disadvantageously limited.
On the other hand, a lactone resin such as a polycaprolactone resin, which is a thermoplastic resin, can be softened at temperatures of approximately 60.degree. to 80.degree. C., so that the lactone resins have recently been used as a resin for modeling compound.
For example, the polycaprolactone resin for kneading and modeling compound was disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 42679/1986 [entitled "The Use of a Resin for Modeling Compound"].
Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 113457/1989 [entitled "A Resin Composition and The Use of a Resin for Modeling Compound"] and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 213353/1989 [entitled "The Use of a Resin for Modeling Compound"] disclose that the thermoplastic polycaprolactone is mixed with a chlorinated polyethylene or a chlorinated paraffin for the purpose of delaying the time to be solidified from the state of being softened.
Still further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 196090/1989 [entitled "The Use of a Resin for Modeling Compound"] disclose that the thermoplastic polycaprolactone is mixed with a polycarbonate resin for the purpose of lowering softening temperatures.
However, the caprolactone resin cannot be sculptured or shaved with a chisel or a boaster, etc., and cannot be polished with a rasp or a sandpaper because of its hardness and fine splits in spite of its moderate softening temperatures (that is, modeling temperatures) and other excellent properties.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 255151/1990 [corresponding to the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 635,721: entitled "The Material for Modeling and/or Sculpturing"] discloses that there is used a thermoplastic polyoctenamer resin mixed with an inorganic filler for the purpose of improving the ease of sculpturing, shaving and polishing with a rasp or a sandpaper, etc., without loss of its moderate softening temperatures, that is, modeling temperatures and other excellent properties.
The composition for a sculpturing material has a disadvantage of shrinking after elapse of a long period of time.

Sculpturing resin composition and process for sculpturing a sculptured product


In an elastic clutch of disk design, particularly a split flywheel for an internal combustion engine, a coupling including an oblong spring is arranged between two coupling halves that are mutually rotatable. Essentially stretched in relaxed condition, the spring is subdivided in two or more partial sections by wedge-shaped spring cups, the longitudinal axes of which partial sections have relative to one another a buckled arrangement. Obtained in this way is a spring favorable for specific operating conditions, with a low spring stiffness, but with the spring being composed of essentially straight-line partial sections. Provided thereby is a spring that can be manufactured at low cost, which, in operation, is favorably stressed and not subjected to any wear.

The invention concerns an elastic clutch of disk design, particularly suited for a split flywheel for an internal combustion engine. A clutch for this type is known from the German patent disclosure 38 41 639.
The prior clutch features mutually engaging clutch halves between which a helical spring is inserted that is relatively long and extends across a large angular area, i.e., is installed in a curved condition. For that purpose, the one clutch half features for the radial and axial guidance an outer area that is round and adapted to the spring windings. Such a spring arrangement is characterized in that for specific operating conditions there are favorable spring properties achieved, namely when large amplitudes of torsional oscillation are to be absorbed and damped with low spring stiffness. But due to its curved installation, the spring is heavily forced outward in a radial direction during the twisting of the two clutch halves. Despite the lubricant contained in the clutch, this leads to heavy frictional damping in the outer winding area and to an uncontrollable adverse effect on the spring characteristic. Additionally, wear occurs on the bearing surface and on the spring, and the curved spring itself is unfavorably stressed on its radially inner windings. In terms of manufacture, it is expensive to produce a high-precision curved spring.
The problem underlying the invention consists is a clutch of the type discussed above where a spring that can be produced at low cost is arranged in such a manner that it is protected from wear and also favorably stressed, while the known is favorable spring properties are retained.


A modular chassis-based system may include a high speed backplane and multiple line cards. A connector connects the backplane to each line card for greater performance. The connector may include a stripline with a curved portion that transitions from the line cards to the backplane.

This relates generally to high speed signal backplane interfaces.
High speed signal backplane interfaces may be used as part of a modular chassis-based system including a high speed backplane and multiple line cards. Backplane interface solutions are also known as high speed serial links and they provide full duplex communication across the high speed backplane. Data may be transmitted across a high speed differential signal that is routed across the line card, through the connector and backplane, and across another set of high density connectors.
Backplanes may be used to connect boards, including telecom switches, multi-service provisioning platforms, add/drop multiplexers, digital cross connects, storage switches, routers, embedded platforms, multiprocessor systems, and blade servers. Modularity may be possible through the addition of line cards, switch cards, and services blades, all coupled to a single high speed backplane. Operating rates of greater than one gigabit per second are typically used.
At high data rates, the connector in the interface becomes critical to the interface performance. The connector connects the backplanes to the line cards. Electrical field distortion and radiation loss of standard interface connectors may degrade the interface performance. In fact, the interface connector can cause the interface to fail even after applying advanced signaling techniques, such as de-emphasis in the transmitter buffer and equalization in the receiver buffer.


The preparation of benzo[b]thiophenes by the acylation of alkoxy protected starting materials followed by demethylation using essentially odorless thiol compounds are provided herewith. Demethylation may be carried out in the same reaction vessel without isolation of the acylated, protected material.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,814 teaches a variety of compounds that may be prepared by the process of this invention. That patent describes the use of phenacyl, halophenacyl, and alkyl protecting groups. The processes descibed therein do not, however, suggest the particularly advantageous way to use the methyl protecting group which is provided by this invention.
Chem. Lett. 97-98 (1979), Tet. Let. 5211-14 (1978), and J. Org. Chem. 45: 4275-77 (1980) disclosed the use of aluminum halide thiols as reagents for the demethylation of various aliphatic and aromatic ethers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,380,635 teaches the preparation of 6-hydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-3-[4-(2-aminoethoxy)benzoyl]benzo[b]thiophen es. The patent describes the acylation of a benzothiophene in the presence of aluminum chloride or bromide with an acid chloride or bromide followed by the addition of a sulfur compound to cleave the methoxy ether linkages, which finally affords 6-hydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-3-[4-(2-aminoethoxy)benzoyl]benzo[b]thiophen es upon hydrolytic work-up. Specific sulfur compounds disclosed as useful for cleaving the methoxy protecting groups include methanethiol, ethanethiol, isopropanethiol, butanethiol, diethyl sulfide, dibutyl sulfide, ethyl propyl sulfide, butyl isopropyl sulfide, dimethyl sulfide, methyl ethyl sulfide, methyl phenyl sulfide, ethyl phenyl sulfide, butyl phenyl sulfide, benzenethiol, and methionine. Ethanethiol is identified as the preferred agent, and all but two of the examples provided herein utilize this particular thiol. The other thiols employed are dimethyl sulfide and methionine. Methyl ether cleavage was not complete with methionine. Instead, the reaction mixture consisted primarily of a mixture of the two possible monomethyl ether products.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,829 discloses 2-methyl-5-t-butyl benzenethiol as a stabilizer of vinyl chloride polymers. Many of the benzothiophene compounds prepared by the process of the instant invention are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,814.
A major disadvantage of previous processes described in the art is the odor associated with the sulfur compounds employed, and with the sulfur containing by-products which are generated in the process. The threshold of human detection for ethanethiol is 0.47 ppb. The odor is a primary deterrent to large scale manufacture of many commercially significant benzothiophenes using processes known in the art.
Thus, it would be a significant contribution to the art to provide processes for the preparation of benzothiophenes which employ essentially odorless sulfur compounds.

Process for preparing benzo[b]thiophenes


A remotely controlled water line shut off system having particular utility as a convenient means to avoid internal water damage to a dwelling, or to the excessive use of water through a sprinkler system, where the dwelling is not occupied continuously, such as a summer rental. System includes a housing or enclosure mounted between a water intake and water discharge lines, where the housing includes a water meter, a water cut off valve, a preset quantity control metering mechanism, a solid state radio transceiver, and an electrical power source, where controlling thereof may be by wireless communication with the solid state radio transceiver.

This invention is directed to a remotely controlled shut off system for a water line to a structure, such as a residence, where such a system has particular utility in vacated structures unihabited for various periods of time by absentee owners.
The present invention relates to a remotely controlled water line shut off system to prevent serious water damage to the interior of a structure, or excessive use of water through a broken sprinkler system, where it is especially useful in unattended structures, such as a vacation home. Often residents vacate premises over a long period of time whereby either internal or external water discharging continuously can cause serious damage or high water bills. Also, rental properties often leave the water on between rentals for sometimes months at a time and ruptures unattended can cause serious damage before they may even be aware of the problem.
Such serious damage can be one of the most catastrophic types of damage which can occur to one""s home, particularly an unattended or unknown broken or leaking water line. Since water supply lines may run throughout a house or other building, a leak may occur in the heart of the house or other building, and may result in extensive damage both to the structure and to the contents prior to the water supply being manually shut off.
The main causes of runaway water leakage are ruptured pipes, tubes or fittings; faulty washing machine hoses, water heaters, supply lines and other plumbing equipment; rusty or aging components, electrolysis, poor installation practices, poor quality materials, frozen pipes, tubes or hoses, earthquake activity and pressure surges. With so many different factors that can create plumbing failures and runaway water leaks, one can readily realize the need for a fluid shutoff safety device. Flooding in a home or other building brings water damage resulting in extensive destruction and expense. Massive difficulties ensue in the wake of interior structural flooding as families and businesses must contend with problems including substantial loss of time, money and the home, office or other building involved.
Automated systems for controlling water flow into a residence and/or water sprinkler systems have been known and published in the prior art, where exemplary systems are described in the following U.S. Patents:
a.) U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,720, to Isaacson et al., teaches a flood control device for measuring fluid flow into a house or building and shuts off the fluid flow if measured flow conditions indicate an overly high consumption due to a leak, break, or other abnormal condition which is present in the plumbing system of the house or building. Briefly, the device thereof is a cutoff valve relating to a counting or measuring mechanism which in turn, when triggered, shuts down the shut off valve.
b.) U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,679, to Titus, relates to a system for controlling demand of a fluid. The system includes measuring a fluid supply pressure in a supply pipe, determining that the fluid supply pressure is lower than a predetermined threshold supply pressure, and directing a control signal from the fluid information unit to the one or more demand control units to reduce demand for the fluid. In addition, the system includes means for measuring density of a fluid flowing through a demand pipe. Additionally, means are provided for determining that fluid flow through the demand pipe is stable, measuring fluid flow rate through the demand pipe, preventing the fluid from flowing into the demand pipe for a sample period of time, measuring a drop in fluid pressure in the demand pipe during the sample period, and determining the density from the measured pressure drop. Finally, a utility meter for metering a fluid flowing through a supply pipe and a demand pipe having an audible indicator to provide an audible signal to a user is provided.
c.) U.S. Pat. No. 6,259,955, to Brundisini, et al., describes an electronic control unit comprising an electronic circuit with a programmable processing unit and operating buttons to execute and to vary manually the programming of the processing unit and a display for the visualization of the programming stages. The programmable processing unit is organized to individuate a programming menu that is subdivided into a plurality of parts selectionable at will. Each part comprising at least one chapter. The chapter being formed of at least one setting page of at least one respective programming parameter, and in that each part of the menu is directly selectionable by pressure on at least one respective operating button. To summarize, the system thereof relates to an electronic control unit comprising an electric circuit with a programmable processing unit, operating buttons to execute and to vary the programming of said processing unit, and a display for the visualization of the programming stages. Further, it deals with a secondary watering system rather than the primary water supply.
d.) U.S. Pat. No. 6,259,970, to Brundisini, is directed to an electronic interface associable to an electronic control unit for an automatic watering system for the remote controlled management of the watering system. The electronic unit has a plurality of output lines suitable to control a respective plurality of electro-valve lines of the watering system. The electronic interface includes a microprocessor, a connector for connecting the electronic interface with the watering system, a first interface with at least one communication channel having a remote controlled management apparatus, a second interface with a first plurality of input lines connectable with respective output lines of the control unit to control directly the electro-valves, and a first memory associated with the microprocessor in such a way that the microprocessor can detect the changes of state of the output lines of the control unit and store the changes of state in the first memory. The microprocessor can communicate the changes of state to the remote controlled management apparatus, upon request. Briefly, the system thereof relates to a programmable electric control unit for controlling an automatic watering system, and differs from the invention hereof, as it deals with a secondary watering system and not the primary water supply.
The present invention, directed to a remotely controlled water line shut off system, differs from the foregoing prior art in a number of aspects. The manner by which this invention differs will become more apparent in the description which follows, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
This invention relates to a remotely controlled water line shut off system that has particular utility for use at dwellings that are not continuously occupied, such as summer rentals, and the like, by way of example. The system of the invention may be remotely controlled from several locations, such as in the dwelling or by a remote handheld means outside the dwelling. The major component of the system is an inground mounted housing, such as fabricated from PVC, positioned in line with the water conduit for metering and controlling the flow of water to the dwelling and ancillary systems, such as a sprinkler system, where the housing includes an incoming water meter, a cut off valve mechanism down stream therefrom, and means for activating the cut off valve mechanism. The means includes a storage battery and above ground solar collector for maintaining said battery, a preset water meter to allow the dwelling owner or agent to preprogram the quantity of water allowed to flow before an automatic shut off, a solid state radio transceiver mounting an antenna for remotely operating same, and a lawn sprinkler over ride cut off sensor and a cut off switch.
Accordingly, a feature of this invention is a system to remotely control water flow input to a dwelling and ancilliary systems, such as a lawn sprinkler, to prevent unnecessary damage due to water breaks or leakage.
Another feature hereof is the provision of a built in override system to allow the dwelling owner/agent to override the system to allow water flow in a predetermined quantity.
Still another feature of the invention is the provision of a remotely controlled water line shut off system operable by a storage battery supported by a solar collector.
These and other features of the invention will become clearer in the description which follows, especially when read along with the attached drawings.

Remotely controlled water line shut off system


A floating meeting is set up such that the actual meeting time is not fixed until after pre-defined parameters are satisfied. One parameter is a point in time nearer to the proposed meeting date(s) than the time of the original meeting invitation. At the later point in time, subsequent and potentially conflicting meetings are automatically avoided to maximize invitee availability or otherwise meet a meeting organizer's objective.

Calendaring systems have formed the core component of personal information management software and firmware applications for decades. Initially, a mere calendar display, modern calendaring systems provide scheduling and alarm functions in addition to full integration with contact management. The typical calendaring application minimally provides a mechanism for scheduling an event to occur on a certain date at a certain time. Generally, the event can be associated with a textual description of the event. Calendaring systems typically allow a user to manage shared events, referred to generally as meetings. Electronic calendaring software allows groups of users to negotiate around the scheduling of a proposed event, such as a meeting, with the goal of selecting a time that allows most of the users to attend.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Conflict management in scheduling meetings

International Business Machines Corporation


A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device for storing data by introducing electrons into a floating gate through a tunneling oxide film under an electric field of a control gate includes a switching circuit for supplying a reference high voltage during a normal erase mode and a test bias voltage during a test mode. In the test mode, the switching circuit can create a status where a self-field is applied between the floating gate and the source, and makes it easy to find out cells that are deteriorated due to trapping of holes into the oxide film.

This invention relates to a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device in form of an electrically erasable and programmable nonvolatile memory (EEPROM).
An electrically erasable and programmable nonvolatile memory has floating gates and control gates stacked on channels with disposing an insulating film therebetween. Writing of data is effected by applying a high voltage to a control gate and a drain to thereby introduce hot electrons into a floating gate. Erasure of data is effected by applying a high voltage while setting the voltage of the control gates to a ground or negative voltage to thereby generate a tunneling current that removes electrons from the floating gates.
In a conventional EEPROM, while writing/erasure (hereinafter abbreviated to W/E) is repeated, since a high voltage is applied to the source upon erasure, holes are generated around the source due to band-to-band tunneling and also within the tunneling oxide film due to impact ionization of electrons flowing with the tunneling current. FIG. 3A shows an aspect of the oxide film barrier between a floating gate (FG) and a source at the time when no hole trap exists in the oxide film. FIG. 3B shows as aspect of the barrier at the time when hole traps exist in the oxide film. As shown in these figures, when holes are captured into the oxide film, the height of the oxide film barrier becomes low and liable to cause a tunneling phenomenon. Therefore, when a long time passes after data is written (i.e. after electrons are injected into the floating gate), cells become liable to lose data (electrons slip out from the floating gate) due to tunneling caused by a self-field of some MV/cm applied between the floating gate and the source.


An image processing apparatus, able to suppress occurrence of a penalty such as page miss and able to efficiently draw an image, provided with a triangle transfer control device for judging whether a triangle is inside/outside a page, detecting a page where a triangle may be drawn, preparing a list of pages where triangles will be drawn, taking out a page from this list, outputting the triangle data and the corresponding drawing page data to a triangle drawing device so as to draw the object (triangle) for only the interior of the region of that page, erasing the output drawing page from the prepared list, and outputting triangle data and corresponding drawing page data until there are no longer pages on the list so as to draw all triangles in the pages.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus for expressing a model by a combination of unit graphics and generating pixels in a drawn object region of a screen coordinate system and a method of the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Along with also the improvement of operating speeds and the strengthening of graphic drawing functions in recent computer systems, computer graphics (CG) technology for using computer resources to prepare and process graphics and images is currently the subject of active research and development efforts and is being put into practical use.
For example, in three-dimensional graphics, the optical phenomenon when a three-dimensional object is illuminated by a predetermined light source is expressed by a mathematical model and the surface of the object is given shading or lighting or given a pattern based on this model to thereby to generate a more realistic, three-dimensional-like two-dimensional high definition image.
Such computer graphics is being increasingly utilized in CAD/CAM in the development field of science, industry, manufacture, etc. and other various types of fields of application.
Three-dimensional graphics is generally comprised by a geometry sub-system positioned as the front end and a raster sub-system positioned as the back end.
The "geometry sub-system" is the step for performing geometric operation processing on a position, posture, etc. of a three-dimensional object displayed on a display screen.
In the geometry sub-system, the object is generally handled as an aggregate of a large number of polygons, and geometric operation processing such as coordinate conversion, clipping, and light source calculation are performed in units of polygons.
On the other hand, the "raster sub-system" is the step for painting each pixel constituting the object.
The rasterizing is realized by for example interpolating the image parameters of all pixels included inside a polygon on the basis of the image parameters found for the vertexes of the polygon.
The image parameters referred to here include color (drawn color) data expressed by a so-called RGB format or the like, a z-value expressing a distance in a depth direction, and so on.
Further, in recent high definition three-dimensional graphics processing, a fog (f)) for causing a perspective feeling, a texture (t) for expressing the feeling of the material and pattern of the object surface to impart realism, etc. are also included as image parameters.
Here, the processing for generating pixels inside a polygon from the vertex information of the polygon is executed by using a linear interpolation technique frequently referred to as a "digital differential analyzer" (DDA).
In the DDA process, the inclination of data to a side direction of the polygon is found from the vertex information, the data on the side is calculated by using this inclination, then the inclination of a raster scan direction (X-direction) is calculated, and the amount of change of the parameter found from this inclination is added to the parameter values of the start point of the scan so as to generate internal pixels.
The generated pixel data is subjected to various tests in the processing on the pixel level and the passing data is drawn in a memory module. This memory module is interleaved by a predetermined size, for example, 4×4 rectangular region units, by a processing circuit.
The data accessed in for example a 2×4 pixel region in the memory is stored in a region indicated by pages (rows) and blocks (columns) as shown in FIG. 1.
Each of the rows ROW0 to ROW7 is sectioned into four columns (blocks BK-A, BK-B, BK-C, BK-D) as shown in FIG. 1.
Access (writing and reading) is carried out in a region of a boundary of 8 pixels in the x-direction and an even number of boundaries in the y-direction.
Due to this, access spanning for example the rows ROW0 and ROW1 or the rows ROW4 and ROW5 is not performed and occurrence of so-called "page violation" is suppressed.
However, when using for example parallel processing, as shown in FIG. 1, to simultaneously draw two primitives (triangles) PM1 and PM2, the block BK-C of the row ROW6 and the block BK-C of the row ROW7 are in the same bank, so cannot be simultaneously activated.
Accordingly, in a conventional image processing apparatus, when performing parallel processing in units of primitives, there is frequently a penalty with respect to a page, so there was the disadvantage that the graphic could not be efficiently generated.

Image processing apparatus and method of same


A remote frame buffer server configured to send a table of command IDs and command text labels to a remote frame buffer client. This table allows an operator to use text-based interactions in addition to pixel-based interactions to remotely manipulate a display managed by the remote frame buffer server.

Remote frame buffer (RFB) is a protocol that allows an operator to interact with a computer display device that is in a geographic location remote from the operator. RFB is a pixel-based protocol. This means that the operator interacts with a remote screen, displayed by a local client application that emulates the target computer display. When the operator clicks on a pixel coordinate on the remote screen, the client application sends a PointerEvent with the XY coordinates of the cursor to an RFB server.
The RFB server processes this information, translating the pixel coordinate data into a corresponding interaction with the computer display, and sending the event to the computer display's display processor. This invokes the desired behavior, and changes to the computer display that result from this interaction are passed back to the RFB client, so that the operator can view the results in real time.
Reliance on this pixel-based command communication limits the operator's ability to interact with the remote device to mouse clicks. This limitation also requires the operator to wait for the client to update before another command may be processed. There is a need for operators to have additional options for RFB client interaction to improve usability of RFB client applications and to allow operators to send a series of commands with reduced latency.

Extension of remote frame buffer (RFB) protocol