A default value of transmission output speed in a motor vehicle powertrain having an automatic-shift multi-gear ratio power transmission is continuously updated based on a measured value of the output speed and other reliable speed data including transmission input speed and vehicle speed. The default value is substituted for the measured output speed when a malfunction of the output speed sensor is detected, and transitions back to the measured output speed when the output speed sensor malfunction is no longer present.

Reliable measurement or estimation of various parameters of a motor vehicle powertrain is essential to proper electronic control of the powertrain components. For example, automatic shifting of a multi-gear ratio power transmission requires a reliable measure or estimation of the transmission output speed. While the essential parameters are often measured with dedicated sensors, the control must include provisions for operation of the powertrain components in the event of sensor malfunctions. For example, if a transmission output speed sensor malfunctions during operation of the vehicle, the powertrain controller can respond by reverting to a "limp-home" control mode in which the transmission only operates in a specified gear ratio. Alternatively, it may be possible for the powertrain controller to reliably determine a default value for the transmission output speed based on other sensor data and provide normal or near-normal control of the transmission based on the default value. For example, the transmission output speed may be calculated based on the vehicle speed if otherwise available, or on the transmission input speed and gear ratio if transmission shifting is not in progress. However, it can be difficult to determine if the vehicle speed signal is reliable, and more than one sensor may be faulty. Accordingly, what is needed is a method of determining a reliable default value of transmission output speed for use in powertrain control in the event of one or more sensor malfunctions.

Method of determining a default transmission output speed


When an encrypted program and a decryption program are inputted to a first memory, a semiconductor integrated circuit device causes a bus port to disable access from the outside and enables access to the first memory and to a second memory, thereby transferring the encrypted program and the decryption program from the first memory to the second memory. When the transfer is completed, the semiconductor integrated circuit device disables access to the first memory and gives, to a CPU, an instruction to decrypt the encrypted program by using a secret key held in a secret key holder and the decryption program and execute the decrypted program. After the execution of the decrypted program is completed, the semiconductor integrated circuit device disables access to the second memory.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor LSI having the function of decrypting an encrypted program and executing the decrypted program which is mounted on information equipment or the like. More particularly, it relates to a processing system and method for encrypting a program and delivering the encrypted program from a device associated with a program owner to a device associated with a program user.
With the widespread use of information equipment capable of rewriting a program or executing a user program, a system for preventing illegal copying of software has been devised in recent years. In a method in which a program is encrypted and delivered, provision has been made to prevent the copying of a program for decrypting the encrypted program (hereinafter referred to as the "decryption program". For example, a decryption program is disposed in the internal memory of an LSI from which it cannot be read from the outside and the decrypted program is further protected from being read from the outside (see, e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. HEI 8-30558).
FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a conventional semiconductor integrated circuit device for executing an encrypted program.
The semiconductor integrated circuit device 1 shown in FIG. 18 has: a CPU 3; internal mimories 4 and 5 for inputting/outputting data via an internal bus 7; a bus port 6 for controlling the inputting/outputting of data to and from the outside via an external bus 2; an I/O port 9 connected to the CPU 3 via an I/O bus 8; a memory port 10 for controlling the internal RAM 5; and control registers 11 for controlling the memory port 10.
A decryption program for decrypting the encrypted program is stored in the internal ROM 4. The encrypted program is read in the internal RAM 5 and decrypted in accordance with the decryption program. The decrypted program is written in the internal RAM 5. The decrypted program written in the internal RAM 5 is protected from being read from the memory port 10 to the outside under the control of the control registers 11.
However, since the decryption program is kept in the LSI as described above, an internal nonvolatile memory should be provided in the LSI, which increases cost required for the LSI.
In addition, if a malicious program is encrypted, read in the LSI, and then executed, the decryption program may be transferred by the program to the outside and hacked. The use of the decryption program that has been hacked makes it possible to hack the encrypted program. Once the encrypted program is hacked, the LSI cannot be used any more since the decryption program cannot be changed.
A problem has also been encountered that an encryption program and an encryption strength cannot be selected by the encrypted program transferor.

Semiconductor integrated circuit device, program delivery method, and program delivery system

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A rotation control device for a support arm of a lamp comprises a support arm having a first end and a second end; a rotating arm having a first end and a second end; a lamp head assembled to the second end of the rotating arm; a cambered track fixed to a predetermined position of the support arm; and a cambered slot being formed in the cambered track; a stop sheet installed to a predetermined position of the cambered track; the stop sheet being movable along the cambered slot of the cambered track and is fixable at a predetermined position so that the rotating arm is retained to a predetermined angle.

Generally, an angle adjustable lamp has a support arm and a rotating arm. The support arm is assembled to a seat which can be seated upon a table surfaces or a platform so as to form as a stand lamp. The support arm can be directly to a wall to form as a suspending lamp. The support arm may be assembled with a lamp head which has a lamp and a lampshade. Moreover, the support arm is pivoted to the rotating arm so that the rotating arm is rotatable with respect to the support arm so as to control the angle of the lamp head. It should be noted that for retaining the rotating arm to a predetermined angle, as illustrated in FIG. 7, a prior art lamp has a rubber pad 3 installed between the support arm 1 and the rotating arm 2. A stud 4 serves to lock it so that the rubber pad 3 has the effect of slide stop to prevent that after adjustment of the angle, the rotating arm 2 will loose.
However although the rubber pad 2 has the effect of slide stop, but since the structural design will cause another end of the rotating arm 2 will suffer from a gravitation force so as to convert into a twisting torque to be applied to rubber pad 3 so that the pad 3 must suffer from the twisting torque. The rubber pad 3 is made of rubber. The rubber is easy to weaken as it is used for a longer time and thus deforms. Therefore, after the rubber pad 3 is used for a long time, the slide stop effect is reduced. The lamp cannot be steadily supported and fixed so as to shift and swing. As a result, the lamp cannot be steadily retained to an original position with a desired illumination.

Rotation control device for support arm of a lamp


Biologically active compounds related to the bryostatin family of compounds, having simplified spacer domains and/or improved recognition domains are disclosed, including methods of preparing and utilizing the same.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns biologically active compounds related to the bryostatin family of compounds, and to methods of preparing and utilizing the same.
2. Introduction
Cancer is a major cause of death in the developed countries, with more than 500,000 human fatalities occurring annually in the United States. Cancers are generally the result of the transformation of normal cells into modified cells that proliferate excessively, leading to the formation of abnormal tissues or cell populations. In many cancers, cell proliferation is accompanied by dissemination (metastasis) of malignant cells to other parts of the body, which spawn new cancerous growths. Cancers can significantly impair normal physiological processes, ultimately leading to patient mortality. Cancers have been observed for many different tissue and cell types, with cancers of the lung, breast, and colorectal system accounting for about half of all cases.
Currently, about one-third of cancer patients can be cured by surgical or radiation techniques. However, these approaches are most effective with cancerous lesions that have not yet metastasized to other regions of the body. Chemotherapeutic techniques currently cure another 17% of cancer patients. Combined chemotherapeutic and non-chemotherapeutic protocols can further enhance prospects for full recovery. Even for incurable cancer conditions, therapeutic treatments can be useful to achieve remission or at least extend patient longevity.
Numerous anticancer compounds have been developed over the past several decades (e.g., Katzung, 1998; Wilson et al., 1991; Hardman et al., 1996). While these compounds comprise many different classes that act by a variety of mechanisms, one general approach has been to block the proliferation of cancerous cells by interfering with cell division. For example, anthracyclines, such as doxorubicin and daunorubicin, have been found to intercalate DNA, blocking DNA and RNA synthesis and causing strand scission by interacting with topoisomerase II. The taxanes, such as Taxol™ and Taxotere™, disrupt mitosis by promoting tubulin polymerization in microtubule assembly. Cis-platin forms interstrand crosslinks in DNA and is effective to kill cells in all stages of the cell cycle. As another example, cyclophosphamide and related alkylating agents contain di-(2-chloroethyl)-amino groups that bind covalently to cellular components such as DNA.
The bryostatins (Formula A) are a family of naturally occurring macrocyclic compounds originally isolated from marine bryozoa. Currently, there are about 20 known natural bryostatins which share three six-membered rings designated A, B and C, and which differ mainly in the nature of their substituents at C7 (ORA) and C20 (RB) (Pettit, 1996).
The bryostatins exhibit potent activity against a broad range of human cancer cell lines and provide significant in vivo life extensions in murine xenograft tumor models (Pettit et al., 1982; Homung et al., 1992; Schuchter et al., 1991; Mohammad et al., 1998). Doses that are effective in vivo are extremely low, with activities demonstrated for concentrations as low as 1 μg/kg (Schuchter et al., 1991). Among additional therapeutic responses, the bryostatins have been found to promote the normal growth of bone marrow progenitor cells (Scheid, 1994; Kraft, 1996), provide cellular protection against normally lethal doses of ionizing radiation (Szallasi, 1996), and stimulate immune system responses that result in the production of T cells, tumor necrosis factors, interleukins and interferons (Kraft, 1996; Lind, 1993). Bryostatins are also effective in inducing transformation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells to a hairy cell type (Alkatib, 1993), increasing the expression of p53 while decreasing the expression of bcl-2 in inducing apoptosis in cancer cells (Maki, 1995; Mohammad, 1995) or at least pre-disposing a cell towards apoptosis, and reversing multidrug resistance (MDR) (Spitaler, 1998).
At the molecular level, bryostatins have been shown to competitively inhibit the binding of plant-derived phorbol esters and endogenous diacyl glycerols to protein kinase C (PKC) at nanomolar to picomolar drug concentrations (DeVries, 1998), and to stimulate comparable kinase activity (Kraft, 1986; Berkow, 1985; Ramsdell, 1986). Unlike the phorbol esters, however, the bryostatins do not act as tumor promoters. Thus, the bryostatins appear to operate through a mode of action different from, and complementary to, the modes of action of established anticancer agents; human clinical trials are presently evaluating bryostatin combination therapy with cisplatin or taxol.
Various studies have demonstrated good affinity for bryostatins in which RA is hydroxyl, acetyl, pivaloyl, or n-butanoate, and RB is H, acetyl, n-butanoate, or 2,4-unsaturated octanoate, as measured by PKC binding assay (Wender et al., 1988). The double bond between C13 and C30 can be hydrogenated or epoxidized without significant loss of binding affinity. Hydrogenation of the C21–C34 alkene or acetylation of the C26 hydroxyl, on the other hand, can significantly reduce binding affinity. Inversion of the stereoconfiguration at C26 leads to modest loss of activity (approx. 30-fold) and the suggestion that the methyl group may limit rotation of bonds proximate to the methyl group and contribute to the apparent high binding affinity observed for the bryostatins. Elimination of the hydroxyl at C19 (with concomitant omission of the C20 RB group) causes an approximately 100-fold to 200-fold decrease in binding. Likewise, impairing the accessibility of the C26 hydroxymethyl moiety by replacement of the C26 hydroxyl, or by replacing the methyl or hydrogen substituents of C26 with a tert-butyl or similar bulky substituent, has been proposed for diminishing toxicity (Blumberg et al., 1997).
Although the bryostatins have been known for some time, their low natural abundance, difficulties in isolation and severely limited availability through total synthesis have impeded efforts to elucidate their mode of action and to advance their clinical development. Recently, synthetic analogues of bryostatin were reported wherein the C4–C14 spacer domain was replaced with simplified spacer segments using a highly efficient esterification-macrotransacetalization (Wender et al., 1998a, 1998b). The reported analogues retained orientation of the C1-, C19-, C26-oxygen recognition domain as determined by NMR spectroscopic comparison with bryostatin and varying degrees of PKC-binding affinity. The one analogue tested for in vitro inhibition in human tumor cell lines was reported to possess significant activity. It has remained, however, desired to provide new, simplified, and more readily accessible synthetic agents based on the bryostatin structure to further elucidate the molecular basis of bryostatin's activity and develop improved and more readily available clinical candidates, especially for anticancer applications.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Bryostatin analogues, synthetic methods and uses

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University


The present invention describes a method for automatic cropping of images containing regions where intensity levels are uniform and other regions where intensity levels vary considerably. An image to be automatically cropped is scaled down to a grid and divided into non-overlapping blocks. The mean and variance of intensity levels are calculated for each block. Based on the distribution of variances in the blocks, a threshold is selected for the variance. All blocks with a variance higher than this threshold variance are selected as regions of interest. The regions of interest are then cropped to a bounding rectangle.

This invention is related to a method for the automatic cropping of images, and is particularly suitable to images that are texture-free, or relatively texture-free.
A typical image contains some regions where intensity level, and color, are uniform, and other regions where intensity level and color vary considerably. For instance, the "background" of an image may be uniform with a distinct "edge" separating the background from the "foreground." For example, a portrait typically comprises a subject set against a uniform backdrop or background, such that a sharp edge or boundary exists between the subject and the background.
Frequently, it is desirable to select only a particular region of an image, and to reproduce the selected region, thereby eliminating unwanted or excess background to give the image a more desirable composition. This selection process is referred to as cropping. Often, images are cropped to the foreground and most of the background is discarded.
Cropping is usually done by hand or requires operator interaction in order to properly select the subject and cropping dimensions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,064 to Amos et al. discloses an apparatus for printing a selected portion of a photographic negative onto a photosensitive paper to form an enlarged and cropped photographic print. However, the apparatus requires human operation to determine the crop. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,271 to Hagopian discloses a variable photographic cropping device for maintaining multiple constant proportions of a visible area that includes a pair of masks situated in a housing having a central window. The apparatus also requires an operator.
In the field of automatic image enhancement, methods are known for improving the contrast in a natural scene image or altering the sharpness in a reproduction of an electronically encoded natural scene images. Such methods have been disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,450,502 and 5,363,209 to Eschbach et al., the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. However, such automatic image enhancement methods do not disclose automatic image cropping.
For high quality publication and printing, manual cropping may be preferred for artistic reasons. For large volume printing, including, but not limited to, passport photographs, yearbooks, catalogs, event books, portraits, other images with uniform backgrounds, and the like, it is desirable to have the option to use autocropping to enhance productivity and uniformity of the cropping process.


A homogeneous electrorheological fluid is disclosed, which mainly comprises a liquid crystal compound in which a plurality of liquid crystal groups are bonded to a molecular chain either directly or via a spacer, or comprises a lyotropic liquid crystal comprising a solute and a solvent. The electrorheological fluid exhibits higher electrorheological effects as well as high response rate and low power driving properties while being free from sedimentation or flocculation.

An electrorheolgical fluid whose viscosity greatly, instantaneously, and reversibly changes on voltage application has been well known since the 1940's as a so-called Winslow fluid, comprising an insulating oil having dispersed therein water-containing fine particles, such as silica and starch (see U.S. Pat. No. 2,417,850).
Since then, many improvements on electrorheological fluids have hitherto been proposed. For example, it has been proposed to use, as water-containing fine particles, ion exchange resin particles (see JP-A-50-92278, the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application") or zeolite particles (see JP-A-2-3711), or to use non-water-containing particles, such as organic semi-conductor particles (see British Patent 2,170,510), conductor particles having the surfaces thereof rendered insulating (see JP-A-64-6093), and liquid crystal polymer particles (see Proceedings of the 2nd Int'l Conf. on ERF, p. 231 (1989)). These electrorheological liquids containing fine particles exhibit excellent performance properties for a short period of time but unavoidably undergo sedimentation and flocculation of dispersed particles and become muddy with the passage of time. They have thus not seen practical use.
On the other hand, homogeneous liquids containing no particles which are now under study include polar liquids, e.g., nitromethane and nitrobenzene (see Japan J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 16, p. 1775 (1977)), cholesteric liquid crystal mixtures (see Communication, p. 3865 (1965)), low-molecular liquid crystals, e.g., methoxybenzylidenebutylaniline (MBBA) (see Japan J. Appl. Phys., 171525 (1978) and British Patent 2208515A), and ferroelectric polymer solutions (see Dai 39-kai Kobunshi Toronkai Yokosyu, 18U07 (1990)). However, these liquids reveal no substantial electrorheological effect.
Furthermore, for operation these conventional electrorheological fluids require the application of high voltages of 2 to 3 kv/mm. Such electrorheological fluids are limited to use at low temperatures since current value increases rapidly at high temperatures.
Liquid crystals undergo molecular orientation when a voltage is applied to them to cause anisotropy in various characteristics. For example, a change in elasticity has been reported, with respect to a lyotropic liquid crystal with a voltage applied thereto (see Dai 16-kai Ekisyo Toronkai Koen Yokosyu, 1K216 (1990)).
Liquid crystals have therefore been contemplated for use as electrorheological fluids, but little importance has attached thereto due to the smallness of viscosity increase observed.


Methods, computer-readable media and apparatuses for sharing an experience via a social network on demand are disclosed. A processor establishes a first video session with a mobile endpoint device of a user, the first video session is established after the mobile endpoint device is authenticated as being allowed to capture a video of a live event at a commercial venue, the first video session containing the video of the live event at the commercial venue that the user is attending, receives at least one social media connection of the user for receiving the video, sends a notification to each social media connection of the at least one social media connection that the video is available, receives a request from the at least one social media connection to access the video, and establishes a second video session with an endpoint device of the at least social media connection.

Today, professional sports and entertainment events are selling physical tickets. As a result, individuals are required to purchase a physical ticket to attend a live event. However, the physical tickets can be very expensive and a group of friends may not be able to attend the event together because not everyone can afford to pay for the physical tickets. As a result, some individuals may not be able to attend the event and share the experience with their friends.

Apparatus and method for on-demand multi-device social network experience sharing


An aluminum material can be used on a surface of the electrode of a semiconductor element, this aluminum layer need not be formed thick unnecessarily, a copper wire is bonded strongly to the semiconductor element irrespective of a diameter of the wire, and high heat resistance can be achieved. Silicon carbide (SiC) is used as a substrate of the semiconductor element 10, the titanium layer 20 and the aluminum layer 21 are formed as the electrode 15 on the silicon carbide substrate, and by a ball bonding or a wedge bonding of the copper wire 16 to the aluminum layer 21 of the electrode 15 while applying ultrasonic wave, the copper-aluminum compound layer 23 (Al4Cu9, AlCu or the like) is formed between the copper wire 16 and the titanium layer 20.

In semiconductor devices, wiring between a semiconductor element (chip) and a lead wire or a circuit substrate has been carried out by wire bonding using an aluminum (Al) wire, and an aluminum wire is connected to an aluminum or gold material formed on a surface of an electrode of the semiconductor element.
For power sources of, for example, domestic electric appliances, OA equipment, audio apparatuses, etc., power semiconductor devices (for power control) such as diodes and transistors are used, and also in these power semiconductor devices, an aluminum wire is used as a metallic wire for wire bonding due to demands for a high-voltage current and cost reduction as shown in, for example, JP 6-260538 A.
On the other hand, recently wire bonding using a copper wire which is advantageous from the viewpoint of thermal conductivity, electric conductivity, etc. has been proposed as shown in CIPS 2010, Mar. 16-18, 2010, Nuremberg/Germany—Paper 3.7, in which a copper wire is connected to an aluminum or copper material formed on a surface of an electrode of a semiconductor element. Generally there are a small diameter copper wire and a large diameter copper wire. In the case of a small diameter copper wire, one having a diameter of less than 75 μm is used for wiring by ball bonding technology, and an aluminum material is used on a surface of an electrode of a semiconductor element. In the case of a large diameter copper wire, one having a diameter of not less than 75 μm is used for wiring by wedge bonding technology, and a copper material is used on a surface of an electrode of a semiconductor element.

Semiconductor device and production method thereof


A battery terminal connector is constructed having a mounting part and a wire distribution part integral with the mounting part, the mounting part having two clamping arms adapted for securing to a terminal of a battery by a screw bolt, the clamping arms defining a circular mounting hole and a gap in communication between the circular mounting hole and external space, the circular mounting hole having spiral grooves extended in reversed directions across each other, the wire distribution part having a forwardly extended opening and two wire distribution portions formed integral with the clamping arms and separated by the forwardly extended opening for receiving a respective electric wire.

The present invention provides an improvement on the battery terminal connector filed under U.S. Ser. No. 09/652,675 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,334,797. The improvement of the present invention greatly reduces the manufacturing cost of the battery terminal connector and, enables the mounting part to be positively secured in close contact with the battery terminal after installation.
It is one object of the present invention to provide a battery terminal connector, which can easily be installed with less effort. It is another object of the present invention to provide a battery terminal connector, which can positively be secured to the battery terminal to achieve satisfactory electric conducting effect. To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, there is provided a battery terminal connector, which comprises a mounting part and a wire distribution part integral with the mounting part. The mounting part comprises two clamping arms adapted for securing to a terminal of a battery by a screw bolt. The clamping arms define a circular mounting hole and a gap in communication between the circular mounting hole and external space. The circular mounting hole has grooves in it for enabling the peripheral wall of the circular mounting hole to be positively maintained in close contact of the terminal of the battery after installation of the battery connector. For example, the circular mounting hole has spiral grooves extended in reversed directions across each other. Longitudinal grooves may be added to the peripheral wall of the circular mounting hole and extended across the spiral grooves. The wire distribution part comprises a forwardly extended opening, and two wire distribution portions formed integral with the clamping arms and separated by the forwardly extended opening for receiving a respective electric wire. The forwardly extended opening greatly increases the resilient power of the clamping arms, enabling the clamping arms to be turned inwards and outwards within a wide range for easy installation without causing damage.

No. 10, Lane 31, Ta-Feng St., Neitsou Tsun


The present invention relates to pharmaceuticals, foods and drinks, food additives, animal feeds and feed additives comprising an N-acylated hydroxyproline derivative or a salt thereof, and an amino sugar or a salt thereof and/or a glycosaminoglycan or a salt thereof as active ingredients, use of an Nacylated hydroxyproline derivative or a salt thereof for the production of an arthritis preventing or treating agent, and a method for preventing or treating arthritis which comprises administering an N-acylated hydroxyproline derivative or a salt thereof, and an amino sugar or a salt thereof and/or a glycosaminoglycan or a salt thereof.

With changes in our lifestyle and aging of the population, arthritis is expected to increase in the future.
N-Acetylhydroxyproline is known as a chemical substance that shows anti-inflammatory activity (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,891,765 and 3,932,638; Japanese Published Examined Patent Application No. 43947/72).
It is known that administration of N-acetylhydroxyproline to an animal model for arthritis after induction of arthritis can prevent aggravation of arthritis [J. Drug. Dev., 3, 135–142 (1990)]. It is also known that although N-acetylhydroxyproline shows a therapeutic effect on systemic injury of ear and tail, it shows no effect on chondral injury at joints [Pharmacological Research, 33, 367–373 (1996)].
However, it has not been known so far that N-acylated hydroxyproline derivatives such as N-acetylhydroxyproline show a preventive effect on arthritis.
Furthermore, although chondroitin, glucosamine, etc. that are the components of cartilages are known to have a therapeutic effect on arthritis (WO94/22453), there has not been known a composition obtained by the addition of an N-acylated hydroxyproline derivative thereto.


Accordingly, there has been described a computer system with a plurality of memory components where individual bits from multiple words are distributed among the memory components. An error analyzer is operable to identify a memory component as potentially faulty by accessing a table mapping syndromes to memory components using generated syndromes.

The present invention relates generally to computer systems and more specifically to the analysis of memory errors.
Particularly in high reliability computer systems, a significant proportion of the system downtime that can occur is as a result of memory errors and the interruptions in operation for memory hardware replacement. A frustration for manufacturers and operators is that up to 80% of the memory modules (e.g., dual in line memory (DIMM) modules) that are returned to memory vendors are diagnosed as "no trouble found" (NTF), indicating that good components have been replaced.
A reason for this is that in the absence of an accurate assessment of which of a number of potentially faulty DIMMs is indeed faulty, an engineer will replace all potentially faulty modules.
Accordingly, there is a need to improve the diagnosis of memory faults to further improve service reliability and to reduce the number of good units that are replaced.

Memory error analysis for determining potentially faulty memory components


Leakage of an atmosphere of a solvent vapor used by a smoothing process for smoothing the surface of a resist pattern outside from a smoothing unit is prevented to facilitate incorporating the smoothing unit into a coating and developing system. A substrate processing system has a coating and developing block 20, a smoothing block 50, an airflow producing unit 60 for producing down airflow that flows down from above the coating and developing block 20 and the smoothing block 50, and a main controller 100 for controlling the airflow producing unit 60. The main controller 100 controls a flow regulating valve 64a placed in an air passage 63a connecting the airflow producing unit 60 to the coating and developing block 20 and a flow regulating valve 64b placed in an air passage 63b connecting the airflow producing unit 60 to the smoothing block 50 on the basis of a signal provided by a pressure sensor 65a for measuring the pressure in the coating and developing block 20 and a signal provided by a pressure sensor 65b for measuring the pressure in the smoothing block 50 such that the pressure in the smoothing block 50 is lower than that in the coating and developing block 20.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate processing system formed by incorporating a processing unit for improving the surface condition of a resist film formed on a substrate into a coating and developing system for processing a substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Usually, a photolithographic process among those for fabricating a semiconductor device includes, a resist film forming process for forming a resist film on a base film formed on, for example, a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to simply as "wafer") by applying a resist solution to the wafer, an exposure process for exposing the resist film through a mask provided with a circuit pattern to light to form a latent circuit pattern in the resist film, a developing process for processing the exposed resist film by a developer to form a resist pattern, and an etching process for etching the base film formed on the wafer by using the resist pattern as a mask.
A plurality of vertical and horizontal ridges and furrows are formed in the side surfaces of a resist pattern formed by the developing process due to the wave characteristic of the light used for irradiating the surface of the wafer by the exposure process. For example, the wavelengths of KrF light and ArF light are 248 nm and 193 nm, respectively. Those ridges and furrows are LWR lines (line width roughness lines) and LER lines (line edge roughness lines). When the resist pattern having surfaces roughened by the ridges and furrows are used for etching the base layer by the etching process, ridges and furrows corresponding to those of the resist pattern R are formed in the base film. Consequently, a precise circuit pattern cannot be formed and hence a semiconductor device of a desired quality cannot be produced.
The inventors of the present invention previously proposed a smoothing method (smoothing process) to improve the surface quality of a circuit pattern by smoothing LWR lines and LER lines in JP-A 2005-19969 (Claims and FIGS. 4, 5 and 16).
This smoothing process can smooth the surface of the resist pattern by evening the ridges and furrows formed in the surface of the resist pattern by discharging a solvent vapor onto the surface of the substrate provided with the resist pattern and processed by an exposure process and a developing process to swell the resist pattern.
To carry out the smoothing process, safety measures, such as sealing the smoothing unit, ventilating the processing unit and providing the smoothing unit with explosion-proof measures, need to be taken to prevent the solvent vapor from diffusing in the smoothing unit. An exhaust cup is placed in the smoothing unit to prevent the diffusion of the solvent vapor in the smoothing unit.
However, it is difficult to surely recover the solvent vapor discharged through the nozzle only by the exhaust cup and it is possible that the solvent vapor leaks into the smoothing unit. Therefore, the solvent vapor leaks out of the smoothing unit to contaminate the coating and developing system and the exposure system when the smoothing unit is incorporated into a coating and developing system. If the solvent vapor leaks outside, it is possible that the leaked solvent vapor gives detrimental effects to the human body.


A basketball system may include a basketball goal and a support pole. The basketball system may also include a base and one or more braces connecting to the support pole and the base. The base is preferably spaced apart from the support pole by a distance and the base may have a low profile. The basketball goal may include a backboard and a rim assembly in which one or more portions of the rim assembly may extend through the backboard so that the rim assembly can be connected to the support pole.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a basketball system and, in particular, to a portable basketball system that is capable of being selectively moved from one location to another location.
2. Description of Related Art
The game of basketball typically includes a flat and level playing surface with a basketball goal at each end of the court. The basketball goal, which includes a backboard and a rim or hoop, is typically attached to the top of a support pole. The rim or hoop is normally located ten feet above the playing surface and the backboard is constructed from materials such as wood, plastic or tempered glass.
Basketball is a very popular game and many people desire to play basketball at their home. Many basketball systems designed for home use require the basketball goal be permanently fixed in a particular location. For example, many home basketball systems are permanently positioned on the edge of the driveway. Disadvantageously, mounting a basketball goal adjacent to the driveway of the home may create a risk of damage to cars using the driveway or cars that are parked nearby. In addition, one or more cars may have to be moved before the basketball goal may be used.
Permanent basketball systems designed for use at home may also be difficult to install. For example, concrete or asphalt may be located where it is desired to install the permanent basketball system. Accordingly, the concrete or asphalt may have to be removed and/or replaced to allow the basketball system to be installed. Undesirably, removing and/or replacing the concrete or asphalt may be difficult, time-consuming and expensive. In addition, this would most likely prevent use of the driveway during the period of construction and repair.
Permanent basketball systems that are installed at home are usually located outdoors and are exposed to the harsh elements of the weather throughout the entire year. Disadvantageously, when conventional permanent basketball systems are constantly exposed to the elements such as rain, snow, sleet, high temperatures and high humidity, various components of the basketball system may prematurely oxidize, corrode or rust. Premature oxidation, corrosion and rust can be particularly troublesome in basketball goal assemblies that have any moving parts, such as height adjustment mechanisms or breakaway rim assemblies. Moreover, constant exposure to the elements may cause failure of such mechanisms.
It is also known to use permanent basketball systems indoors. Indoor basketball systems, however, require a large amount of space and must be located away from other structures to allow basketball to be played. For example, conventional indoor basketball systems must generally be spaced several feet away from the walls so that the walls do not interfere while playing basketball. These permanent basketball systems may limit or prevent the space from being used for other purposes. For example, schools typically have a gymnasium and basketball goals may be located near the ends or sides of the gymnasium. The basketball goals may undesirably preclude or interfere with use of the gymnasium for other purposes. In addition, on formal occasions, objection may be made to the appearance of the permanently mounted basketball goals.
Portable basketball systems that are movable from one location to another location are also known. Conventional portable basketball systems typically require a large amount of weight so that the basketball goal remains in a generally rigid, upright position for use when playing basketball or shooting baskets. In particular, many conventional portable basketball systems require a large and heavy base to prevent the basketball system from undesirably moving. The large and heavy base, however, may make the basketball system very difficult to move and may require the assistance of several people to set up or relocate the basketball goal. Additionally, these known basketball system are often relatively expensive and that may prohibit people from using these systems at home.
Conventional portable basketball systems may use removable weights, such as sand bags or metal weights, which help maintain the basketball system in a fixed position. Disadvantageously, these removable weights can be extremely heavy, difficult to lift and hard to position in the desired location. Accordingly, although these basketball systems using removable weights may be easier to move in relation to permanently mounted goal assemblies, the weights or weighted members are often not easy to move, lift or position, which may limit the usefulness of the portable basketball system.
In an attempt to make portable basketball goal assemblies that are better suited for home use, large support bases with a hollow cavity for receiving ballast material, such as sand or water, were developed. These portable basketball systems may be moved into the desired location and then the support base may be filled with sand or water to add weight to the system, which would help prevent the system from undesirably moving during use. Disadvantageously, the large support bases of many conventional portable basketball systems were difficult to fill with sand or water. In addition, in order to move many of these portable basketball systems, the sand or water had to be removed and this may be very inconvenient and awkward.
The support bases for these known portable basketball systems were quite large because a large amount of weight was required to maintain the basketball system in a stationary position while playing basketball. Undesirably, the large size of the support base may significantly increase shipping costs because the base is typically transported within a large, bulky package. The large size of the support base may also increase storage costs because of the size of the packaging. Additionally, because the support bases for conventional portable basketball systems may be quite large, a considerable amount of material is required to construct the base, which may increase the cost of the portable basketball system. Further, the large support base may interfere with playing basketball because the players and/or basketball may strike or hit the base.
Many conventional basketball systems also include large and/or heavy parts, which can be difficult to install. In addition, these large parts may increase the size of the packaging, which can further increase shipping costs. Finally, some retail consumers may not have access to vehicles (such as trucks, sport utility vehicles, or the like) that can transport the large packaging and thus may choose not to purchase the basketball systems.


Named entities in a document are identified. Each named entity is classified as either anonymous or public based on analysis including at least syntactic analysis of one or more portions of the document containing the named entity. In one suitable approach, each named person entity is classified by default as anonymous, and each named entity that is not a named person is classified by default as public. Named entities are selectively re-classified based on evidence contained in the document indicating that the default classification is incorrect. The classification of a named entity as either anonymous or public is propagated to multiple occurrences of that named entity in the document Those named entities classified as anonymous are anonymized.

Document anonymization involves removing personally-identifying information from a document. Typically, a document may be anonymized prior to publication or other widespread dissemination due to legal and/or privacy considerations. For example, medical records may be anonymized before public release to protect the medical privacy of patients. As another example, French law mandates that judicial decisions be anonymized prior to public release.
Document anonymization is a difficult task in part because some personally identifying information may be properly retained, while other personally identifying information should be anonymized. For example, when anonymizing a published judicial decision, information identifying the judge and the lawyers is typically retained, while information identifying clients and witnesses is removed. In the medical area, anonymization may remove information identifying patients while retaining information identifying medical personnel or medical facilities such as hospitals.
Document anonymization is also difficult because of linkages between entities named in a document. For example, a location typically should not be anonymized. However, the location may be contextually associated with a private person in a way which would indirectly identify the person, even with the person's name removed. For example, in the sentence:                In response, John Doe indicated that he would use his authority as mayor of Mayberry to block the new construction project.the name "John Doe" is an anonymous pseudonym for a real person who is to remain anonymous. However, by retaining the named location "Mayberry" the allegedly anonymized sentence still identifies the person, since the context shows that "John Doe" is the mayor of Mayberry, and the identity of the person holding that position is generally known. Similarly, the retention of dates, locations, titles, numbers, and so forth may, or may not, provide improper cues as to identity, depending upon context.
Heretofore, document anonymization has typically been a manual procedure, due to the context-sensitive nature of the process, the wide range of variables involved in determining whether a particular entity should be removed, and the importance of avoiding inadvertent disclosure of private information. However, manual anonymization is labor-intensive. Publishers of anonymized documents would benefit from methods and apparatuses for providing automated assistance in the anonymization process.

Document anonymization apparatus and method


The present invention relates to a drainage system for a roof window including at least one window frame or/and frame having walls, where at least one drainage groove is placed in the walls of the window.

To install a window in a sloped roof, one at first needs to mount a window frame in the roof by means of supporters, then fit a glazed sash in the frame, and equip the frame and the sash with a covering and a flashing member as well as some other necessary parts.
Such a window satisfies people's normal use in a sloped roof.
Typically, a sloped roof window comprises a window frame, a sash frame, coverings, flashing members, and sealing elements. The top, bottom and lateral frame members of the window frame and the sash frame need coverings for covering the frames and protecting the wood or other material of the window from the weather such as rain, sunshine and blizzard. Meanwhile, there is a sealing provided between the frame and the sash.
The conventional window frame and sash is made of wood, in order to provide a sealing for the window, and to protect the wooden material, people usually use sealing pads or strips. Since wood tends to swell and deform due to exposure thereof to rain and moisture, people mainly consider protection of the wooden members at the outer surface of the frame and the sash, in order to isolate the wooden members from rain and moisture.
However, the window is frequently opened for ventilation, inevitably the weather will affect the wood, besides other surrounding factors. In particular when raindrops adhere the inner side of the window frame or the outer side of the sash exposed to the surroundings, the raindrops drip down along the inner surface of the window frame and the outer surface of the sash. Therefore, the seal will fail finally no matter what a good new one it is. In other word, as the time goes on, the sealing effect will go worse and the wooden members will be eroded. Besides, the temperature difference between the indoor and the outdoor causes the moisture at the inner surface of the window glass condense to water, which erodes the wooden window.
What's more, no matter which the reason for the erosion of the window wood is, rain, moisture or condensate, they all can adhere themselves on the wooden window for a long time, for example on the inner surface and the outer surface of the sash, or they can stay in cavities formed between the frame and the sash. As the cumulated water cannot be discharged soon, the penetration of the rain or water into the wood cannot be stopped in time. This is another considerable reason for erosion of the wooden window.
To solve the above disadvantages, people have tried hard to improve the structure of the window. As disclosed in WO99/51831 "A ROOF WINDOW WITH MAIN FRAME AND SASH COVERING MEMBERS", the bottom frame member of the window frame is covered by an covering, while the bottom member of the sash frame is covered by another covering, which covers the covering for the bottom member of the window frame. The cavity formed between coverings can generate vertexes, which prevent the window frame and the sash frame from the weather. Although the coverings are well windproof and waterproof, it is possible that rain, dew and condensate still enter into the window.
Materials for manufacturing windows have changed. Aluminum alloy, plastic, metal and nonmetal complex are used for making windows. Some high strength, waterproof and erosion-resistant materials are used for manufacturing the window frame and the sash frame. Now, people are trying to solve the sealing problem in roof windows.


A lottery instant win game card simulating a Hold'Em Poker styled card game with multiple chances of winning for a player. The instant game card includes at least two sets of player hands and at least two sets of opponent hands, with at least two sets of community cards, and at least two prizes. The player can combine one set of the player hands with either set of community cards to form a strongest hand for that set of player hands. The strongest player hand is compared against the strongest opponent hand. If the player wins, the player wins the prize associated with that winning player hand.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to lottery tickets and instant-win games and, more specifically, to a scratch ticket instant lottery game that generally simulates Texas Hold'em Poker.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lottery games and instant games, whether run by governmental or private entities, have proven to be quite popular, and go back some time in history. Participation in a game gives a person a chance to win a cash or a merchandise prize while also allowing private parties and lottery authorities to collect monies for public or charitable purposes. When taxed, the sales from games also provide additional revenue to state and city governments.
Instant lottery games are generally based on revealing pre-determined game symbols, the games having a pre-determined outcome based on the programmed game parameters. Profitable these games may be, they are not always interesting to play. In order to new lottery game attract players, therefore, different themes have been developed for instant win lottery games. One of the examples of a game with a card game theme is Texas Hold'Em poker game as disclosed by the U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,407,199 and 6,435,500 B2. However, the games disclosed by these patents are mostly interactive games in which a set of three hands are displayed to a player, who will choose one of the hands to play. After choosing one hand to play, a corresponding set of community cards is revealed. If the player has chosen the set of community cards that provides him with the highest possible choice, the player wins the corresponding prize. The player does not play against an opponent and the chance of winning is one out of three.
Accordingly, it is desirous to have an instant win Texas Hold'Em styled poker lottery game that is easy to play and which presents some challenge to the player. Such game could additionally provides more chances to win. It is thus to such a game that the present invention is primarily directed.

Poker style scratch-ticket lottery games


A process for treating a pathogen-containing sludge of biological solids including the steps of mixing the sludge with calcium oxide, ammonia and carbon dioxide so as to elevate a temperature of the mixed sludge to between 50.degree. C. and 140.degree. C. and to elevate a pH of the mixed sludge to greater than 9.8, pressurizing the mixed sludge to a pressure of greater than 14.7 p.s.i.a., and discharging the pressurized mixed sludge. The sludge has a water content of between 65% and 94% by weight. Ammonia is added to the sludge in the form of either ammonia gas, ammonium hydroxide, ammonium bicarbonate or as a byproduct of the reaction of the calcium oxide with the water in the sludge. Carbon dioxide is added to the sludge in the form of carbon dioxide gas or a reactant of ammonium bicarbonate. The pressurized mixed sludge is discharged by flashing the sludge across a restricting orifice and by evaporating a liquid component of the flashed sludge.

In the past, various techniques have been developed for the purpose of sterilizing or decontaminating biological sludges and wastes. The most common process is the process of mixing lime with the sludge. The reaction of lime with the water in the sludge serves to elevate the temperature of the sludge for a maximum of 100.degree. C.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,781,842 and 4,902,431, issued to Nicholson, teach a process to decontaminate wastewater sludge to a level that meets or exceeds U.S. EPA process standards. The process mixes sludge with an alkaline material sufficient to raise the pH of the end product to 12 or higher for at least one day. This process will raise the temperature to 50.degree. C., but, will not sterilize the sludge, nor does it eliminate the pathogenic microorganisms.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,978, issued to Wurtz, relates to a process of lime stabilization of wastewater treatment plant: sludge. This patent discloses the dewatering of the sludge and intimately mixing calcium oxide to raise the temperature so as to produce a stabilized sludge particle.
None of these prior art inventions are capable of achieving temperatures, when mixed the sludge, of greater than 100.degree. C. None of these prior art techniques allow for the shorter drying times as required by 40 C.F.R. Subchapter 0, Part 503.32 a.311.A-D. The shorter drying times, as required by this Subchapter, are in accordance with the following formula: EQU D=131,700,000/(1.times.10**0.14t) (1)
where D=time in days t=temperature in degrees Celsius
Importantly, it is important to be able to treat biological sludge so as to kill off the eggs of parasites. Presently, a parasite known as helminth infects many people throughout the world. This is a parasite which crosses the blood/brain barrier so that the parasite can actually reside in the brain. Treatment has occurred in the past by simply chlorinating water so as to kill the living parasite. Unfortunately, tests have shown that the mere chlorination of water does not kill the egg of the parasite. If the egg of the parasite is delivered to a human host, then the egg can actually hatch within the human body and seriously infect the human host. Presently, there is approximately a thirty-six month life expectancy for those that are infected with the helminth parasite.
This is particularly a problem associated with municipal biological sludge. In certain areas of the world, the biological sludge of waste treatment processes is distributed in farming areas for use as a fertilizer on the field. If the municipal sludge contains the eggs of this parasite, then these eggs will reside within the field so as to ultimately be found on foods grown in the fertilized field. Furthermore, any water runoff from the field will tend to move the eggs from the field into a river or stream. In certain areas of the world, river or stream water is used for consumption and for bathing. As such, the eggs of the parasite can be delivered to such persons. Additionally, farm animals can often contact the parasite by consuming the water from the streams or by consuming food in the fields. It is possible for humans to become infected from the parasite by way of the eating of the meat of the animal. As such, it is very important to develop a process for the treatment of a biological sludge which effectively kills the eggs of the helminth parasite.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,069, issued on Jun. 3, 1997 to the present inventors, describes a process for treating a waste sludge of biological solids. This process is intended to decontaminate wastewater sludge to a level that meets or exceeds U.S. EPA standards. This process mixes sludge, under pressure, with calcium oxide and with sulfamic acid sufficient to raise the temperature to achieve pathogen destruction. Although the process is efficient with regard to pathogen destruction, it does not address process and economic advantages of adding or producing, during the process, ammonia, ammonium hydroxide or ammonium bicarbonate in a concentration of 200 ppm to 30,000 ppm. Furthermore, the product of the process of U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,069 has a relatively high pH. As such, the product of the process is not desirable for use as farm fertilizers until the pH is sufficiently lowered to a range of between 8.5 and 9.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a process for reducing biological waste sludge pathogen, bacteria, virus and parasite concentrations to below harmful levels.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a process that converts the biological waste sludge into a sellable and useable end product.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a process that eliminates or reduces waste incineration and landfilling of waste sludges.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a process that eliminates the odors resulting from lime stabilization.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a process that facilitates the dewatering of the biological sludge.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a process that recycles waste heat.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a process for treating waste sludges that is cost: effective, easy to use, and easy to install.
These and other objects and advantages of the present: invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.

Process for treating a waste sludge of biological solids


An apparatus for supporting a worm drive saw in a hanging position from a beam of a support structure, such as a sawhorse. The support hanger comprises a beam attachment section for engaging an end of the beam and a saw support section, attached to or integral with the beam attachment section, for supporting the saw in a position that allows the user of the saw to easily, safely and quickly place the saw in or remove the saw from the support hanger. The beam attachment section has an insert component which is received in a slot in the beam and a pair of spaced apart side walls that define a beam opening which receives a portion of the beam therein. The saw support section comprises a handle engaging member for receiving and supporting a top handle of the saw and saw plates against which the saw leans.

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to apparatuses for supporting a tool when the tool is not in use. More particularly, the present invention relates to such apparatuses that are configured to safely and securely support a sawing type tool above the ground to reduce the likelihood of damage to the tool and injury to persons. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to such apparatuses that are configured to support a worm drive saw and the like.
B. Background
As is well known, construction work of any kind requires a relatively large number of tools to accomplish the desired construction objective. This is true whether the construction project involves building a large scale multi-story building, factory, house, road, dam or the like or a relatively small, or even very small scale home remodeling or improvement type of project. Commonly utilized construction tools include such general items as hammers, saws, screwdrivers, drills, wrenches, chisels and the like. Many of these tools are motorized, with the motor being electrically (wire or battery), pneumatically or even hydraulically powered to better accomplish the intended tasks. Naturally, the powered tools are generally more dangerous to operate and use. As is also well known, many of the tools utilized by construction workers are manufactured to accomplish one or more specific tasks in an as easy, safe and efficient manner as possible in light of the inherent danger of using the tool. In addition to tools, construction workers utilize a number of specially configured apparatuses that support the tools the workers use, support the materials that will be worked on by the tools and/or support the materials while the construction user is working on the material to modify it as desired or needed to accomplish the construction objective.
One of the most commonly utilized tools for any construction site is a powered saw, typically an electrically powered saw that connects to a source of electrical power at a wall outlet or generator, usually by way of an extension cord, or which supports one or more attached batteries, usually in the form of a battery pack that removably attaches to the saw. Although there is a wide variety of such saws available, perhaps the most commonly utilized powered saws are circular saws. The most commonly available types of circular saws are those which are referred to as direct drive saws and the worm drive saws. Although both type of saws rotate a circular configured saw blade, the way in which the motor connects to and operatively rotates the saw blade is different. For direct drive saws, the shaft that connects the motor to the saw blade runs directly out of the motor to rotate the saw blade. In contrast, worm drive saws have the motor mounted to the side and rear of the tool with a worm gear that interconnects the motor and the saw blade. The motor shaft turns the worm gear that transmits power to the saw blade. The configuration of the worm drive saw substantially reduces the likelihood that minor binding will stop the motor and allows the worm drive saw to be used for much more "substantial" cutting work. A variety of manufacturers make one or both of these saws.
Most worm drive saws have an electrically powered motor that, due in part to the loading on the motor, is connected to a power cord that connects the motor to a source of power. To assist the user with holding and utilizing the worm drive saw, the slightly elongated saw body has a pair of handles securely attached thereto. One handle is disposed generally on the top side of the saw and one is disposed generally in the rearward portion of the saw. Typically, the user grasps a handle in each hand when using the saw to cut material, typically wood. When the worm drive saw is not being used to cut material, many users either place the saw on the ground (a blade guard protects the saw blade) or hangs the saw from one of the handles. Despite the blade guard, care must be taken by the user when he or she is handling, positioning and storing (such as by hanging) the saw when the saw is not in use. Dropping the saw on the ground, concrete, asphalt or other surface or placing it where it can fall on the surface is likely to damage the saw body and/or the saw blade. Damage to the saw body can cause the motor and/or worm drive gear to not operate properly, which often results in loss of the saw. In addition, if the worm drive saw is not safely stored it can be in a position to hurt someone walking or kneeling by the saw if he or she comes into contact with the saw.
One challenge for most users is where to put the saw when he or she is between using the saw to cut on the material, such as when the material is being measured, positioned for cutting or removed after cutting so another piece of material can be placed in position to be cut. Because a typical job site will have a number of workers working on different projects and a variety of different tools being used by these workers, there is generally more people traffic in the area where the user may be cutting material with the saw. This makes proper, safe placement of the worm drive saw even more important and generally somewhat more difficult. Though not recommended, many people place the worm drive saw on the ground or on a pile of wood, bricks or other materials while not in use. Unfortunately, as will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, the worm drive saw can easily get dirty or damaged by the movement of people and/or machines in the area where the saw is placed.
As set forth above, most construction work requires the use of one or more apparatuses that support the tools the workers use, support the materials that will be worked on by the tools and/or support the materials while the worker is working on the material to modify it as desired or needed to accomplish the construction objective. With regard to the use of worm drive saws, apparatuses are required to support the wood or other material that is being cut by the saw. Perhaps the most commonly utilized type of support apparatus is a sawhorse, which is usually utilized in pairs (or more) to support the material being cut by the worm drive saw. The typical sawhorse has a generally horizontally disposed elongated beam having a pair of legs at or near each end of the beam, with each pair of legs typically formed in an inverted v-shape to support the beam at or near the top of the two legs. If properly configured, a pair of sawhorses can safely support a length of material, typically in the form of a sheet, while it is cut or otherwise worked on by the construction worker. Although sawhorses can be made out of a wide range of materials, most sawhorses are made out of wood, often utilizing a 2×4 or 2×6 for the beam and 2×4s for the legs. Often each pair of legs of a sawhorse has a transversely disposed bracket or other member to help support the legs, and therefore the sawhorse itself, in an upright position. Often this bracket or other member is configured to selectively allow the legs to collapse for ease of transporting or storing the sawhorse.
When utilizing a sawhorse to support material as it is being cut by a worm drive saw, most workers prefer to hang the saw from the sawhorse so the saw does not need to be placed on the ground or on a pile of materials and so the saw will be readily accessible to the user when he or she is ready to utilize the saw to cut the material being supported by the sawhorse. To hang the worm drive saw from the sawhorse, many people drive a nail into one of the wooden members of the sawhorse and hang the saw from the nail. Alternatively, some people attach a hook to one of the beam or leg members or fashion a hook from on of those members to hang the saw. These are usually temporary, makeshift solutions to the problem of where to place the worm drive saw when it is not in use to cut material. Unfortunately, the saw can be relatively easily bumped or otherwise knocked off of the support nail or hook and fall to the ground, floor or other support surface on which the sawhorse stands, which can cause damage to the saw and/or the surface.
What is needed, therefore, is an improved apparatus for supporting a worm drive saw when the saw is not being utilized to cut material. Preferably, an improved saw support apparatus would be configured to allow a user to hang a worm drive saw from a sawhorse, or similarly configured support apparatus, that is also being used to support the material that is to be cut by the worm drive saw, in a manner which allows the user easy access to the saw and which reduces the likelihood the saw will be damaged by contact with other persons or machines or by a fall onto a surface. Such an apparatus should be configured to allow the user to safely, easily and quickly hang the saw from the apparatus when the saw is not needed, such as when positioning or measuring the material to be cut, and to safely, easily and quickly retrieve the saw from the apparatus when the saw is needed to cut the material supported by the sawhorse.


A string matching system comprises a state transition table generator for generating a state transition table based on a matching condition described in a regular expression, and an automaton for including a state that makes a transition according to the state transition table generated by the state transition table generator; if, in the state transition table generated based on the matching condition, there exists no next transition destination state with respect to a current-state and input-characters tuple, the automaton makes a transition to the initial state without proceeding to read input characters.

In recent years, document digitization has been in progressing a variety of fields, thus leading to requests for a method of effectively searching documents. A method of searching includes that of matching characters in a document with a pattern designated based on regular expressions. The regular expressions, which are set forth in, e.g., Non-Patent Document 1, are notation that represents a class of languages as referred to as regular languages. It is well known in the art that a string matching technique in which the regular expressions are used as search conditions is based on a DFA (deterministic finite automaton).
The string matching technique by the DFA is based upon a model of a state transition machine (an automaton). The state transition machine incorporates a state and a state transition function. The state transition function is a function that determines the next state with respect to a current state and input characters. In the string matching technique using the DFA, the state transition machine reads input text on a character-by-character basis, and makes a transition to the next state obtained by applying the state transition function to a current-state and input-characters tuple. This method allows matching to be performed by scanning the text only once without backtracking, thereby enabling high-speed string matching to be performed. When matching based on a plurality of conditions is performed, a finite automaton (Moore machine) with output is also employed such that the DFA is expanded and the output is defined for each state in order to distinguish conditions under which matching has successfully been performed.
While a DFA state transition function is determined by a regular expression that is to be a matching condition, there has been a procedure that temporarily converts regular expression into an NFA (nondeterministic finite automaton) and then the NFA, in turn, into the DFA, which is well known and set forth in, e.g., Non-Patent Document 1. The string matching technique by the DFA has a feature that provides high-speed processing, which, in contrast, has raised a drawback in that a state transition table for achieving the DFA state transition function tends to be enormous.
A matching condition shown in FIG. 52, which is disclosed in Patent Document 3, is taken as an example. Shown in FIG. 53 are, in a finite automaton with conventional output, a failed function and a state transition table that are generated from the matching condition shown in FIG. 52. In this way, the state transition table that retains 90 different tuples with respect to the state number of 18 and five character kinds, needs to be generated.
As a method to solve such problem, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 illustrate a method of reducing memory capacity in the state transition table, by removing, after converting into the DFA the state transition table based upon the AC (Aho-Corasick) technique, from the state transition table the transition operations to an initial state and its next state. The string matching techniques shown in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, however, does not permit a general regular expression to be a matching target because of the matching target being limited to fixed string keywords.
By defining the failed function in the DFA, Patent Document 3 also indicates a method of reducing the state transition table. The method shown in Patent Document 3 may in some cases result in another failure of transition in a state in which the transition has been once made by the failed function—in other words, transition failure could in some situations chain-react. In such a case, a problem has been that there is a need for references to be repeatedly made to the failed function, thus resulting in the matching speed being reduced.
The matching condition shown in FIG. 52, which is disclosed in Patent Document 3, is taken as an example. Shown in FIG. 54 are the failed function and the state transition table that are generated from the matching condition in FIG. 52, which is disclosed in Patent Document 3.
A case where the matching condition is that shown in FIG. 52 and an input string consists of "aaca," is taken as an example.
The method disclosed in Patent Document 3 first initializes a state to State 1. Next, a first character "a" is read, the state makes a transition to State 3 as indicated in the column of the input character "a" in the line of State 1 in the state transition table. Then, a character "a" is read, in a similar fashion, the state making a transition form State 3 to State 6. Then, reading the third character "c" results in the state making a transition from State 6 to State 10. Since, when a fourth character "a" appears next, however, there exists no transition destination corresponding to the character "a," the state first makes a transition to State 5 that is the transition destination when the state fails in its transition to State 10. Furthermore, because State 5 has no transition destination corresponding to the character "a," the state makes a transition to State 2, which is the transition destination when the state fails in its transition to State 5. However, the fact that no transition destination corresponding to the character "a" exists in State 2 either causes the state to make a transition to State 1, which is the transition destination when the state fails in its transition to State 2. The fact that in State 1 there exists State 3 of the transition destination corresponding to the character "a" leads to the state transitioning to State 3. As described above, four times in total of references to the state transition table and their state transitions, are made with respect to a fourth input character, which requires a total of seven times of the state transition with respect to four input characters. In this manner, the method according to Patent Document 3 may in some cases repeat failures in state transitions and requires making a reference to a transition destination for every failure of the transition. A problem has been that, for this reason, the frequency of references of the state transition table increases, which results in matching performance degradation.
Non-Patent Document 1    E. J. Hopcroft, D. J. Ullman, "Formal Languages and their Relation to Automata," Addison Wesley (1969)
Patent Document 1    Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2004-103035
Patent Document 2    Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2004-103034
Patent Document 3    Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2994926

String matching system and program therefor

Abstract: Furthermore, the string matching system comprises a state transition table generator for generating a state transition table based on matching conditions described in a regular expression, and an automaton that makes a transition according to the state transition table generated by the state transition table generator; if no next-transition destination state with respect to a current-state and input-character tuple exists in the state transition table generated based on the matching condition, then the state transition table generator determines an exclusion character based on which the automaton make a transition to a predetermined state without proceeding to read input characters, to generate a state transition table.


A method of timing reference management for a mobile device in a wireless communication system comprising a network is disclosed. The method comprises being configured a first cell of a timing advance group, as a timing reference cell of the timing advance group; and when the timing reference cell is changed from the first cell to a second cell of the timing advance group and a timing alignment timer applied for the timing advance group for uplink transmission synchronization is running, deriving a new uplink transmission timing according to a second timing adjust value; wherein the second timing adjust value is calculated according to a first downlink timing of the first cell, a second downlink timing of the second cell, and a first timing adjust value for deriving the uplink transmission timing when the timing reference cell is the first cell.

1. Field of the Invention
The application relates to a method utilized in a wireless communication system, and more particularly, to a method of timing reference management in a wireless communication system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Toward advanced high-speed wireless communication system, such as transmitting data in a higher peak data rate, LTE-Advanced system is standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) as an enhancement of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) system. LTE-Advanced system targets faster switching between power states, improves performance at the cell edge, and includes subjects, such as bandwidth extension, coordinated multipoint transmission/reception (COMP), uplink multiple input multiple output (MIMO), etc.
For bandwidth extension, carrier aggregation is introduced to the LTE-Advanced system for extension to wider bandwidth, where two or more component carriers are aggregated, for supporting wider transmission bandwidths (for example up to 100 MHz) and for spectrum aggregation. According to carrier aggregation capability, multiple component carriers are aggregated into overall wider bandwidth, where a user equipment (UE) can establish multiple links corresponding to the multiple component carriers for simultaneously receiving and transmitting. In carrier aggregation, the UE only has one radio resource control (RRC) connection with the network. At RRC connection establishment/re-establishment/handover, one serving cell provides the Non-Access Stratum (NAS) mobility information, and at RRC connection re-establishment/handover, one serving cell provides the security input. This cell is referred to as a primary cell (PCell). In the downlink, the component carrier corresponding to the PCell is the Downlink Primary Component Carrier (DL PCC) while in the uplink it is the Uplink Primary Component Carrier (UL PCC). In addition, cells other than the PCell are named secondary cell (SCell).
Since the UE may not need to use all of the configured cells (i.e. PCell and one or more SCells), only some SCells are activated, so as to save UE power. Note that, the PCell is always activated. Generally, an evolved Node-B (eNB) activates or deactivates a SCell by sending a signalling (e.g. a medium access control control element (MAC CE), or Activation/Deactivation command) to the UE. In addition, the UE starts a deactivation timer for a SCell when the SCell is activated, wherein the SCell is deactivated when the deactivation timer expires. In other words, the deactivation timer provides a period of time for SCell activation. Please note that, when the SCell is deactivated, the UE does not need to monitor physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of the deactivated SCell. Further, the UE shall not transmit on UL-SCH on the deactivated SCell.
As abovementioned, it is possible to configure a UE of a PCell and one SCell or more SCells. Therefore, multiple timing advance values, each for synchronization with a serving eNB on uplink timing for preventing signals transmitted from the UE from colliding with those sent from other UEs under the coverage of the eNB, are needed for PCell and SCell or more SCells. Note that, serving cells having uplink to which the same timing advance value applies are grouped in a timing advance group (TAG). Each TAG contains at least one serving cell with configured UL, and the mapping of each serving cell to a TAG is configured by the serving eNB. In order to realize uplink timing alignment, the UE maintains a time alignment timer (TAT) whose running state indicates that uplink transmission is still synchronized. TAT may be applied for a TAG.
In carrier aggregation, a UE may apply information (i.e. parameter settings) to one cell by referring to the information observed from other cell, which is called reference cell in this disclosure. For example, the reference cell may be a timing reference cell. For the timing reference cell, if a UE uses the downlink timing of Cell #x as the timing reference for the Cell #y to derive an uplink transmission timing, then call Cell #x is the timing reference cell of the Cell #y.
Applicant notices a problem associated to timing reference cell change. Although the uplink transmission timing is the same for all cells in a TAG, the downlink timing for each cell in the TAG may be different. A timing reference cell of the TAG whose downlink timing is used to derive the common uplink transmission timing is introduced in the LTE-Advanced system. Based on specification of the LTE-Advanced system, the uplink transmission timing is a downlink timing of the timing reference cell plus an integer value, called timing adjust value NTA. The eNB transmits a timing advance command (TAC) to the UE to adjust the timing adjust value NTA. The TAC includes an integer which is a positive or negative integer to indicate the UE to advance or slow the current uplink timing for the amount of the value. The abovementioned TAT is further used for determining whether timing adjust value NTA is still valid for the UE to derived uplink transmission timing. When the TAT expires, the UE considers timing adjust value NTA is invalid, so there is no uplink transmission timing available.
Note that, in the LTE-Advanced system, it requires that cells in a TAG must have downlink timing difference smaller than 1 step of timing adjust value NTA, so as to avoid timing jump problem, which may impact data decoding in the UE. However, specification of the LTE-Advanced system does not specify how to set timing adjust value NTA when timing reference cell changes from a cell to another. Thus, the UE may not derive correct uplink transmission timing.


An apparatus for use by a person to do squat exercises that emphasizes substantially the full range of upper leg muscle groups while alleviating the pressure that concentrates in the lower back, the apparatus being in the form of an inclined elongated platform having a bottom surface that rests on a floor and an upper surface supported above and in close proximity to the bottom surface at an inclined angle of about 11 to 21 degrees, the platform having a width sufficient to permit the user to place at least a portion of both feet thereon with the user's legs spaced apart.

Regimented exercise routines have long been utilized by athletes as a part of their athletic training. In recent times, however, physical fitness has become important not only to athletes but to the general population. The health and emotional benefits from good physical conditioning have been well documented, and for this reason today more people than ever before are interested in innovative exercise routines and proper exercise equipment.
One basic exercise that has long been used by the professional athlete and that is now in common use by the general public for strengthening, conditioning and toning muscles is the basic squat exercise. The typical way in which this exercise has been performed is for the person to stand with both feet flat on a floor surface with the feet spaced shoulder width apart and directly underneath the person's torso. Upon initial execution of the squat exercise the knees are slightly bent while maintaining the body in a substantially erect position. During decent the elevation of the torso is reduced toward the floor level until the bottom position is reached. The legs are then straightened to raise the torso back to the original position.
Another basic exercise used by the professional athlete and now in common use by the general public is to strengthen and stretch the lower leg muscles and Achilles Tendon. This is done by performing "calve raises" and "calve stretches". Calve raises strengthen and stretch the lower leg muscles and are performed with the person standing erect with feet flat on a surface. The heels are raised contracting the calve muscles. The heels are then lowered to the original position.
Calve stretches are typically performed with feet flat and spaced shoulder width apart and on a flat surface. The bottom of the feet remain flat on a surface while the knees are bent and lowered in order to stretch the Achilles Tendon and lower leg muscles.
A problem associated with the squat exercise when performed by a person standing on a flat surface is that it tends to concentrate stress on the person's lower back, that is, in the Erector Spinae muscle group. The pressure concentrates in the lower back due to the excessive forward lean of the back needed to stabilize the body during the squat exercise. Since lower back injuries are a common problem of modern society, any exercise that overly concentrates on this area of the user's muscle group is usually considered deleterious to the overall exercise program.
An object of this invention is to provide a wedge shaped member for use by a person doing squat exercises to improve the development of the major leg, buttocks, and hip muscle groups, while minimizing the stress on the person's lower back muscle groups.
Another object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive, portable and easy to use apparatus designed to position the user's body in a less strenuous state during execution of the squat exercise thereby reducing the pressure that concentrates in the lower back and minimizing the risk of lower back injury.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus that can be used to enhance the physical fitness of the user by improving overall leg muscle strength and conditioning through one exercise.
Still another object of this invention is to stretch and strengthen the lower leg muscle groups and the Achilles Tendon.

Apparatus for use in doing squat exercises


Described is a process for producing aqueous solutions of vinyllactam polymers and solids obtainable therefrom by drying, especially polyvinylpyrrolidone, said process comprising using one or more sulfur components selected from the group consisting of sulfur dioxide, sulfurous acid and one or more salts of sulfurous acid, to reduce residual monomer. Also described are vinyllactam polymers obtainable by the process which have good stability in storage, the use of these vinyllactam polymers, and articles of manufacture and preparations comprising these vinyllactam polymers or obtained by use thereof.

Producing N-vinylpyrrolidone polymers by free-radical polymerization is known. The polymerization mechanism under various conditions is described for example in Polymer Journal, 17, 143-152 (1985). The patent literature describes not only polymerizations in organic solvents as in alcoholic solution in U.S. Pat. No. 4,053,696 for example but also in aqueous solution as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,335,454 for example.
Polymerization in organic solvents as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,053,696 generally leads to products comprising only a relatively low proportion of impurities such as formic acid. But this process has the immense disadvantage that the polymerization first has to be carried out in a solvent such as isopropanol. Only after the polymerization has ended, a costly and inconvenient distillation process has to be used to distill off the solvent e.g. the isopropanol and replace it with water. This generates comparatively large amounts of solvent, which either have to be disposed of or purified by distillation. This leads to long occupancy of the polymerization reactor and an unfavorable space-time yield.
Polymerization of N-vinylpyrrolidone in aqueous solution, by contrast, is usually carried out in the presence of hydrogen peroxide as initiator, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,335,454 for example. The molecular weight of the polyvinylpyrrolidone here depends on the hydrogen peroxide concentration in that low molecular weights are the result of high hydrogen peroxide concentrations, and vice versa. But high hydrogen peroxide quantities promote the formation of formic acid in the aqueous system; polymers thus obtained have a distinct yellow coloration even in the as-polymerized state.
DE 11 2005 002 719 describes a process for producing aqueous polyvinylpyrrolidone polymer solutions. A process for handling vinylpyrrolidone polymer solutions is also disclosed. This process provides polymers of low HAZEN color number (the Hazen color number corresponds to the "cobalt-platinum color number" and is known per se to a person skilled in the art, for example from the industrial standard DIN ISO 6271-1). The polymer solutions obtained by this process have the immense disadvantage of a high formic acid content and of gradually discoloring in the course of storage. The formic acid is by-produced as an undesired secondary component during the polymerization. The polymer obtained is unsuitable for frequent purposes, especially when PVP powders are produced from the solutions by spray drying. There are formic acid limits to be heeded for use in pharmaceutical and cosmetic products in particular. For instance, a formic acid limit of not more than 0.5 weight percent is prescribed in the "Povidones" monograph in the European Pharmacopeia, and even in cosmetic formulations, the formic acid fraction present as preservative must not exceed a limit of 0.5 weight percent. As mentioned, the initially colorless solutions discolor on prolonged storage.
But this property of discolorations is precisely what is undesirable for cosmetic formulations, especially when transparent, colorless hair gels are to be produced therefrom.
Bühler reports color changes in aqueous PVP solutions especially after storage or heating, for example in the course of sterilization. The resulting yellow to yellowish brown coloration results from oxidation due to atmospheric oxygen. This, according to Bühler, can be avoided by adding suitable antioxidants. Bühler names cysteine and sodium sulfite as such antioxidants (Volker Bühler, "Polyvinylpyrrolidone—Excipients for Pharmaceuticals", Springer, 2005, pages 34 and 35 regarding stability in solid and liquid dosage forms).
The peroxides from the polymerization and formed directly thereafter have the disadvantageous effect of being at least partly consumed even on addition to the polymer thus reducing the protection and the length of storage. To compensate this effect, therefore, comparatively large amounts of antioxidant have to be used.
The oxidation sensitivity of polymers such as PVP, the macroscopically visible and measurable effects of oxidation and also proposed measures to control and inhibit oxidation has been described in many publications (see for example Bühler in the above-cited publication; Kline in Modern Plastics, 1945, November, from page 157; Reppe in the monograph regarding PVP, Chemie Publishers, Weinheim, 1954, page 24; EP-B 873 130; U.S. Pat. No. 6,331,333; U.S. Pat. No. 6,498,231; Staszewska in "Die Angewandte Makromolekulare Chemie", 1983, 118, pages 1 to 17).
U.S. Pat. No. 2,821,519 describes a process for stabilizing PVP via addition of hydrazine and derivatives thereof. Hydrazines are toxicologically concerning and undesired in polyvinylpyrrolidones, N-vinylpyrrolidone copolymers and polymers of N-vinylpyrrolidone derivatives in particular.
EP-B 1 083 884 describes a process for stabilizing polyvinylpyrrolidones against peroxide formation. Aqueous solutions of the polymers are admixed with very small amounts of heavy metal salts or with peroxide-cleaving enzymes. These remain in the product. Suitable heavy metals are manganese, zinc, cobalt and especially copper.
However, the use of the heavy metals proposed is disadvantageous by reason of possible accumulation in the body. The use of enzymes is disadvantageous for cost and stability reasons.
GB 836,831 discloses a process for stabilizing polyvinylpyrrolidones against discoloration wherein solutions of the polymers are treated with sulfur dioxide, sulfurous acid or alkali metal sulfites. It is disclosed to add the sulfur compound by mixing it at room temperature into polymer solutions obtained by dissolving dry polymeric powder in water. The sulfur compound is used as a reducing agent which is said to offer protection from yellowing at high temperatures to which the polymer solution is exposed in the course of undergoing sterilization or drying.
DE 10 2005 005 974 discloses that in the process known from GB 836,831 the peroxide buildup by storage occurs to an even greater degree than in untreated polymers. DE 10 2005 005 974 discloses a process wherein the polyvinylpyrrolidones are first treated with sulfur dioxide, sulfurous acid or alkali metal salts thereof and then with a free-radical scavenger. The sulfur-containing reagents are added after the postpolymerization and after any acidic hydrolysis and immediately before the optional drying, incorporated by stirring and serve as reducing agent. Antioxidants have to be used in addition to achieve any stabilization.
Residual monomer is reduced in the prior art by repeated addition of minor initiator portions to the polymer solution after the polymerization and postpolymerization (DE 11 2005 002 719). This described aftertreatment of DE 11 2005 002 719 involving renewed addition of initiator, however, leads to elevated and unwanted formate contents.
Residual monomer reduction by addition of organic and inorganic acids is known from WO 93/16114 A1. It discloses reduction to pH below 5 for acidic hydrolysis of vinyllactams to free lactams, such as vinylpyrrolidone to 2-pyrrolidone.

Producing aqueous solutions of vinyllactam polymers and powders thereof