The present specification provides a novel compound capable of greatly enhancing lifespan, efficiency, electrochemical stability and thermal stability of an organic electronic device, and an organic electronic device containing the compound in an organic compound layer.

In the present specification, an organic electronic device is an electronic device using an organic semiconductor material, and requires hole and/or electron exchanges between an electrode and the organic semiconductor material. An organic electronic device may be categorized into two main groups depending on an operation principle. First is an electronic device in which excitons form in an organic material layer by the photons brought into the device from an external light source, these excitons are separated into electrons and holes, and these electrons and holes are used as a current source (voltage source) by each of these being transferred to other electrodes. Second is an electronic device in which holes and/or electrons are injected to an organic semiconductor material layer that forms an interface with an electrode by applying a voltage or a current to two or more electrodes, and the device is operated by the injected electrons and holes.
Examples of an organic electronic device include an organic light emitting device, an organic solar cell, an organic photo conductor (OPC) drum, an organic transistor and the like, and these all need an electron/hole injection material, an electron/hole extraction material, an electron/hole transfer material or a light emitting material for the driving of the device. Hereinafter, an organic light emitting device will be described in detail mostly, however, in the organic electronic devices described above, the electron/hole injection material, the electron/hole extraction material, the electron/hole transfer material or the light emitting material is all used under similar principles.
An organic light emission phenomenon generally refers to a phenomenon converting electrical energy to light energy using an organic material. An organic light emitting device using an organic light emission phenomenon normally has a structure including an anode, a cathode, and an organic material layer therebetween. Herein, the organic material layer is often formed in a multilayer structure formed with different materials in order to increase efficiency and stability of the organic light emitting device, and for example, may include a hole injection layer, a hole transfer layer, a light emitting layer, an electron transfer layer, an electron injection layer and the like. When a voltage is applied between the two electrodes in such an organic light emitting device structure, holes and electrons are injected to the organic material layer from the anode and the cathode, respectively, and when the injected holes and electrons meet, excitons are formed, and light emits when these excitons fall back to the ground state. Such an organic light emitting device is known to have properties such as spontaneous emission, high luminance, high efficiency, low driving voltage, wide viewing angle, high contrast and high rate response.
In an organic light emitting device, materials as an organic material layer may be divided into a light emitting material and a charge transfer material such as a hole injection material, a hole transfer material, an electron transfer material and an electron injection material depending on the function. The light emitting material includes, depending on the light emitting color, blue, green and red light emitting materials, and yellow and orange light emitting materials required for obtaining better natural color.
In addition, a host/dopant series may be used as a light emitting material in order to increase color purity and increase light emission efficiency through energy transfer. The principle is that, when a dopant having a smaller energy band gap than a host mostly forming a light emitting layer and having excellent light emission efficiency is mixed in a small quantity in the light emitting layer, excitons generated in the host are transferred to the dopant emitting light with high efficiency. Herein, light with a target wavelength may be obtained depending on the dopant type used since a wavelength of the host moves to a wavelength range of the dopant.
In order to sufficiently exhibit the excellent properties described above that an organic light emitting device has, materials forming an organic material layer in the device, for example, a hole injection material, a hole transfer material, a light emitting material, an electron transfer material, an electron injection material and the like need to be supported by stable and efficient materials first, however, stable and efficient organic material layer materials for an organic light emitting device have not yet been sufficiently developed, and accordingly, development of new materials has been continuously required.

Double spiro organic compound and organic electronic element comprising same


Systems, computer implemented methodology, and computer readable media for measuring position error signal differential nonlinearity in timing based servo patterns. A set of two or more reading heads, positioned at various locations along a servo stripe and orientated transverse to the longitudinal motion of the tape, collect PES data concerning servo stripes. A differential between the two reading heads is examined at various locations along the servo stripe of the servo pattern to ascertain differential PES data regarding an area of interests along the servo stripe. Examination of the differential data is thereafter conducted to isolate systematic PES readings from nonsystematic PES readings. The nonlinearity of the systematic PES readings at the various locations along the servo stripe is measured so as provide the ability to compensate for the nonlinear differential PES associated with the non-ideal shape of servo stripes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to timing based servo patterns that are laterally positioned on a linear data storage tape and, more particularly, to verification and measurement of nonlinearity of Position Error Signals in timing based servo patterns using differential nonlinearity.
2. Relevant Background
High density recording of digital information on magnetic tape continues to place more and more information on extremely narrow tracks. As technology progresses, it is reasonable to expect that thousands of tracks will exist on a single tape. Currently, tracks are on the order of 20 microns wide, yet to achieve storage densities on a tape cartridge in the order of 1-10 terra bytes (TB), track widths in the order of 5 to 1 microns will be necessary. Such high density recording accordingly requires the magnetic head tracking to be very accurate.
Servo signals developed from servo stripes written into the magnetic tape have long provided a means to accurately position the read/write heads over a track. Time-Based servo bands or patterns, which are written to the tape during the manufacturing process, are used as a reference to position all data tracks for the life of the cartridge. The servo pattern is comprised of a series of stripes that repeat down the length of the tape. The lateral positioning of a tape head in response to timing measurements based on the servo bands is well known in the art. Essentially, the read/write head is positioned based on timing of signals received from separate transducer heads of a timing based servo system that detects the servo stripes. In an actual drive, the recording head is mounted on a movable actuator and its position is constantly being monitored and corrected to compensate for lateral tape motion. The actuator is adjusted using a Position Error Signal ("PES"), which is the difference between the measured position computed from the servo pattern and the desired position of the head. PES is, therefore, essentially an indication of the position of the head as a function of the true or actual position of the head. Ideally, an insignificant (minimal) PES would signify that the indication where the head is corresponds to its actual location. Thus, when the head is properly registered, meaning the PES is sufficiently small, data tracks are written to the tape accurately. However, as the density of the tracks increase driving the tracks narrower and narrower, the need to accurately position the read/write head and minimize any PES is magnified. Certainly inaccuracies in the placement of the servo stripes with respect to one another becomes a significant factor in PES as does the consistent shape of each stripe.
The time-based servo stripe pattern is factory written as part of the tape build process using a servo write head. The servo write head is typically a mirror image of a single servo frame with two non-parallel write gaps on the recording surface. A pair of stripes are written simultaneously by pulsing the write head with current while transporting the tape on a precision tape deck. By controlling tape speed and the timing of the write pulses, the pattern is repeatedly stamped down the tape with precise control over fame to frame spacing. Unfortunately the process is not perfect and significant imperfections occur in each stamping.
Noise in a timing based servo systems for tracks larger than 20 microns is well known and has been studied extensively and even perfectly tracking a track on a tape will produce a certain amount of noise. Noise of this type is well known and there are a number of techniques for minimizing and compensating for the PES that is associated with such noise. A significant limitation of this type of analysis is that the servo bands, regardless of their shape and orientation, are typically assumed to produce a PES that is linearly perfect. Techniques exist that can address the linearity of the width of each stripe of the servo stripe series and determine how the PES varies as the cross track position along the band varies. Thus, when the curvature of the servo stripe is known, these analysis techniques can address such factors, but their applicability falters when the curvature of the servo stripes is unknown.
Determining the variations in the gaps in the servo write head and shape of the servo stripes on the tape is problematic. Historically, the low density of data, and thus the relatively thick nature of the data tracks, has been such that the PES introduced due to characteristics of the shape of the servo stripe has been insignificant or of minimal consequence in comparison to other sources of PES such as lateral tape motion or frame spacing error. However, as track density increases, the PES introduced by nonlinear characteristics, such as those induced by the shape of the servo stripes, becomes more and more problematic. And while current tape manufacturers that imprint the servo stripes on the tape have taken steps to limit the curvature of the stripes and make the shapes of the stripes consistent, no methods are known to exist to either verify that the stripes achieve required specifications or to address the PES issues that result from nonlinear servo stripe configurations.
As mentioned, there are several position errors associated with servo stripes beyond those induced by the actual shape of the stripe. One such error is referred to as the offset error. Offset error occurs when the measured position differs from the actual position by a fixed amount. When this error arises from the tape itself each drive sees the same error and miss-positions data tracks by an equal amount. As long as the offset error is not too large the error does not present a problem. Another type of error is referred to as gain error. Gain error refers to a multiplication factor multiplied to the actual position. When the factor is not equal to one (1) the tracks can be placed to close together or to far apart. However, this error is easily analyzed by studying the difference in the reported positions between two widely space servo readers while reading the same servo band. Finally there is an error related to the non-linear relationship between the servo stripes measured position and the actual position that can cause the tracks to be placed to close together. This non-linear relation between the measured and actual position can result from the imperfect shape of the servo stripes themselves, i.e. not being an ideal trapezoid. This type of error is referred to as Differential Non-linearity and is the subject of the present application.

Detection and measurement of position error signal linearity in timing based servo patterns using differential nonlinearity


An integrated circuit including circuitry configured to perform erase and write functions. One embodiment includes a programmable metallization memory cell, a conductive line connected to a first node of the memory cell, and a bitline connected to a second node of the memory cell. The memory device also includes circuitry configured to perform a write operation by applying a first voltage to the conductive line and a second voltage to the bitline, perform an erase operation by applying the second voltage to the conductive line and the first voltage to the bitline, and apply a voltage midway between the first voltage and the second voltage to the conductive line when the write operation and the erase operation are not being performed.

Embodiments of the present invention refer to a method for operating a programmable metallization cell. Embodiments of the present invention further relate to a memory circuit including a programmable metallization cell.
Memory cells including a solid electrolyte material are well known as PMC (programmable metallization cell) memory cells. Memory devices including such PMC memory cells are known as conductive bridging random access memory (CBRAM) devices. The storing of different states in a PMC memory cell is based on the developing or diminishing of a conductive path in the electrolyte material between electrodes based on an applied electrical field. Although the electrolyte material may typically have a high resistance, the conductive path between electrodes may be adjusted to have a low resistance. Thus, the PMC memory cell may be set to different states depending on the resistance of the PMC memory element. Typically, both states of the PMC memory cell are sufficiently time-stable in such a way that data may permanently be stored.
A PMC memory cell is typically operated by applying a positive or a negative voltage to the solid electrolyte of the PMC memory element. To store data into the PMC memory cell, the PMC memory cell is brought to a programmed state by applying a suitable programming voltage to the PMC memory cell which results in the creation of the conductive path in the electrolyte material and which may correspond to the setting of a first state with low resistance. In order to store a second state in the PMC memory cell with high resistance, an erase voltage may be supplied in such a manner that the resistance of the PMC memory cell changes back to a high resistance which may correspond to a second state with a high resistance (e.g., an erased state). To read out a PMC memory cell, a read voltage may be applied which may be lower than the programming voltage. With the read voltage, a current through the resistance of the PMC memory element may be detected and associated to the respective low or high resistance state of the PMC memory cell.
A programming circuit may be used to access the PMC memory cell. The circuit may be configured to provide a reversible bias across the microelectronic device to perform erase and write functions. One configuration of the programming circuit may include one or more inputs and a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor circuit coupled to the programmable device. This design may allow for writing and erasing of the programmable cell using a low and a high voltage input. To program a first state into the PMC cell, a high voltage may be applied to the anode and a low voltage may be applied to the cathode. To program a second state into the PMC cell, a low voltage may be applied to the anode and a high voltage may be applied to the cathode of the PMC cell.
What is needed are improved methods and apparatuses for programming a PMC memory cell.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Memory device including electrical circuit configured to provide reversible bias across the PMC memory cell to perform erase and write functions


A surge arrester includes a cavity formed by at least one insulating body and at least two electrodes, which extend into the cavity. The electrodes are oriented toward one another with their free ends and have an electrode spacing between one another. The electrodes include several different metallic materials in regions of the free ends.

German Patent Publication No. DE 10 2007 063 316 A1 discloses a surge arrester.
In the interior of the surge arrester, an arc flashover between two or three electrodes occurs when a specific limit voltage, the ignition voltage, is exceeded. The limit voltage is designated as response DC voltage Urdc in the case of static or steady-state loading with a voltage rise of 100 V/s, and as response surge voltage urs in the case of dynamic loading with a voltage rise of 1 kV/μs. The arc is maintained by the feeding current as long as the electrical conditions for the arc exist.

Surge arrester with a low response voltage and method for producing same


Provided is a compound of formula (I)

Agents that target enzymes involved in cancer cell metabolism offer an attractive therapeutic route in view of the potential to preferentially target cancer tissue over normal tissue. While normal tissue typically uses glycolysis only when the oxygen supply is low, cancer tissue relies heavily on aerobic glycolysis regardless of the oxygen supply level. This property is known as the Warburg effect (Vander Heiden et al., Science, 2009, 324(5930): 1029-1033). Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is involved in the final step of glycolysis, in which pyruvate is converted to lactate. The decrease in the rate of pyruvate entering the TCA (tricarboxylic acid) cycle and the concurrent increase in lactate production is vital for the growth and survival of tumors. There are two different subunits of LDH, LDHA and LDHB, but both subunits have the same active site and catalyze the conversion of pyruvate to lactate. In cancer patients, serum total lactate dehydrogenase (LDH5, a tetramer of LDHA sub-units; the major LDH isoenzyme involved in glycolysis) levels are often increased, and the gene for LDHA, is up-regulated. Tumor cells can then metabolize lactate as an energy source. Inhibition of LDH results in the stimulation of mitochondrial respiration as a compensatory mechanism. LDH inhibition is expected to reduce the ability of the cell to effectively metabolize glucose and reduce tumor cell proliferation and tumor growth. Thus, compounds that inhibit LDH activity have potential for the development of anti-cancer therapeutics.
LDHA inhibitors have been known previously. For example, gossypol is a nonselective inhibitor of LDH that blocks the binding of NADH, with a Ki for LDHA and lactate dehydrogenase B (LDHB) of 1.9 and 1.4 μM, respectively (Doherty et al., J. Clin. Invest., 2013, 123(9): 3685-3692). Billiard et al. (Cancer and Metabolism, 2013, 1(19): 1-17) reports that certain derivatives of 3-((3-carbamoyl-7-(3,5-dimethylisoxazol-4-yl)-6-methoxyquinolin-4-yl) amino) benzoic acid are potent inhibitors of LDH and were 10- to 80-fold more selective for LDHA inhibition than LDHB inhibition. However, the in vivo bioavailability of the inhibitors was found to be poor.
In view of the foregoing, there remains a need to provide novel LDH inhibitors with improved potency, selectivity, and/or bioavailability for the treatment of cancer.

Small molecule inhibitors of lactate dehydrogenase and methods of use thereof

Abstract: Provided is a compound of formula (I)

Abstract: in which Ar1, R1, U, V, W, X, and p are as described herein. Also provided are methods of using a compound of formula (I), including a method of treating cancer, a method of treating a patient with cancer cells resistant to an anti-cancer agent, and a method of inhibiting lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) and/or lactate dehydrogenase B (LDHB) activity in a cell.

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AS REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

THE TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA


Novel cultured inner cell mass (CICM) cells, and cell lines, derived from ungulates, in particular, pigs and cows, and methods for their preparation are provided. The subject CICMs possess similar morphology and express cell markers identically or substantially similarly to ICMs of undifferentiated developing embryos for prolonged culturing periods. Heterologous DNA is inserted into the subject CICM cells and cell lines so as produce transgenic CICM cell which are introduced into non-human fertilized embryos to produce transgenic chimeric embryos. The transgenic chimeric embryos are transferred into recipient females where they are permitted to develop into transgenic chimeric fetuses. Recipient females give birth to transgenic chimeric animals which are capable of transmitting the heterologous DNA to their progeny. Transgenic CICM cells are also used to produce cloned transgenic embryos, fetuses and offspring.

The direct injection of DNA into the pronuclei of fertilized mouse eggs has been used to produce transgenic mice (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,032 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,175,383). Microinjection has also been used to produce other transgenic animals including, for example, cows (Haskell et al., Mol. Reprod. Dev. (United States), 40(3): 386-390 (1995)), sheep (Rexroad et al., Mol. Reprod. Dev. (United States), 1(3): 164-169 (1989)), and pigs (Pursel et al., Vet. Immunol. Immunopathol. (Netherlands), 17(1-4): 303-313 (1987)). Although the frequency of non-murine, transgenic animals obtained by this method is quite low, some transgenic ungulates have purportedly been shown to transmit the transgene to their progeny (See, e.g., Rexroad et al., Id. and Pursel et al., Id.). However, the direct injection of DNA into pronuclei does not provide an opportunity to manipulate or otherwise control DNA integration.
In contrast to the pronuclei direct injection technique, DNA integration can be controlled by introducing the DNA into embryonic stem (ES) cells and then injecting the transfected cells into embryos, where they become incorporated into the developing embryos. Manipulation of ES cells by this method has been used to produce transgenic mice which contain transgenes that, for example, decrease or completely suppress the expression of endogenous genes (U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,032); encode human immunoglobulin genes (U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,825); and, encode the tumor suppressing p53 gene (U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,824).
In view of their ability to transfer their genome to the next generation, ES cells have potential utility for germline manipulation of livestock animals by using ES cells with or without a desired genetic modification. Moreover, in the case of livestock animals, e.g., ungulates, nuclei from like preimplantation livestock embryos support the development of enucleated oocytes to term (Smith et al., Biol. Reprod., 40:1027-1035 (1989); and Keefer et al., Biol. Reprod., 50:935-939 (1994)). This is in contrast to nuclei from mouse embryos which beyond the eight-cell stage after transfer reportedly do not support the development of enucleated oocytes (Cheong et al, Biol. Reprod 48:958 (1993)). Therefore, ES cells from livestock animals are highly desirable because they may provide a potential source of totipotent donor nuclei, genetically manipulated or otherwise, for nuclear transfer procedures. However, to date, the production of transgenic ungulate embryos produced from transgenic ES cells has not been reported.
Methods for deriving ES cell lines in vitro from early preimplantation mouse embryos are well known. (See, e.g., Evans et al., Nature, 29:154-156 (1981); Martin, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA, 78:7634-7638 (1981)). ES cells can be passaged in an undifferentiated state, provided that a feeder layer of fibroblast cells (Evans et al., Id.) or a differentiation inhibiting source (Smith et al., Dev. Biol., 121:1-9 (1987)) is present.
ES cells have been previously reported to possess numerous applications. For example, it has been reported that ES cells can be used as an in vitro model for differentiation, especially for the study of genes which are involved in the regulation of early development. Mouse ES cells can give rise to germline chimeras when introduced into preimplantation mouse embryos, thus demonstrating their pluripotency (Bradley et al., Nature, 309:255-256 (1984)).
Many research groups have reported the isolation of purportedly pluripotent embryonic cell lines. For example, Notarianni et al., J. Reprod. Fert. Suppl., 43:255-260 (1991), report the establishment of purportedly stable, pluripotent cell lines from pig and sheep blastocysts which exhibit some morphological and growth characteristics similar to that of cells in primary cultures of inner cell masses isolated immunosurgically from sheep blastocysts. (Id.) Also, Notarianni et al., J. Reprod. Fert. Suppl., 41:51-56 (1990) discloses maintenance and differentiation in culture of putative pluripotential embryonic cell lines from pig blastocysts. Further, Gerfen et al., Anim. Biotech, 6(1): 1-14 (1995) disclose the isolation of embryonic cell lines from porcine blastocysts. These cells are stably maintained in mouse embryonic fibroblast feeder layers without the use of conditioned medium. These cells reportedly differentiate into several different cell types during culture (Gerfen et al., Id.).
Further, Saito et al., Roux's Arch. Dev. Biol., 201:134-141 (1992) report bovine embryonic stem cell-like cell lines which, when cultured, survived passages for three, but were lost after the fourth passage. Still further, Handyside et al., Roux's Arch. Dev. Biol., 196:185-190 (1987) disclose culturing of immunosurgically isolated inner cell masses of sheep embryos under conditions which allow for the isolation of mouse ES cell lines derived from mouse ICMs. Handyside et al. (1987) (Id.), report that under such conditions, the sheep ICMs attach, spread, and develop areas of both ES cell-like and endoderm-like cells, but that after prolonged culture only endoderm-like cells are evident. (Id.)
Recently, Cherny et al., Theriogenology, 41:175 (1994) reported purportedly pluripotent bovine primordial germ cell-derived cell lines maintained in long-term culture. These cells, after approximately seven days in culture, produce ES-like colonies which stain positive for alkaline phosphatase (AP), exhibit the ability to form embryoid bodies, and spontaneously differentiate into at least two different cell types. These cells also reportedly express mRNA for the transcription factors OCT4, OCT6 and HES1, a pattern of homeobox genes which is believed to be expressed by ES cells exclusively. In addition, First et al., Reprod. Fertil. Dev. (Australia), 6(5): 553-62 (1994) also report the establishment of bovine embryonic cell cultures from blastocyst ICM cells which "exhibited similar morphology to mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells, pluripotency on differentiation and proliferation in culture" (see Abstract). However, these researchers also report that "The relative merit of culture systems or media requirements for mitosis and prevention of differentiation have not been determined." (Id.).
Also recently, Campbell et al., Theriogenology, 43:181 (1995) in an abstract reported the production of live lambs following nuclear transfer of cultured embryonic disc (ED) cells from day nine ovine embryos cultured under conditions which promote the isolation of ES cell lines in the mouse. The authors conclude based on their results that ED cells from day nine ovine embryos are totipotent by nuclear transfer and that totipotency is maintained in culture for up to three passages.
Even more recently, Campbell et al, Nature, 380:64-68 (1996) reported cloning of sheep by nucleic transfer from a cultured cell line. However, the cells used are dissimilar to the CICM's of the present invention. Unlike the subject CICM cells, the cells of Campbell et al formed a monolayer in tissue culture. The authors refer to these cells as being "flattened" or as exhibiting an "epithelial" appearance. By contrast, the CICM cells of the present invention can be continually maintained in a multilayer colony or portions of the colony when grown in an undifferentiated state. Also, the cells of Campbell et al are cytokeratin and laminin A/C positive. By contrast, the CICM cells of the present invention are cytokeratin negative.
Moreover, there is no suggestion that the cells of Campbell et al are undifferentiated. Rather, the reference only indicates that these cells are useful in nucleic transfer procedures. Also, these cells are not cultured under conditions wherein they maintain constant contact with a fibroblast feeder layer. Rather, the cultured cells (of Campbell et al (1996)) apparently push the fibroblasts to the side in culture and grow on top of the culture dish.
Van Stekelenburg-Hamers et al., Mol. Reprod. Dev., 40:444-454 (1995), reported the isolation and characterization of purportedly permanent cell lines from inner cell mass cells of bovine blastocysts. The authors isolated and cultured ICMs from 8 or 9 day bovine blastocysts under different conditions to determine which feeder cells and culture media are most efficient in supporting the attachment and outgrowth of bovine ICM cells. They concluded based on their results that the attachment and outgrowth of cultured ICM cells is enhanced by the use of STO (mouse fibroblast) feeder cells (instead of bovine uterus epithelial cells) and by the use of charcoal-stripped serum (rather than normal serum) to supplement the culture medium. Van Stekelenburg et al report, however, that their cell lines resembled epithelial cells more than pluripotent ICM cells. (Id.)
Still further, Smith et al., WO 94/24274, published Oct. 27, 1994, Evans et al, WO 90/03432, published Apr. 5, 1990 and Wheeler et al, WO 94/26889 published Nov. 24, 1994 report the isolation, selection and propagation of animal stem cells which purportedly may be used to obtain transgenic animals. Also, Evans et al., WO 90/03432, published on Apr. 5, 1990, report the derivation of purportedly pluripotent embryonic stem cells derived from porcine and bovine species which are asserted to be are useful for the production of transgenic animals. Further, Wheeler et al., WO 94/26884, published Nov. 24, 1994 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,523, 226, issued Jun. 4, 1996, disclose embryonic stem cells which are asserted to be useful for the manufacture of chimeric and transgenic ungulates. The method disclosed by Wheeler differs from the instant claimed invention in that the Wheeler method requires that the dissociated cells from swine embryos be cultured in "conditioned stem cell medium" and that the resultant subcultured cells then be introduced into a SCID mouse. Thus, based on the foregoing, it is evident that many groups have attempted to produce ES cell lines, e.g., because of their potential application in the production of cloned or transgenic embryos and in nuclear transplantation.
The use of ungulate ICM cells for nuclear transplantation has also been reported. For example, Collas et al., Mol. Reprod. Dev., 38:264-267 (1994) disclose nuclear transplantation of bovine ICMs by microinjection of the lysed donor cells into enucleated mature oocytes. The reference discloses culturing of embryos in vitro for seven days to produce fifteen blastocysts which, upon transferral into bovine recipients, resulted in four pregnancies and two births. Also, Keefer et al., Biol. Reprod., 50:935-939 (1994), disclose the use of bovine ICM cells as donor nuclei in nuclear transfer procedures, to produce blastocysts which, upon transplantation into bovine recipients, resulted in several live offspring. Further, Sims et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA, 90:6143-6147 (1993), disclose the production of calves by transfer of nuclei from short-term in vitro cultured bovine ICM cells into enucleated mature oocytes.
Also, the production of live lambs following nuclear transfer of short-term cultured embryonic disc cells (up to three passages) has been reported (Campbell et al., Theriogenology, 43:181 (1995)). Still further, the use of bovine pluripotent embryonic cells in nuclear transfer and the production of chimeric fetuses has also been reported (Stice et al., Theriogenology, 41:301 (1994)).
However, notwithstanding what has been previously reported in the literature, there still exists a significant need for cultured ICM cells and cell lines which possess improved properties, e.g., which possess morphological properties and express cell markers identically or substantially similar to ICM cells of developing embryos, in particular ungulate embryos. There further exists a significant need in the art for methods of producing such improved cultured ICM cells and cell lines. In addition, there exists a significant need for reliable, efficient methods to manipulate or otherwise control heterologous DNA integration into non-human embryos in order to produce non-human transgenic embryos, fetuses, and whole animals. There further exists a significant need in the art for methods of producing non-human, non-murine transgenic fetuses whose germ line cells contain heterologous DNA. Transgenic whole animals produced from such transgenic fetuses can transmit the heterologous DNA to their progeny thereby fulfilling a long-felt need for reliable, efficient methods of producing non-human, non-murine transgenic animal progeny.

Production of chimeric bovine or porcine animals using cultured inner cell mass cells

University of Massachusetts, A Public Institution of Higher Education of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as Represented by its Amherst Campus


An apparatus, method, and system for speculative data mirroring include a rollback log that receives write data corresponding to a write operation that is directed to a storage region within a source volume. Also included is a storage control module that initiates a lock operation on a corresponding storage region within a target volume and a mirror control module configured to send the data corresponding to the write operation to the target volume without waiting for feedback regarding the lock operation. In one embodiment, initiating a lock operation may include sending a lock command to the target volume. Alternatively, the data corresponding to the write operation may initiate the lock operation. In addition, the mirror control module may initiate retransmission of the data in response to subsequent execution of the lock operation. Due to the unique configuration of the present invention, the present invention reduces latencies arising from synchronous mirroring operations, such as lock operations.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to storage systems. Specifically, the invention relates to apparatus, methods, and systems for speculatively mirroring data to a target volume.
2. Description of the Related Art
In this information age, computing devices are often used to process and store vast quantities of data. Businesses and individuals alike increasingly rely on computers to store important personal and business information. As reliance upon machine readable data increases, businesses and individuals are more vulnerable to damage caused by data loss. Consequently, reliability and efficiency of data backup systems have never been more important.
Data backup systems typically create a backup copy of source data associated with a computing device. Source data may include files, storage volumes, data within memory devices, data within storage devices, or the like. If the source data associated with a computing device is corrupted or lost, a data backup system can be used to replace the corrupted or lost source data with a backup copy. The degree of similarity, and thus reliability, between the backup copy and the source data may vary, however, depending on how often the backup copy is updated to match the source data. If the backup copy is updated in step with the source data, the backup copy is said to be a "mirror" of the source data and is therefore "consistent" with the source data.
In one form of data mirroring, data is written to two more storage volumes in parallel. As a result, one or more redundant copies of the data is always available in case one of the volumes fails. In remote data mirroring systems, data is written to the source volume at one location and to the one or more target volumes at remote locations. Often, a transmission link facilitates data transmission between a source storage controller connected to the source volume and target storage controllers connected to the target volumes.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a typical prior art remote data mirroring system 100. The depicted prior art data mirroring system 100 includes a host 110, a file system 112, a source storage controller 114a, a target server 120, a file system 122, a target storage controller 114b, one or more source volumes 130a and target volumes 130b, and a transmission link 150.
The host 110 may request data from, or send data to, the source storage controller 114a via the file system 112. The file system 112 translates operating system calls to storage related commands recognized by the source storage controller 114a. Similarly, the target server 120 may request data from, or send data to, the target storage controller 114b via the file system 122, which translates operating system calls to storage related commands recognized by the target storage controller 114b.
In response to the reception of the storage related commands, either from the operating system or directly from an application or utility, the source storage controller 114a translates the storage related commands into storage operations on the source volumes 130a. Likewise, the target storage controller 114b translates storage related commands into storage operations on the target volumes 130b. Examples of storage operations include read operations, write operations, copy operations, and the like.
During data mirroring, the host 110 sends write data to the source volumes 130a via the file system 112 and the source storage controller 114a. The source storage controller 114a conducts corresponding write operations on the source volumes 130a while also sending a copy of the data to the target storage controller 114b via the transmission link 150. In response, the target storage controller 114b writes the copied data to the target storage volumes 130b. Thus, the target volumes 130b may contain a relatively up-to-date copy of the source volumes 130a and "mirror" the source volumes 130a in a substantially continuous manner.
The bandwidth available to the transmission link 150 is often much less than the bandwidth between the source storage controller 114a and the source volumes 130a. Furthermore, synchronous mirroring operations often require the source storage controller 114a to wait for completion of the mirrored operation on the target volume before proceeding to a subsequent operation. Consequently, storage operations conducted by the source storage controller 114a may be reduced to a rate matching the transmission rate of the transmission link 150. Data throughput in the remote data mirroring system 100 is thus constrained by the relatively low bandwidth of the transmission link 150, resulting in inefficient system performance.
One technique used to improve data throughput is known as asynchronous replication. In this technique, a buffer is used to hold data that has not yet been sent across the transmission link 150 to a target storage controller 114b. Data corresponding to read and write operations on the source volumes 130a are stored in the buffer and are sent to the target storage controller 114b as soon as the transmission link 150 will allow. Thus, the source storage controller 114a can read and write to the source volumes 130a at close to full speed, independent of the transmission rate of the transmission link 150. While useful for some operations, asynchronous replication does not work for every operation. Some operations such as locking operations have required synchronization for proper completion.
Locking operations lock a region of a storage volume, effectively preventing all but certain read and write operations from accessing the locked region. Locking operations ensure orderly access to memory that may be updated by multiple processes. In certain embodiments, locking operations include read locks and/or write locks wherein write locks permit only read operations by another process, while read locks permit neither read nor write operations by another process.
To initiate locking operations, the source storage controller 114a sends a lock request to the target storage controller 114b. When the target storage controller 114b has granted the lock, the target storage controller 114b responds by sending a confirmation message to the source storage controller 114a. The confirmation message informs the source storage controller 114a that the target storage controller 114b is ready to receive additional read and write operations.
In the aforementioned scenario, the target controller 114b cannot grant a lock on a requested region until the target storage controller 114b is finished reading or writing to the requested region. In addition, the source storage controller 114a must wait for the confirmation message before sending read and write data. Consequently, the delays associated with heretofore synchronous operations, such as lock operations, significantly reduce the efficiency, reliability, and performance of the remote data mirroring system 100.
Accordingly, what is needed is a data mirroring system that overcomes transmission latencies and other delays associated with heretofore synchronous operations, such as locking operations. In particular, what is needed are apparatus, methods, and systems for conducting locking operations on remote storage volumes in an asynchronous manner.

Speculative data mirroring apparatus method and system

International Business Machines Corporation


Embodiments of an apparatus and methods for providing three-dimensional complementary metal oxide semiconductor devices comprising modulation doped transistors are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed, which may include forming a modulation doped heterostructure, comprising forming an active portion having a first bandgap and forming a delta doped portion having a second bandgap.

A variety of electronic and optoelectronic devices can be enabled by developing thin film relaxed lattice constant III-V semiconductors on elemental silicon (Si) substrates. Surface layers capable of achieving the performance advantages of III-V materials may host a variety of high performance electronic devices such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) and modulation doped quantum well (QW) transistors fabricated from extreme high mobility materials such as, but not limited to, indium antimonide (InSb), indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) and indium arsenide (InAs). Modulation doping is provided by doping a wide band gap semiconductor layer grown adjacent to a narrow gap semiconductor, forming a heterostructure. High mobility, modulation doped quantum well devices require the formation of several perpendicular epitaxially grown layers, making them incompatible with previous non-planar transistor fabrication techniques.

Apparatus and methods for forming a modulation doped non-planar transistor


A system and method for automating signal tracking, estimation of signal parameters, and extraction of signals from sonar data to detect weaker signals. A maximum a posteriori (MAP) algorithm processing provides a track output of the signal which is used as a guide or template to provide optimal spectral integration on an unstable or frequency varying line. The present invention includes track integration, parameter estimation, signal track normalization, and sequential signal detection. The present invention partitions the input band into frequency subwindows. For each subwindow, the strongest signal is tracked, its parameters are estimated, and then the signal is normalized (removed) from the subwindow. This is repeated until the entire subwindow set is processed. Then the subwindows, now with their strongest signals removed, are recombined to form one input band. This aggregated procedure represents one processing pass. In the next pass, the entire above procedure is repeated with either the same or new subwindow boundaries. This continues until a predetermined number of passes is completed. Sequential signal detection is provided from one data frame to the next, a problem that is beyond the capability of conventional systems and methods for tracking frequency lines of unknown frequency modulation and amplitude.

The present invention relates generally to passive signal sensing and signal processing, and more particularly, to signal processing incorporating signal tracking, estimation, and removal processing using maximum a posteriori and sequential signal detection methods.
Signal processing hardware and software has improved to the point where it is very difficult, if not impossible, for sonar operators to manually detect and track all desirable signals that are available. Traditional signal detection and estimation processes are achieved by the integration of spectral bins at constant frequency over some time period T. This approach results in poor estimation of the parameters associated with signals that do not exhibit pure tonal characteristics.
Furthermore, an underlying processing assumption has been that there always exists a signal in the input data. However, this condition cannot always be guaranteed in applications in which the input data is often noise-only. To circumvent this discrepancy, in an existing maximum a posteriori (MAP) processing system developed by the assignee of the present invention, the decision regarding the presence of absence of a signal was deferred until the line linking and clustering stages. This design was conceived with the assumption that noise tracks (signal absence) would not be successfully linked and clustered and therefore would eventually be purged, thereby effectively accomplishing the desired signal detection. Unfortunately, this preconception has proven to be incorrect by computer simulations which showed noise tracks were often erroneously linked to existing signal tracks due to the likeness of their signal features.
This result has led to the conclusion that eliminating noise tracks at the MAP output is a necessary processing step for achieving an acceptable performance. This means that the MAP processing must be extended beyond its original capabilities to include signal detection logic in its procedure. To achieve this, the MAP output must be statistically characterize under noise-only and signal-plus-noise conditions.
For signal detection applications, very little was previously known about the MAP algorithm in terms of its quantitative performance, such as minimum detectable signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), probability of detection (pd). probability of false alarm (pfa), and performance sensitivity to input spectral statistics. This has caused problems in selecting correct thresholds to yield desired detection performance.

Signal processing incorporating signal, tracking, estimation, and removal processes using a maximum a posteriori algorithm, and sequential signal detection


An activity monitoring apparatus is provided. The activity monitoring apparatus includes a retention feature configured to removably secure the monitoring apparatus to a participant performing a physical activity. The activity monitoring apparatus further includes a clasping mechanism configured to receive a mobile electronic device and removably secure the mobile electronic device to the monitoring apparatus. The activity monitoring apparatus further includes a physiological data collector and electronic circuitry. The physiological data collector is configured to collect physiological data associated with the participant performing the physical activity. The electronic circuitry is configured to receive the physiological data associated with the participant from the physiological data collector, process the physiological data, and wirelessly transmit the processed physiological data to the mobile electronic device for display on the mobile electronic device.

Athletes and persons wishing to monitor their health often desire to obtain or monitor data pertaining to their physical activities, accomplishments, or condition. In some situations, a physician may prescribe certain steps or exercise to be performed by a patient under certain conditions, such as performing an exercise at or near a certain heart rate. The doctor and/or the patient may wish to gather data regarding the performance of the exercise, the conditions under which the exercise was performed, and/or how the patient is responding to the exercise. An athlete may wish to gather and monitor details about his or her physical performance in a similar manner. For example, an athlete who can correlate different training or exercise techniques with improved performance metrics can become faster, stronger, or exert more force in an action, such as hitting a ball harder. Athletes, patients, and anyone else associated with a physical activity can benefit from improved techniques for gathering, monitoring, correlating, analyzing, using, interpreting, and making decisions based on physical activity data

Activity monitoring system with haptic feedback


This invention relates to coated digestive enzyme preparations and enzyme delivery systems and pharmaceutical compositions comprising the preparations. This invention further relates to methods of preparation and use of the systems, pharmaceutical compositions and preparations to treat persons having ADD, ADHD, autism, cystic fibrosis and other behavioral and neurological disorders.

Digestive enzymes are produced by the salivary glands, glands in the stomach, the pancreas, and glands in the small intestines. For example, digestive enzymes produced by the pancreas and secreted into the stomach and small intestine aid in digestion. Digestive enzymes produced by the pancreas are secreted into the duodenum, or upper segment of the small intestine, where the pH is around 5 to 6, and the enzymes assist in the digestion of food components, including carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. However, when digestive enzymes are administered orally, the enzymes are exposed to highly acidic conditions in the stomach, with a pH of around pH 1-2, as well as gastric proteases which denature and degrade the enzymes.
Digestive enzymes have been administered to mammals to treat enzyme deficiencies caused by conditions affecting the pancreas, such as pancreatitis and pancreatic enzyme deficiency. Pancreatic enzymes administered to humans are commonly of porcine origin. Manufacturers of enzyme preparations have also used enteric coatings for lipase compositions in individuals with cystic fibrosis who require administration of lipases. The preparations for lipase delivery have used enteric coatings containing, for example, hypromellose phthalate, dimethicone 1000, and dibutyl phthalate.
Certain methods for coating sensitive bioactive substances have been described. U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,613 to Narayanaswamy et al. discloses particles that can contain yeast, coated in a shell of a fat in a beta prime form (i.e., triglyceride crystals having a blocky symmetry). The coating material can further contain emulsifiers such as those found in hydrogenated vegetable oil. However, the coating only allows release of the yeast in a limited temperature range of about 40° C. to about 55° C. U.S. Pat. No. 6,251,478 B1 to Pacifico et al. discloses certain sensitive substances including certain bioactive compounds encapsulated in a lipid material.
No description in the Background section should be taken as an admission that such disclosure constitutes prior art to the instant invention.

Enzyme delivery systems and methods of preparation and use


A safety device for railway vehicles is provided, more specifically a safety device that reduces the negative consequences resulting from collisions or pedestrian accidents involving railway vehicles. As such, the railway vehicle safety device consists of a main impact dampening area and at least one secondary support and resistance area, with the safety device being installed on the railway vehicle's front end, so that the main impact dampening area dampens the force of the impact caused by a collision between the vehicle and a pedestrian.

The accidents involving railway vehicles (i.e. locomotives, wagons) often have serious consequences, since material damage to the equipment until serious injury or death of those involved.
Generally, the efforts to prevent railway accidents have been focused on their prevention: collision sensors, alarms, planning escape routes, and other types of preventive methods or devices. If the prevention of this kind of accident fails the results are disastrous.
Considering the most common railway accidents, running over is particularly worrisome and dangerous. The dimensions and weight of the railroad car cause a fatality as a consequence of this type of impact. Other equally tragic, yet common injuries include serious injuries such as mutilation or generalized fractures.
Even if impact is only partial, the shock of collision between railroad cars and people results in consequences as disastrous as those mentioned above.


A wedge-nut assembly including (a) a wedge with a tubular cross section including at least three radially inwardly convex portions longitudinally extending on an inner side thereof and a corresponding number of blocks projecting from the radially inwardly convex portions and (b) a nut including two annular flanges between which the blocks are disposed so that the nut is mounted in the tubular wedge.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a wedge-nut assembly for fastening a bicycle stem tube in a steerer tube.
2. Related Prior Art
A bicycle frame has a head tube. A steerer tube is inserted in the head tube. A wedge nut defining a threading is received in the steerer tube. A stem tube defining a wedge-shaped tip is inserted in the steerer tube. An adjusting bolt defining a threading is inserted through the stem tube so that the threading thereof is engaged with the threading formed in the wedge nut. The wedge-shaped tip of the stem tube engages with the wedge nut so as to transform axial relative movement therebetween into radial relative therebetween. When the threading formed on the bolt is secured in the threading formed in the wedge nut, the wedge nut is axially moved towards the stem tube, so that the wedge nut is radially moved away from the stem tube. Thus, the stem tube and the wedge nut are firmly retained in the steerer tube when they are pushed, by each other, against the steerer tube. However, the wedge nut is subjected to great stress. Therefore, the present is intended to solve the above-mentioned problem.

Wedge-nut assembly for fastening bicycle stem tube in steerer tube


A method and apparatus for dampening the rebound of a lacrosse head pocket. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a frame having a thread hole and an aperture proximate to the thread hole. The aperture creates a moveable structure of the frame. The moveable structure encompasses at least a portion of the thread hole. The moveable structure is adapted to flex relative to the frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to lacrosse sticks, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for dampening the rebound of a lacrosse head pocket after the pocket has been pulled taut by, for example, a caught, thrown, or cradled lacrosse ball.
2. Background of the Invention
Since they were first introduced around 1970, double-wall, synthetic lacrosse heads have revolutionized the game of lacrosse. In comparison to the early single-wall wooden lacrosse heads, synthetic heads offer vastly improved feel, balance, lightness, maneuverability, and flexibility. The synthetic heads are also less expensive to manufacture and can be produced with a more consistent level of quality. And, perhaps most importantly, the synthetic heads offer superior durability, withstanding the harsh impacts and bending encountered during play, such as during face-offs and defensive checking.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional molded-head lacrosse stick. As shown, lacrosse stick 100 includes a handle 102 shown in dotted lines, and a double-wall synthetic head 104. Head 104 includes a generally V-shaped frame having a juncture 106, sidewalls 108 and 110, a transverse wall (or "scoop") 112 joining the sidewalls at the end opposed to juncture 106, and a stop member 114 joining sidewalls 108 and 110 at the end nearest juncture 106. As shown, handle 102 fits into and through juncture 106, and abuts stop member 114. A screw or other fastener placed through opening 107 secures handle 102 to head 104.
For traditionally-strung pockets (which have thongs and string instead of mesh), thongs (not shown) made of leather or synthetic material extend from upper thong holes 116 in transverse wall 112 to lower thong holes 118 in stop member 114. In some designs (such as that of U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,984 to Crawford et al.), upper thong holes 116 are located on tabs of the scoop 112. On other designs, as in FIG. 1, upper thong holes 116 are located within scoop 112. FIG. 1 shows four pairs (116, 118) of thong holes that accept four thongs.
To complete the pocket web, the thongs have nylon strings threaded around the thongs and string laced through string holes 120 in sidewalls 108 and 110, forming any number of diamonds (crosslacing). Finally, one or more throwing or shooting strings extend transversely between the upper portions of sidewalls 108 and 110, attaching to throwing string hole 124 and a string laced through string hole 122. The typical features of a lacrosse stick are all shown generally in Tucker et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,507,495; Crawford et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,984; and Tucker et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,947 which are all incorporated by reference herein.
In addition to traditionally strung heads, some heads use mesh pockets or a combination of traditional and mesh stringing. In any case, the mesh or stringing is conventionally attached to the head through holes in the scoop, sidewalls, and stop members, or through holes in rigid tabs attached to the scoop, sidewalls, and stop members. As used herein, thread holes or thread openings refer to the holes that receive the various forms of pocket stringing, such as the holes in the scoop, sidewalls, and stop members, or the holes in tabs attached to the scoop, sidewalls, and stop members. Also, as used herein, a pocket thread refers to any member, such as a thong, string, or mesh, that forms the pocket or attaches the pocket to the lacrosse head.
The traditional double-wall synthetic head is an injection-molded, monolithic structure. Examples of suitable synthetic materials well known in the art include nylon, urethane, and polycarbonate. These materials are generally regarded as superior to wood, offering players improved handling and durability. For example, a lacrosse head constructed of DuPont™ ZYTEL ST-801 nylon resin is able to withstand the bending and harsh impacts inherent to competition far better than a traditional wooden stick. As another example, polycarbonate, though having flexibility similar to wood, is more structurally durable than wood and much lighter, and therefore easier to handle.
Although the synthetic materials impart many performance advantages over traditional wooden heads, the synthetic, monolithic double-wall head fails to outperform the wooden heads in one critical aspect: pocket "give." Specifically, the rigidity required for durability is at odds with the desire for "give" in the pocket when receiving a heavy, hard rubber lacrosse ball. Because the synthetic heads use substantially rigid materials to provide the structural integrity and durability of the head frame, the thong holes in the substantially rigid head provide little deflection against which the pocket strings can pull. In other words, the thong holes in a synthetic head do not deaden the pull of the pocket webbing, as occurs, for example, when a lacrosse ball hits the pocket. This lack of impact absorption is noticeable in comparison to a wooden single-wall head, which fixes the pocket webbing to a pliable gut wall. Thus, there remains a need for a synthetic lacrosse head design that provides the pocket "give" of a wooden head, while maintaining the light weight, durability, and structural integrity of traditional synthetic lacrosse heads.
Notably, this pocket "give" is most critical in the women's game, in which shallow pocket depth rules necessitate tightly strung pockets. Given that the combined height of the sidewall and pocket cannot exceed the size of the game ball (2½ inches), the netting suspended from the women's lacrosse head forms little, if any, pocket and remains substantially in the same plane as the head itself. As a result of the necessary tension, when the lacrosse ball hits the pocket, the impact often causes a trampoline effect that makes the ball hard to catch and control. Indeed, for all but the most skilled players, a lacrosse ball can easily bounce out of the rebounding pocket. In essence, the pocket, strung on a rigid unforgiving frame, acts like the strings of a tennis racquet and rebounds the ball out of the pocket. Although this trampoline effect is more pronounced in the tightly strung women's lacrosse heads, the desire to absorb the impact of an incoming ball is equally applicable to men's lacrosse heads.


The invention relates to a filling level and/or limit level measuring device having                a transmitting and/or receiving device (2) for producing an oscillation or for receiving an oscillation and furnishing a corresponding reception signal,        an oscillating element (11) that is coupled to the transmitting and/or receiving device, and        a flexible connecting piece (8) that is situated in an area between the transmitting and/or receiving device (2) and the oscillating element (11),        wherein the flexible connecting piece (8) is made of a hose-shaped and metallic element (14) or has a hose-shaped metallic element (14) in its longitudinal extension.

For registering limit levels a filling level and/or limit level measuring device with a flexible connecting piece is known, wherein a transmitting and/or receiving device is accommodated in a housing, there being an oscillating element attached to the transmitting and/or receiving device via a flexible connecting piece. The oscillating element together with the transmitting and/or receiving device forms an oscillator. The mechanical oscillations of the oscillating element are damped when bulk material is present. The oscillation damping therefore functions as an indicator of the presence of product at the measuring point, and is converted into a limit level reporting signal by means of a device connected down-line.
The flexible connecting piece is constructed in the nature of a cable made of a synthetic material. Up to now, however, such arrangements have had operating temperatures only up to a maximum of 160° C. The flexible connecting piece is usually connected to the transmitting and/or receiving device, an extension pipe or the oscillating element with a flange, a screw-in connector or other fitting as connecting device, with commercially available plastic hoses or special lines being used as the flexible connecting piece, which are for the most part provided with an internal supporting strand that is anchored below in the oscillating element and above in a fitting on the housing or extension pipe.
Such arrangements have a great many disadvantages. Some present cables with an internal wire rope are very stiff. Conductors or lines even for applications at high temperatures of 160° C. are generally positioned outside and are not protected further. The conductors of the flexible connecting piece lie or hang like a cable with the synthetic exterior jacket directly in the bulk material or medium of the container, and are subjected directly to abrasion or wear by the bulk material. In addition, sufficient conductivity of the outer jacket of the cable is not implementable or present with all synthetic materials. Such a cable made of PUR (polyurethane) is provided with a conductive outer jacket with a surface impedance of <109 ohms. A disadvantage is that it is not always possible to prevent kinking of a synthetic cable made in this way. A complex 100% conductive connection must be produced by means of a grounding wire with a fixed connection between the oscillating element and the attaching element by welding or screw connection. In addition, even then the lines are only of limited usability at higher temperatures, if they are moved when in the installed state and do not follow a fixed routing.

Filling level and/or limit level measuring device with flexible connecting piece


A method and a device are disclosed for detecting a drivable region of a road, the method comprising the steps of: deriving a disparity map from a gray-scale map including the road and detecting the road from the disparity map; removing a part with a height above the road greater than a predetermined height threshold from the disparity map so as to generate a sub-disparity map; converting the sub-disparity map into a U-disparity map; detecting the drivable region from the U-disparity map; and converting the drivable region detected from the U-disparity map into the drivable region within the gray-scale map.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to road detection, and specifically, a method and a device for detecting a drivable region of a road.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, a driving assistance technology of an automobile is studied. This technology can provide needed information and/or warning to a user when the user drives the car, so that a dangerous situation such as a vehicle collision or vehicle deviation from the road can be avoided. Furthermore, the driving assistance technology may be used to control the moving of the car automatically in some cases.
In the driving assistance technology, it is important to detect the drivable region of the road correctly. Many methods for detecting the drivable region of the road have been disclosed. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication US20100250064A1 discloses a method for detecting a drivable region by using the white lines on both sides of the road, however such a method cannot be applied to a road where the white lines do not exist on both sides thereof. The U.S. Patent Application Publication US20050015201A1 discloses a method for segmenting a road and detecting a drivable region by a distance and a segmental slope, however such a method cannot be applied to a sparse disparity map where points on the road are sparse.
Therefore, there is a demand for providing a method and device for reliably detecting a drivable region of a road.

Method and device for detecting drivable region of road


The disclosure provides an ICG (integrated clock gating) cell that utilizes a low area and a low power latch. The ICG cell includes a first logic gate that receives an enable signal and generates a latch input. A latch is coupled to the first logic gate and receives the latch input and a clock input. The latch includes a tri-state inverter and an inverting logic gate. The tri-state inverter is activated by a control signal generated by the inverting logic gate. A second logic gate receives the control signal and generates a gated clock.

Sequential circuits occupy around 50% of a digital design. Integrated clock gating (ICG) technique is used to reduce power consumption by preventing individual flip flops from switching between logic states when not in use. Thus, the clock power consumption due to clock switching is reduced. In integrated clock gating, the flip flops which are not contributing to the functionality of the circuit are selectively deactivated. The ICG cells are activated or deactivated based on certain conditions. The conditions for disabling the clock cells are a design choice. In advanced digital designs, several clock gating cells are used which results in increased power consumption.
In power critical digital designs, more flip-flops are required to be clock gated which proportionately increases the number of ICG cells in the digital design. In an example, when sequential circuit occupy 50% of the digital design, and an ICG cell drives clock input to 4 flops, the ICG cell occupy around 5 to 7% of the digital design. A comparison of percentage of power consumption between the units of the IC are logic implementation consuming 29%, flip flops consuming 27%, RAM consuming 18%, clock tree consuming 16% and the ICG consuming 10% of the total power. It is apparent that a reduction in the power consumption and/or area of ICG cell will directly improve the overall power consumption of the digital design.

Integrated clock gating cell using a low area and a low power latch


A matrix-array detector includes an array of pixels that are sensitive to a physical effect and arranged in a matrix along rows and down columns, each pixel generating a signal according to the physical effect; row conductors, each allowing the pixels of one row to be driven; driver modules delivering selection signals to the row conductors, the driver modules being configured to deliver signals according to either of two levels, one being a high level allowing one of the rows of pixels to be selected and the other being a low level not allowing it to be selected. The detector further comprises impedance modules that are connected to each of the row conductors and configured to decrease the impedance of each row conductor and to keep the impedance of each row conductor low in a phase of reading the array of pixels as long as the corresponding selection signal is at the low level, the impedance modules being separate from the driver modules.

In a matrix-array detector, a pixel represents the basic sensitive element of the detector. Each pixel converts a physical effect to which it is subjected into an electrical signal. The electrical signals from the various pixels are collected in a matrix-array read phase then digitized so as to be able to be processed and stored to form an image. The pixels are formed by a zone sensitive to the physical effect and deliver a current of electric charges, for example. The physical effect may be electromagnetic radiation delivering a stream of photons and, consequently, the invention will be explained by means of this type of radiation and the charge current is dependent on the stream of photons received by the sensitive zone. Generalizing to any matrix-array detector is straightforward.
A matrix-array image detector comprises row conductors, each connecting the pixels of one and the same row, and column conductors, each connecting the pixels of one and the same column. The column conductors are connected to converter circuits that are generally arranged at the edge of the matrix array, which may be referred to as the "foot of the column".
Each pixel generally comprises a photosensitive element, or photodetector, which may for example be a photodiode, a photoresistor or a phototransistor. There are photosensitive matrix arrays of large size which may have several millions of pixels arranged in rows and columns. Each pixel further consists of an electronic circuit consisting, for example, of switches, capacitors and resistors, downstream of which there is an actuator. The assembly consisting of the photosensitive element and the electronic circuit allows electric charges to be generated and collected. The electronic circuit generally allows the charge collected in each pixel to be reset after a charge transfer. The role of the actuator is to transfer or copy the charges collected by the circuit into a column conductor. This transfer is performed when the actuator receives the instruction to do so from a row conductor. The output of the actuator corresponds to the output of the pixel. The terms "row conductor" and "column conductor" are completely arbitrary. It is of course possible to switch these terms.
In this type of detector, a pixel operates in two phases: an image capture phase, in which the electronic circuit of the pixel accumulates the electric charges generated by the photosensitive element, and a read phase, in which the collected charges are transferred or copied into the column conductor by the actuator.
In the read phase, a read instruction is transmitted to all of the actuators of one and the same row of the matrix array by a row conductor. Each of the pixels in this row is read by transferring its electrical information, e.g. charge, voltage, current, frequency, etc. to the column conductor with which it is associated.
For one image frame, the rows of pixels may be selected sequentially, one after the other, in a direction of scanning the rows of the matrix array over a row selection time corresponding to a fraction of the frame duration, allowing appropriate signals, for example voltages, to be applied to the pixels of the row in question. Thus, selecting a row corresponds to applying, for a corresponding row selection time, a high-level signal controlling the on state of the switching devices of the corresponding row of pixels. Outside of the row selection time, the switching devices are kept in an off state by applying a suitable low-level signal. For example, when the switching devices are transistors, and the signals to be applied are then voltages, it is common practice to use VGon to denote the voltage corresponding to the high level and therefore to the on state of the switching transistor, and VGoff to denote the voltage corresponding to the low level and the off state of the switching transistor.
The rows can be controlled by control circuits comprising one or more shift registers in series, each of the shift registers comprising a plurality of cascaded stages, each stage being suitable for switching the high and low levels of the signal applied to the actuators for the pixels of a corresponding row of the matrix array according to the sequencing of the row selection operation, for example vertical scanning. The control circuits may be implemented in integrated circuits, one and the same integrated circuit being able, for example, to have a plurality of control circuits for a plurality of rows in the matrix array. The integrated circuits may, for example, be external to the matrix array, and be connected thereto by wired means, for example by flexible ribbon cables. The control circuits may also be installed on the plate bearing the pixels as described in patent application WO 2012/152836 filed by the applicant.
This makes it possible to decrease the number of signals applied to the plate and hence the size and number of flexible connectors used to connect the plate to its surrounding electronics. This integrated control circuit architecture constitutes an appreciable simplification of the detector architecture by decreasing the number of components and simplifying the manufacturing process. However, the circuit described in patent application WO 2012/152836 has the drawback of leaving all unselected rows in a "high-impedance" state. Specifically, during the matrix-array read cycle, the control circuits successively apply the voltages VGon and VGoff to the rows then leave these rows at the level VGoff without ensuring that this potential is maintained or stabilized in the event of external interference. Changes in the voltages of the adjacent rows and columns may thus result in crosstalk effects through capacitive coupling between the rows left at the level VGoff in the high-impedance state and neighbouring elements, the potential of which varies over the read cycle. Incorporating the control circuits on the plate bearing the pixels tends to increase crosstalk and decrease the image quality from the detector.
The "high-impedance" state of the row conductors also leads to interference if a row is broken. More specifically, in matrix arrays of large size, it is possible to accept certain manufacturing defects resulting in a few rows of pixels not functioning. One row may be broken for example when one of the control circuits is not functional. It is possible to correct the image by extrapolating from adjacent, unbroken rows. However, the broken row may interfere with the adjacent rows. This interference is related to the fact that a portion of the row is not addressed and remains permanently in the high-impedance state throughout the read phase.

Matrix-array detector with controlled-impedance row conductors


A portable sprayer comprising a generally cylindrically shaped tube and an air volume chamber, a piston rod inserted in the cylinder, a container for holding a material, a spray nozzle, and a delivery tube inserted in the container and extended to the spray nozzle is contained in a single unit. The spraying operation is activated by applying a pumping action to the piston rod. An air control valve mounted to the sprayer allows for the rapid bleed off of air from the unit. The preferred embodiment of the invention is of a size and weight so that it may easily carried.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to material spraying devices and more particularly pertains to such a device that is hand-held, portable and easy to use.
2. General Background and State of the Art
The use of spraying devices a wide variety of projects is known in the prior art. Such sprayers may be used to spray liquids, chemicals, aggregate, or other compounds. It is recognized that there are generally three types of sprayers; 1) hand-held manually powered units; 2) air compressor powered units; and 3) motorized units which may have a mechanical mixing tank. The present invention is of the hand-held manually-powered type, sometimes referred to as a "bug sprayer." Some of the better-known devices that are of some relevance to the present invention will be described here.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,521 to Stankowitz discloses a portable, self-contained texture applicator having a pressure tank adapted to be charged from an external source or by a manually actuatable pump incorporated in the tank. Air pressure can only be released by the spraying operation. Stankowitz does not disclose the use of a portable hand-held, manually-powered, low pressure sprayer with an air control valve.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,645 to Hopp discloses a hand-held, compression-type sprayer. Air pressure can only be released by the spraying operation. Hopp does not disclose the use of a portable hand-held, low pressure sprayer with an air control valve.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,820,722 to Jett, et al., discloses a portable hand-held aggregate sprayer that is manually pressurized. The aggregate is sprayed most effectively after significant pressure is manually built up in the device by the user. Air pressure can only be released by the spraying operation. Jett, et al. does not disclose the use of a portable hand-held, low pressure sprayer with an air control valve.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,002,699 to Pinke discloses a manually-operated sprayer having an air pump and a receptacle attached to it that contains the material to be sprayed. Air pressure can only be released by the spraying operation. Pinke does not disclose the use of a portable, hand-held, low pressure sprayer with an air control valve.
None of the above patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the present invention as disclosed and claimed.
While portable, hand-held, manually operated sprayers are known, there are several disadvantages to the known devices.
Prior art devices require the individual to provide substantial force and repeated pumping action to begin the spraying operation, and not all individuals are capable of providing or sustaining such force for any appreciable length of time.
The requirement inherent in prior art devices for the application of substantial force in the pumping action by an individual also leads to heating up and excessive wear on vital parts of the sprayer, such as the seals on the extremis of the piston rod.
In the prior art devices, as the level of the material being sprayed in the container is lowered during the spraying operation, the amount of applied operating force required is lessened, but the material consistency of the spray is substantially lessened and the sprayed material is generally wasted as the air is gradually forced out through the spray nozzle.
There is no portable sprayer that provides for operation with lower applied pressure, thus enabling longer operation and more effective operation, that also provides a control device that reduces wastage of the material being sprayed.


A torque transmission system is provided for an aircraft drive wheel drive system mounted on nose or main landing gear wheels to move the aircraft autonomously on the ground that effectively transmits torque through drive system components. The drive system includes a drive means capable of generating sufficient torque to move the aircraft, a drive system capable of generating a high torque capacity that activates the drive means, a clutch assembly that can be selectively engaged to control torque transmission to the drive system and activate the drive means, and a landing gear torque takeout element. The clutch assembly is configured to be inactivated and prevented from transmitting torque to other drive wheel drive system components when an overtorque event occurs. Aircraft drive wheel drive system components in the present torque transmission system are designed to withstand torque in excess of a determined maximum for the system.

As air travel has increased over the past decades, airport facilities have become more crowded and congested. Minimizing the time between the arrival of an aircraft and its departure to maintain an airline's flight schedule, and also to make a gate or parking location available without delay to an incoming aircraft, has become a high priority in the management of airport ground operations. The safe and efficient ground movement of a large number of aircraft simultaneously into and out of ramp and gate areas has become increasingly important. As airline fuel costs and safety concerns and regulations have increased, the airline industry is beginning to acknowledge that continuing to use an aircraft's main engines to move aircraft during ground operations is no longer the best option. The delays, costs, and other challenges to timely and efficient aircraft pushback from airport terminals associated with the use of tugs and tow vehicles make this type of aircraft ground movement an unattractive alternative to the use of an aircraft's main engines to move an aircraft on the ground. Restricted use of an aircraft's engines on low power during arrival at or departure from a gate is an additional, although problematic, option. Not only does such engine use consume fuel, it also burns fuel inefficiently and produces engine exhaust that contains microparticles and other products of incomplete combustion. Operating aircraft engines, moreover, are noisy, and the associated safety hazards of jet blast and engine ingestion in congested gate and ramp areas are significant concerns that cannot be overlooked.
The use of a drive means, such as a motor structure, integrally mounted with a wheel to rotate the wheel of an aircraft has been proposed. The use of such a structure should move an aircraft independently and efficiently on the ground without reliance on the aircraft's main engines. U.S. Pat. No. 7,445,178 to McCoskey et al, for example, describes an aircraft ground movement system with electric nose wheel motors that work in concert with a guidance system intended to move a taxiing aircraft. This system requires ground based and other components external to the aircraft for its operation, however. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,469,858 to Edelson; U.S. Pat. No. 7,891,609 to Cox; U.S. Pat. No. 7,975,960 to Cox; U.S. Pat. No. 8,109,463 to Cox et al; and British Patent No. 2457144, owned in common with the present invention, describe aircraft drive systems that use electric drive motors to power aircraft wheels and move an aircraft on the ground without reliance on aircraft main engines or external tow vehicles. While the drive means described in these patents can effectively move an aircraft autonomously during ground operations, a system and method of torque transmission through components of a drive system are not suggested. None of the foregoing art, moreover, recognizes the significant improvements in autonomous aircraft ground movement or drive wheel operating efficiency possible when torque is transmitted through a series of drive system components to actuate an aircraft drive wheel system drive means to move the aircraft during ground operations.
The drive means currently proposed for aircraft drive wheel drive systems to drive aircraft autonomously on the ground may rely on gearing systems that operate with the drive means to drive an aircraft wheel and, thus, the aircraft. The replacement of gears by traction drives has been suggested in non-aircraft contexts. Adapting roller or traction drive systems to replace gearing and/or gear systems in aircraft drive wheel drive systems that actuate drive means to independently drive an aircraft drive wheel has not been suggested, however. Additionally, neither providing a clutch assembly to activate such roller traction drive systems nor providing a system for transmitting torque through components of an aircraft drive wheel drive system have been mentioned in the art. While the use of a torque arm assembly in combination with a clutch to provide controlled release of a load is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,987,960 to Stoltze, this system anticipates load sharing among multiple torque arm assemblies in a backstopping clutch arrangement that is also used to prevent reverse rotation of system components. Such a system would not effectively transfer torque in an aircraft drive wheel drive system, however.
A need exists, therefore, for a system for transferring torque during operation of an aircraft drive wheel drive system that effectively transfers torque through the drive system components when a drive system-actuated drive means is actuated to drive an aircraft drive wheel to move the aircraft autonomously on the ground without reliance on the aircraft's main engines or external ground vehicles.

Torque transmission in an aircraft drive wheel drive system


Proximity systems in conjunction with radiocommunication systems are described. Mobile stations include proximity detectors which recognize proximity signals transmitted by a proximity system. This recognition triggers a search, for example, for a private radiocommunication control channel. In this way, mobile stations have a mechanism which is independent of public radiocommunication cell characteristics for recognizing the presence of a private radiocommunication system.

The present invention generally relates to the field of communications systems and, more particularly, to systems wherein mobile stations interact with both public and private radiocommunication systems.
The cellular telephone industry has made phenomenal strides in commercial operations in the United States as well as in the rest of the world. Growth in major metropolitan areas has far exceeded expectations. If this trend continues, it is possible that wireless communication techniques will provide the bulk of telecommunication service in some areas. As a result of this growth and demand, wireless services have become more affordable. In light of recent trend of competitive air time rates, customers may choose to make the cellular phone their only means of personal communication. The popularity of these phones is further enhanced by their ability to be used for other (than voice) forms of transmission and reception, such as facsimile devices and modems.
In its evolution, cellular technology is increasingly expanding into new applications such as wireless PBX and private home base stations such as, for example, cordless systems. It is envisioned that a phone used in public cellular systems will also be used in the workplace and at home, both of which operate on a private system. Unlike public systems which charge for air-time, these private systems typically operate on the basis of a flat or fixed periodic charge. In order to enable cellular phones to connect to private systems without incurring air-time charges, however, owners of portions of the radio spectrum used to support public cellular systems must permit usage of their systems for access to private system. The incentive for these owners is that if users make cellular units their primary form of communication, an increase in usage of cellular phones in the public system will result. This in turn leads to increased revenue to owners of the radio spectrum in which public cellular systems operate.
FIG. 1 represents a block diagram of an exemplary cellular mobile radiotelephone system, including an exemplary base station 110 and mobile station 120, which is used to describe conventional techniques for locating and locking to private radiocommunication systems, as well as novel techniques according to the present invention described below. The base station includes a control and processing unit 130 which is connected to the mobile service switching center, MSC 140, which in turn is connected to, for example, a PSTN (not shown).
The base station 110 handles a plurality of voice channels through a voice channel transceiver 150, which is controlled by the control and processing unit 130. Also, each base station includes a control channel transceiver 160, which may be capable of handling more than one control channel. The control channel transceiver 160 is controlled by the control and processing unit 130. The control channel transceiver 160 broadcasts control information over the control channel of the base station or cell to mobiles locked to that control channel. It will be understood that the transceivers 150 and 160 can be implemented as a single device, like the voice and control transceiver 170 in mobile station 120.
Mobile station 120 receives the information broadcast on a control channel at its voice and control channel transceiver 170. Then, the processing unit 175 evaluates the received control channel information, which can include characteristics of cells that are candidates for the mobile station to lock on to, and determines on which cell the mobile should lock. Once the mobile station has received this information, it can compare its own stored information, e.g., regarding cell preferences, with those transmitted on the control channel, e.g., type of cell and network owner.
The mobile station 120 also includes an input device 185, such as a numeric keypad, which allows a user to interact with the mobile station. A display device 190, such as an LCD screen, provides a visual display of information to the user. In addition to being configured as a cellular telephone, the mobile station may also be a PC card, e.g., a card designed in accordance with the PCMCIA standard, which is connected to a personal computer, e.g., a laptop. In this latter case the display device would be the PC monitor. The mobile station also includes memory 180, which may include various information associated with private radiocommunication systems which the mobile station 120 is authorized to use.
When a mobile station powers on, it will attempt to locate a control channel from which it can, for example, obtain overhead information regarding system operation, receive paging messages and initiate calls. Various techniques are available for locating control channels in public systems, which techniques are typically specified by the applicable radiocommunication standards. An example of techniques by which control channels can be located is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,467, the disclosure of which is incorporated here by reference.
In order for a cellular mobile unit to operate in a private system, it has to locate a control channel of the private system. When a user is located in the vicinity of a private system, it is desirable that the user""s cellular mobile unit will lock onto the private system instead of the public system to reduce or eliminate the air-time charges mentioned above.
In addition to techniques for locating control channels associated with public systems, there are also exiting methods available for enabling mobile units to detect the presence of a nearby private system, e.g., the method specified in the TIA/EIA 136 standard. However, this method depends on the mobile unit detecting certain characteristics of a public system in which a particular private system is located. The mobile unit may, for example, have stored in its memory, certain identifying characteristics of particular public cells such as system and cell identity. Whenever the mobile unit is locked onto the public cell that matches the stored characteristics, the mobile unit may enter a control channel search algorithm for an associated private system.
According to another method, the mobile unit simply searches periodically for a private system. That is, the mobile unit periodically attempts to locate a control channel having a particular private system identity without reference to any particular public cell.
These existing methods, however, have certain disadvantages. Under the first method described above, if the operator of a public system changes the cell layout by introducing more cells, the mobile unit will not detect the stored characteristics of the public cell in which a private system is located. Thus the memory contents of the mobile unit must be updated, for example, by a user, in order to account for changes in the public system made by the operator so that the private system can still be reached. With the periodic search method, the mobile unit, by having to search constantly, drains its battery. Moreover, the mobile unit is unable to detect incoming pages on the public system while it searches for control channels of the private system. What is needed, therefore, is a more effective method for a mobile unit to detect the presence of a private system and locate control channels associated therewith.
According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a mobile station can include a proximity detector which informs the mobile station when it is near a proximity system. The proximity system can be integrated into the private radiocommunication system or can be a standalone system that is connected to the private radiocommunication system. The proximity system can emit a signal with or without data modulated thereon for detection by the mobile station. According to other exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the proximity system can employ techniques which permit more sophisticated, two-way data transfer.
If the proximity system simply informs the mobile station of its presence, then the mobile station can institute a search for a control channel associated with the private radiocommunication system. If, on the other hand, the proximity system is able to also transfer information to the mobile station, e.g., regarding the private radiocommunication""s control channel frequency (or a subset of frequencies within which the control channel can be found), this can aid the mobile station in locking onto the private radiocommunication system.
According to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the proximity device in the mobile station can be implemented in a number of different ways, e.g., as a radio frequency (RF) sensor, a magnetic sensor or a more sophisticated, short range receiver, and provides a trigger for the mobile station to attempt to connect to the private radiocommunication system. If the proximity detection techniques employed provide the additional capability for the proximity system to convey information other than a mere proximity signal, the mobile station can then be configured to receive and output such information. For example, the proximity system system could convey the user""s e-mail or voicemail along with the proximity signal. Analogously, the mobile system can also be configured to upload information to the proximity system.
According to still other exemplary embodiments of the present invention, systems and methods provide access control to, for example, doors, buildings, etc. by authenticating the mobile station""s identity and selectively providing access based on the authentication process. Authentication can be conducted between the mobile station and any one of the proximity system, the private radiocommunication system and the public radiocommunication system.

System proximity detection by mobile stations