A floating segmented conglomerate backing screen for use in underwater composite photography. A plurality of buoyant pads of an essentially hexagonal shape have surfaces exhibiting specific chrominance and luminance properties as required for a traveling matte process. The individual segments are deployed onto a liquid surface of a finite area in a quantity sufficient to substantially cover the liquid surface in its entirety, in an edge-to-edge, floating, conglomerate relationship. The floating raft created by the segments permits egress and ingress for people and equipment directly through the raft and likewise permits the escape of air rising from below the surface. When appropriately illuminated from either below or above the surface, or both, the chrominance and luminance of the raft is such that an essentially monochromatic backing field is provided for traveling matte processes. The individual segments are constructed of an inert plastic such as polypropylene, polystyrene, polyurethane or similar plastic which has inclusions of inert gas and is compounded with dyes and pigments, which may include fluorescence, to achieve either black or white or any of a variety of specific spectral loci and luminances, for the purpose of providing a precise chromatic actinic stimulus response for a silver halide photographic film, or similar response for electronic imaging devices. Foreground subject matter interposed between the camera and the segmented conglomerate backing will therefore be readily distinguished and "matted" for compositing by methods well known to the art.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to composite photography, and more particularly to floating backing screens having improved chromatic actinic stimulus for color difference composite photography, cinematography, videography and solid state digital imaging.
2. Art Background
In motion picture production, it is often impractical, impossible or simply uneconomical to place actors in the specific environments to be depicted. To resolve this problem, various techniques have evolved over the years to composite such scenes from separately filmed "elements." The patent literature contains a great deal of teaching in this field. A comprehensive discussion is to be found in my prior patents. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,417,791, 4,548,470 and especially 4,629,298. Reference is also made to the American Cinematographer Manual, Seventh Edition, pp. 430-466, with particular emphasis on the section titled "Screen Types and Lighting" pp. 434-437. With these references in mind, the present discussion will be confined to a summary of the evolution of traveling matte technique.
The earliest efforts at composite photography generally resorted to animation, as in Georges Milies' "Trip to the Moon" (1902). Thereafter, techniques such as the "held/take" process were utilized, in which a scene was shot with predetermined areas of the successive frames blocked off with an opaque "matte" in order to preclude exposure thereof. The unexposed portions of the successive frames were thereafter exposed to the desired foreground subjects, with the background areas "matted" to protect the previously recorded latent images. Essentially the same process is used to incorporate a painting which depicts a distant, dangerous, or totally alien scene against which the actors are to appear; this is known as matte painting. In order to depict actors or other foreground subjects moving in front of the desired background scenes, it became necessary to produce "mattes" that would change from frame to frame, or "travel." Various techniques were developed over the years to accomplish this.
Early processes relied upon contrast alone, the foreground action being filmed against a jet black backing and the resulting image being printed through several generations of high contrast film stock or alternatively, having the image chemically "intensified" until a matte was produced. One example of this technique is described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,273,435 to Frank Williams in 1918.
The results obtained by this technique were generally quite poor, due to the inevitable distortion produced by the multiple reversals or the intensification which result in "haloes" or "fringes" occurring between the scene elements. Efforts to address these problems led to the exploitation of the chromatic response of black and white photographic film and resulted in the Dunning-Pomeroy process (U.S. Pat. No. 1,613,163 to Carrol D. Dunning, 1927) and another Williams process (U.S. Pat. No. 2,024,081, Dec. 10, 1935). With the advent of color film recording, notably the Technicolor process, the chromatic based systems began to proliferate. (See U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,693,126, and 2,740,712 to W. E. Pohl.).
The fundamental concept that makes it possible to derive a matte from a polychromatic photographic image is based on the fact that the superimposition of positive and negative images will cancel each other out and yield an opaque image. Thus it follows that if a given portion of the image is comprised of a pure monochromatic object, i.e. blue, this portion will appear as light in a print of the film record that is sensitive to blue and dark in prints of the film records that are not sensitive to blue, i.e. the red and green records. Therefore, if the red negative record, in which the "blue" object appears light, is superimposed with the blue positive record, in which the blue object also appears light, the blue object will remain the only significant "light" object in the scene, all polychromatic portions of the scene having canceled each other out to yield an opaque image. It is then straightforward to produce a set of positive and negative high contrast "mattes" and employ these to print, in succession, the foreground and background elements of a composite scene.
With the advent of monopak color photographic film, it became possible to devise the ever more sophisticated color difference traveling matte techniques exemplified by Petro Vlahos' U.S. Pat. No. 3,158,477. As the compositing technology evolved to produce more convincing results, the requirements for the original photography of the "bluescreen" element became increasingly severe. Much ingenious attention was focussed on this area, and some of the results achieved have been recognized with patents and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Scientific and Engineering Awards. Among these are: Eastman Kodak for color negative EC 5295, a film designed expressly for Bluescreen traveling matte photography (1987), the Stewart Traveling Matte Transmission Bluescreen backing (1964), the Reverse Bluescreen Process (1983) (U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,791) and the Blue-Max Blue Flux Front Projector (1984) (U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,298). The ultimate sophistication in traveling matte image acquisition is achieved with the Reverse Front Projection process described in the American Cinematographer Manual, p. 457, which solves a host of problems. This technique provides great control over chrominance and luminance and essentially cancels any prospect of "spill" and unwanted reflections.
The latest advances in compositing technology exploit the capacity of computer image manipulation processes and digital film scanning and printing techniques, and have vastly expanded the application and efficacy of composite photography. The catalogue of Petro Vlahos' patents in the field traces the development and increasing sophistication of electronic compositing. While the below listed patents describe the electronic hardware embodiments of the process, these have all now been implemented in computer software for digital electronic composites: 3,595,987 4,007,487 4,100,560 4,344,085 4,409,611 4,589,013 4,625,231
Additionally, in 1992, Eastman Kodak Company developed an effective film digitizing scanner and a complementary film printing laser. These systems and others produced by different manufacturers provide extensive software programs covering every facet of compositing and image manipulation technique. It is now possible to create composites containing an infinite number of elements without any degradation of image quality from the original digital scan through to the laser film output. The most subtle image attributes can be retained, including extremely fine detail such as strands of hair, as well as the all important motion blurred edges of moving objects. Translucent objects such as glass, water and smoke may now be routinely rendered in totally convincing "seamless" composites.
The extremely high demands such sophisticated computer compositing programs make on original traveling matte photography can demonstrably be met by the previously described technology such as Blue-Max (R) front projection, Reverse Front Projection and the like. However, these techniques, as sophisticated in their way as the computer programs, are technologically complex and time consuming to employ. The immense proliferation of composite photography occasioned by the facility and efficacy of digital composite technology require the development of simple, effective and economical techniques for achieving the original image or "bluescreen element."
Throughout this discussion, the process has been described by the term "Bluescreen." This is explained by the fact that for most of the history of the process the backing color of choice, and frequently of necessity, has been blue. While it is possible to perform photochemical optical traveling matte composites using any primary color backing, there has been a persuasive technological rationale for confining the process to the blue version. With the advent of the digital electronic processes described above, the range of backing colors is expanded to include all the primaries and indeed, their complements. Further, freed from the constraints entailed in the photochemical process, the advantages to be found in matting on the green record can now be readily accessed. A full discussion of the relative merits of blue versus green is not warranted here beyond the mention of some of the more obvious attributes involved.
In monopak color film, particularly that balanced for Tungsten light, the Blue sensitive record is, of necessity, comprised of a faster, and hence, grainier record than either Red or Green. This is due to the relative paucity of blue light available in the Tungsten spectrum. In fact, the film emulsion designers make a major effort to provide the green record with the highest possible image attributes. Thus many aspects of perceived image quality such as resolution, tone scale, acutance, and so on are delivered to the viewer via the green record of the monopak color film. (A similar situation also prevails in video imaging devices, where the bandwidth assigned to the respective color channels was derived from the visual response of the human eye; thus the Green channel is some 59%, versus approximately 30% for the Red and only 11% for the Blue.) In most photochemical compositing techniques, this attribute of the green record was superfluous, as the "matte" record, usually blue, was reduced to a high contrast black and white matte. By contrast, in a sophisticated digital electronic computer compositing system, the matte record is rendered as a continuous tone black and white image. Actually, the matte should no longer be thought of as an "image," but rather as a signals matrix containing the instructions for combining the relative proportions of both foreground and background picture elements (or pixels) which will comprise the eventual composite image. This is now known as the Alpha channel. For a comprehensive discussion of the Alpha channel, see "Compositing Digital Images," Thomas Porter and Tom Duff, in Computer Graphics, Vol. 18, No. 3, p. 254, July 1984, in which the concept was introduced. Mattes produced using this technology are capable of readily reproducing the most subtle image attributes including translucent objects such as smoke and water, filmy fabrics, and, importantly, the edge blur of rapidly moving objects in the scene, as well as shadows. Such attributes were relatively much harder to render in photochemical optical composites, though by no means impossible, when a highly skilled practitioner of the art was involved.
The most significant issues noted above are those of "motion blur" and "shadows." In these situations, the compositing system will be combining proportions of both foreground and background portions of the scene together. It is desirable that a shadow cast by the foreground scene onto the background matte field will retain enough image density to record in the Alpha channel, or matte, as a smooth quiet signal. The same is true for the reduced background signal occurring in the area of "motion blur" when a rapidly moving portion of the foreground subject is partially, though not completely, obscuring the background matte field. A great deal of filmed traveling matte footage is transferred to video via a telecine device, the leading such device in the industry being the Rank Telecine. This is essentially a flying spot scanner device employing a CRT source together with optics, such that a film image frame is scanned by the CRT "spot" whereby each pixel is coded into its component parts and stored as data. The device is handicapped by the fact that the CRT phosphors employed are essentially green in color, requiring excessive amplification of the relatively weak signal derived from the blue record of film. Thus the relative grainy record of Tungsten balanced negative film is exacerbated by the excessive electronic amplification resulting in what is termed "noisy" mattes. Quite obviously, deriving a matte signal from the fine grain green record of the same film illuminated by an essentially green phosphor CRT tube will produce an electronically very "quiet" matte.
Another, small advantage of matting on the green record is derived from the fact that the optics of the camera are designed mainly around the green portion of the spectrum and, assuming the camera has been properly focussed, the very best focus will occur for the green record, with very deep red objects suffering slightly by comparison.
Further discussion on the relative merits of Blue versus Green may be found in Ultimatte Technical Bulletin No. 2, "Green or Blue-Selecting a Backing Color for an Ultimatte Composite." (Published by the Ultimatte Corporation, manufacturer of Petro Vlahos' inventions previously referred to.) After a discussion of the many complex issues, the bulletin concludes, "There are no simple rules for specifying when to use a blue or green backing. Each situation must be analyzed to see whether a blue or a green backing will yield better results."
When required by the environment depicted by the storyline, the traveling matte process has to be conducted underwater. Fabric backings as described in my pending Provisional Application No. 60/004,996 filed Oct. 10, 1995, provide excellent physical properties in this environment. The exception to this case is found when the backing is required to form the surface plane of the water environment. While it would be possible to cover the water surface with the fabric backing, this would impede the ingress and egress of people and objects into the tank or pool. Likewise the inevitable air bubbles rising to the surface from breathing equipment, etc. within the tank would tend to form large bubbles which would be trapped at the interface of the water surface and the fabric backing. Such bubbles would then create the optical effect of a mirror surface as viewed from below destroying the monochromatic field required by the traveling matte process. Therefore, a new configuration of a backing screen is desired to be developed to address these drawbacks in the prior art.

Floating segmented conglomerate traveling matte backing


There is disclosed a process for in vitro synthesis and assembly of long, gene-length polynucleotides based upon assembly of multiple shorter oligonucleotides synthesized in situ on a microarray platform. Specifically, there is disclosed a process for in situ synthesis of oligonucleotide fragments on a solid phase microarray platform and subsequent, “on device” assembly of larger polynucleotides composed of a plurality of shorter oligonucleotide fragments.

In the world of microarrays, biological molecules (e.g., oligonucleotides, polypeptides and the like) are placed onto surfaces at defined locations for potential binding with target samples of nucleotides or receptors. Microarrays are miniaturized arrays of biomolecules available or being developed on a variety of platforms. Much of the initial focus for these microarrays have been in genomics with an emphasis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and genomic DNA detection/validation, functional genomics and proteomics (Wilgenbus and Lichter, J. Mol. Med. 77:761, 1999; Ashfari et al., Cancer Res. 59:4759, 1999; Kurian et al., J. Pathol. 187:267, 1999; Hacia, Nature Genetics 21 suppl.:42, 1999; Hacia et al., Mol. Psychiatry 3:483, 1998; and Johnson, Curr. Biol. 26:R171, 1998).
There are, in general, three categories of microarrays (also called "biochips" and "DNA Arrays" and "Gene Chips" but this descriptive name has been attempted to be a trademark) having oligonucleotide content. Most often, the oligonucleotide microarrays have a solid surface, usually silicon-based and most often a glass microscopic slide. Oligonucleotide microarrays are often made by different techniques, including (1) "spotting" by depositing single nucleotides for in situ synthesis or completed oligonucleotides by physical means (ink jet printing and the like), (2) photolithographic techniques for in situ oligonucleotide synthesis (see, for example, Fodor U.S. Pat. No. '934 and the additional patents that claim priority from this priority document, (3) electrochemical in situ synthesis based upon pH based removal of blocking chemical functional groups (see, for example, Montgomery U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,302 the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein and Southern U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,667), and (4) electric field attraction/repulsion of fully-formed oligonucleotides (see, for example, Hollis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,939 and its duplicate Heller U.S. Pat. No. 5,929,208). Only the first three basic techniques can form oligonucleotides in situ e.g., building each oligonucleotide, nucleotide-by-nucleotide, on the microarray surface without placing or attracting fully formed oligonucleotides.
With regard to placing fully formed oligonucleotides at specific locations, various micro-spotting techniques using computer-controlled plotters or even ink jet printers have been developed to spot oligonucleotides at defined locations. One technique loads glass fibers having multiple capillaries drilled through them with different oligonucleotides loaded into each capillary tube. Microarray chips, often simply glass microscope slides, are then stamped out much like a rubber stamp on each sheet of paper of glass slide. It is also possible to use "spotting" techniques to build oligonucleotides in situ. Essentially, this involves "spotting" relevant single nucleotides at the exact location or region on a slide (preferably a glass slide) where a particular sequence of oligonucleotide is to be built. Therefore, irrespective of whether or not fully formed oligonucleotides or single nucleotides are added for in situ synthesis, spotting techniques involve the precise placement of materials at specific sites or regions using automated techniques.
Another technique involves a photolithography process involving photomasks to build oligonucleotides in situ, base-by-base, by providing a series of precise photomasks coordinated with single nucleotide bases having light-cleavable blocking groups. This technique is described in Fodor et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,934 and its various progeny patents. Essentially, this technique provides for "solid-phase chemistry, photolabile protecting groups, and photolithography . . . to achieve light-directed spatially addressable parallel chemical synthesis."
The electrochemistry platform (Montgomery U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,302, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein) provides a microarray based upon a semiconductor chip platform having a plurality of microelectrodes. This chip design uses Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology to create high-density arrays of microelectrodes with parallel addressing for selecting and controlling individual microelectrodes within the array. The electrodes turned on with current flow generate electrochemical reagents (particularly acidic protons) to alter the pH in a small "virtual flask" region or volume adjacent to the electrode. The microarray is coated with a porous matrix for a reaction layer material. Thickness and porosity of the material is carefully controlled and biomolecules are synthesized within volumes of the porous matrix whose pH has been altered through controlled diffusion of protons generated electrochemically and whose diffusion is limited by diffusion coefficients and the buffering capacities of solutions. However, in order to function properly, the microarray biochips using electrochemistry means for in situ synthesis has to alternate anodes and cathodes in the array in order to generated needed protons (acids) at the anodes so that the protons and other acidic electrochemically generated acidic reagents will cause an acid pH shift and remove a blocking group from a growing oligomer.
Gene Assembly
The preparation of arbitrary polynucleotide sequences is useful in a "postgenomic" era because it provides any desirable gene oligonucleotide or its fragment, or even whole genome material of plasmids, phages and viruses. Such polynucleotides are long, such as in excess of 1000 bases in length. In vitro synthesis of oligonucleotides (given even the best yield conditions of phosphoramidite chemistry) would not be feasible because each base addition reaction is less than 100% yield. Therefore, researchers desiring to obtain long polynucleotides of gene length or longer had to turn to nature or gene isolation techniques to obtain polynucleotides of such length. For the purposes of this patent application, the term "polynucleotide" shall be used to refer to nucleic acids (either single stranded or double stranded) that are sufficiently long so as to be practically not feasible to make in vitro through single base addition. In view of the exponential drop-off in yields from nucleic acid synthesis chemistries, such as phosphoramidite chemistry, such polynucleotides generally have greater than 100 bases and often greater than 200 bases in length. It should be noted that many commercially useful gene cDNA's often have lengths in excess of 1000 bases.
Moreover, the term "oligonucleotides" or shorter term "oligos" shall be used to refer to shorter length single stranded or double stranded nucleic acids capable of in vitro synthesis and generally shorter than 150 bases in length. While it is theoretically possible to synthesize polynucleotides through single base addition, the yield losses make it a practical impossibility beyond 150 bases and certainly longer than 250 bases.
However, knowledge of the precise structure of the genetic material is often not sufficient to obtain this material from natural sources. Mature cDNA, which is a copy of an mRNA molecule, can be obtained if the starting material contains the desired mRNA. However, it is not always known if the particular mRNA is present in a sample or the amount of the mRNA might be too low to obtain the corresponding cDNA without significant difficulties. Also, different levels of homology or splice variants may interfere with obtaining one particular species of mRNA. On the other hand many genomic materials might be not appropriate to prepare mature gene (cDNA) due to exon-intron structure of genes in many different genomes.
In addition, there is a need in the art for polynucleotides not existing in nature to improve genomic research performance. In general, the ability to obtain a polynucleotide of any desired sequence just knowing the primary structure, for a reasonable price, in a short period of time, will significantly move forward several fields of biomedical research and clinical practice.
Assembly of long arbitrary polynucleotides from oligonucleotides synthesized by organic synthesis and individually purified has other problems. The assembly can be performed using PCR or ligation methods. The synthesis and purification of many different oligonucleotides by conventional methods (even using multi-channel synthesizers) are laborious and expensive procedures. The current price of assembled polynucleotide on the market is about $12-25 per base pair, which can be considerable for assembling larger polynucleotides. Very often the amount of conventionally synthesized oligonucleotides would be excessive. This also contributes to the cost of the final product.
Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide cost-effective polynucleotides by procedures that are not as cumbersome and labor-intensive as present methods to be able to provide polynucleotides at costs below $1 per base or 1-20 times less than current methods. The present invention was made to address this need.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Microarray synthesis and assembly of gene-length polynucleotides


The invention relates to an arrangement for the removal of waste products, such as smoke and tissue particles, arising during the ablation of biological tissue by means of laser irradiation. According to the invention, discharge openings for a flushing gas are provided, which are arranged such that the gas flows meet above the ablation region at an angle of ca. 100° and stratify to give a gas flow taken up by a suction opening.

It is well-known that biological tissue can be ablated by applying laser energy without substantial thermal damage of the target areas. This quasi non-thermal process is used for example in medicine for the treatment of cartilage, dental hard tissue, skin areas and also during eye surgery for sculpting the cornea (Photorefractive keratectomy, PRK). Such procedures and the associated device have been published for example in patents DE 197 27 573 C1 and EP 0 412 789 B1. A further procedure, in which the cornea is altered by lasers, is in-situ laser keratomileusis (LASIK). In contrast with PRK, a cut is first made into the cornea and a so-called "flap" is produced, which is folded away during the laser procedure in the work area. After concluding the ablation, which takes place thereby within the cornea, the flap is again folded back.
It is unfavorable that the residual products from the tissue ablation affect the air quality in direct proximity of the treatment place in the form of smoke or tissue particles, which leads to an unpleasant odor for the patient and the treating personnel, and on the other hand that the laser radiation is partially weakened. The latter has a particular relevance in the photorefractive keratectomy, with which the cornea surface is formed by a precise material removal which depends on an unhindered, application of the laser beam, and the fact that the radiation energy is accurately applied with a continuous intensity into the cornea, so that the ablation result can be obtained in the desired quality. The intensity is influenced (reduced) the laser beam produced smoke, vapors and tissue particles, which can lead to irregular and thus unwanted changes in the ablations. In LASIK there also exists the additionally danger that tissue particles may settle on the flap, leading to contamination and degradation of the optical quality.
U.S. Pat. specification No. 5,344,418 describes an implementation in which an applicator is placed close to the outlet of the laser beam with flow channels for gases and/or air, from which during the treatment a gas and/or an air flow may be directed towards the treated tissue, which has as intended consequence that the undesired ablation residual products are blown away from the treatment area.
Hereby the problem of air pollution and unpleasant odor for the patient and operating surgeon is yet not solved.
Also, the technical solution stated in U.S. Pat. specification No. 5,181,916 is not able to eliminate the mentioned disadvantages. Here no gas flow is directed toward the treated area by which the impurities are blown away. Instead the residual gases developing at the treatment place are drawn off with the help of a gas flow. An opening for this purpose is concentrically arranged around the aperture through which the laser beam is directed. This solution has the disadvantage that the visible treated area is only reduced during the treatment since it is partially covered by the opening.
On the applicant's patent DE 100 20 522 A1, the residual products are sucked from the ablation over a channel arranged over the ablation area, and at the same time a withdrawal duct is concentrically arranged around a flushing gas feeding line. This device also covers the treatment area in this case.
This disadvantage also exists in patent DE 101 29 650 A1, in which a circular flow channel is radially and symmetrically arranged around the ablation area, and the gas flow is directed by the discharge openings arranged on the ablation area. Thus the currents meet one another and interact in such a manner that a direction reversal and thus a radially arranged outward current are produced, which carry the ablation products and the developing smoke with them. The problem of the unpleasant odor for the patient and the operating surgeon is not solved in this case.

Arrangement for the removal of waste products during the ablation of biological tissue


A myeloma cell-line transformed with a vector including a gene coding for a eukariotic polypeptide and a non-immunolglobulin promoter such that expression occurs of the gene coding for the eukariotic polypeptide, directed by the non-immunoglobulin promoter. The promoter may be a viral promoter, such as an SV40 promoter, a Rous sarcoma virus long terminal repeat or a Moloney murine leukemia long terminal repeat, or a non-viral promoter such as the mouse metallothionein promoter. Rat and mouse host myeloma cell-lines such as the rat YB/2/3.0 Ag20 hybridoma, the mouse SP-20 Ag hybridoma and the mouse NSO hybridoma are employed. The production of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is exemplified.

In recent years, advances in biotechnology have led to an ability to produce eukaryotic polypeptides on an industrial scale by the expression of appropriate genes in the cells of host cell-lines. The commercial success of such processes depends upon the efficiency with which a particular gene can be expressed in the cells of a given host cell-line. There is a continued need for expression systems exhibiting high expression efficiency.
Early expression experiments were conducted using bacterial cell-lines. However, the disparity between such cellular environments and the normal environment of eukaryotic polypeptides leads to some undesirable effects and generally to a low product output. These effects have been, to some extent, ameliorated by the use of eukaryotic cell-lines, particularly mammalian cell-lines, as hosts. A variety of mammalian cell-line expression systems are known (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,419,446 (Howley, et al) which describes the transformation of mouse fibroblast cells with a vector including a gene coding for human insulin).
Studies relating to the expression of immunoglobulin genes have involved the use of recombinant DNA techniques to clone the relevant genes and to transform mammalian cells with the cloned genes. (Morrison, S. L. and Oi, V. T. Ann Rev. Immunol. (1984) 2 239-256). Myeloma cell-lines have been used as hosts and various vectors have been produced to transform myeloma cell-lines. These vectors in general carry an immunoglobulin promoter and gene. The vectors also include selectable markers to allow selection of host myeloma cells which have been successfully transformed. The markers comprise viral promoters driving expression of prokaryotic genes coding for non-secreted products which confer antibiotic resistance on transformed host cells. The products, which have a catalytic inactivating effect upon antibiotics, are produced at low levels.
These studies have shown that myeloma cell-lines exhibit a very specialised function in the expression of immunoglobulin genes. It has been shown that chimaeric mouse/human immunoglobulins can be produced in myeloma cells (Morrison, S. L. et al PNAS USA (1984) 81 6851-6588; Neuberger, M. S. Nature (1985) 314 268-270; Boulianne, G. L. Nature (1984) 312 643-646) and also that chimaeric immunoglobulin/enzyme and immunoglobulin/antigen polypeptides can be produced in myeloma cells. In all cases, an immunoglobulin promoter is used to direct expression of the desired product which comprises, at least in part, an immunoglobulin.
It has now been surprisingly discovered that it is possible to express eukaryotic genes at high levels in myeloma cell-lines from non-immunoglobulin promoters. This result is surprising in view of the specialised nature of myeloma cells and the known dependence upon cell type of the expression of eukaryotic genes.

Transformed myeloma cell-line and a process for the expression of a gene coding for a eukaryotic polypeptide employing same


An extended flexible polyurethane inner hose defines a fuel supply passage and is surrounded by an unbonded braided nylon reinforcement filament. The inner hose extends within a molded polyurethane and flexible corrugated outer hose which defines an annular fuel vapor return passage around the inner hose. Corresponding end portions of the hoses are connected to a fuel dispensing nozzle by a tubular metal inner coupling member, a tubular nylon outer coupling member, and a nylon nut. A small flexible fuel evacuation tube extends within the lower portion of the vapor return passage adjacent the inner hose, and an annular rotary coupling or union member and ring seals are confined between the inner and outer coupling members to define a fuel evacuation passage which connects the evacuation tube to a corresponding tube within the dispensing nozzle. The opposite end portions of the inner and outer hoses are connected by corresponding tubular coupling members to a fuel dispensing pump, and a support yoke, clamping ring and nut cooperate to prevent rotation of the hoses after they are connected to the dispensing pump. The nylon outer coupling members and nuts are carbon filled to be electrically conductive and are connected by a static wire helically wound around the inner hose.

In a vapor recovery fuel dispensing nozzle of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,271, liquid fuel is supplied to the nozzle through a flexible inner hose of a coaxial hose assembly. The inner hose extends through a flexible outer hose which cooperates with the inner hose to define an annular vapor return passage. As discussed in this patent, the inner and outer hoses are connected to the nozzle by corresponding inner and outer tubular coupling members, and a small flexible fuel evacuation tube extends from the nozzle downwardly through the vapor return passage into the lowermost portion of the vapor return passage of the draping coaxial hoses. The nozzle produces a suction within the evacuation tube for removing any liquid fuel which collects or condenses within the lower portion of the vapor return passage in order to keep the passage open.
When a nozzle as disclosed in the above patent is rotated relative to the coaxial hoses, the evacuation tube shifts circumferentially within the vapor return passage due to the width and lateral stiffness of the evacuation tube. The coaxial hoses may also be connected to the dispensing nozzle with a positive connection so that the coaxial hoses rotate with the nozzle, for example as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,033. In this patent, a venturi pump is located in the outer end portion of the fuel supply hose and is connected to a small evacuation tube which extends downwardly into the vapor return passage to the lowermost portion of the passage. The pump and tube aspirate fuel collected or condensed within the vapor return passage back into the product or fuel supply hose upstream of the nozzle.


A method of accounting for the quantity of water or other distributed resource in a distribution system utilizing automated meter reading and reporting. Missing readings are identified and estimated to allow the quantity of unaccounted for water always to be computed.

Utilities and other entities operate distribution systems for water, gas, and electricity to deliver these resources to various consumers connected to the distribution system. Typically, each consuming entity has at least one meter measuring the amount of the resource that it is removing from the distribution system. The utility likewise measures the amount of the resource that it is supplying to the distribution system, either through supply meters or other similar means. In a perfect world, the total amount of the resource supplied should equal the amount consumed.
This, however, is not a perfect world. Utilities commonly encounter discrepancies between the amount supplied and the amount consumed in their distribution systems. These discrepancies may usually be attributable to one or more of the following factors: inaccuracies in metering devices; leaks; line breakages and known singular events such as a fire crew accessing water from a hydrant to put out a fire; and theft. The difference between the measured quantity of resource supplied and the measured quantity of resource consumed is simply referred to as "unaccounted for."
Except for known events such fires and reported line breakages, utilities traditionally have had a difficult time accurately measuring the amount of unaccounted for resources, monitoring changes in the amount over time, and therefore being able to identify the source and cause of missing resources. This is because distribution systems usually include large numbers of meters, and with meters that must be read manually, it was impractical to gather a series of readings from such a large number of meters in a short time as is necessary to accurately measure and monitor the unaccounted for resource.
More recently, metering systems have utilized wireless communications modules operatively connected to the meter itself, such that the communications module could report the meter reading electronically to a communications network. Such networks initially utilized a mobile communications device that a utility worker would use to more rapidly collect readings as he drove within range of the meters. Later, the networks include stationary receivers designed to receive messages from a designated set of meters with a certain range, or the communications modules on the meters are capable of communicating with each other and passing messages along to a module connected that is connected to a gateway to the larger network. Various network topologies and technologies exist in the prior art for transmitting meter readings from a communications module at the meter to a central data collection or processing unit. In these systems, the communications module at the meter might transmit a reading on a predetermined interval (a "bubble up" system), or the module might respond to a command to report a meter reading from the central host or a nearby receiver or collector. Such networks are known and understood by those of ordinary skill in the art and will not be discussed in further detail here. In any case, such communication systems offer the ability for near instantaneous transmission of meter readings from the meter itself back to the central host computer for compilation and analysis.
In a large distribution network, however, a significant number of readings will be missing because of meters with inoperable or unresponsive communications modules, or where the signal was otherwise blocked, corrupted, or lost in transmission. These missing readings compromise the ability to measure and monitor the amount of an unaccounted for resource, even with a wireless communications network. In addition, to determine consumption, including to measure the amount of an unaccounted for resource, the utility usually must obtain readings for a large number of meters over a specific time period, such as a 24-hour period. Many meters make readings on regular intervals determined by internal clocks, which are not necessarily synchronized with an actual time. Therefore, while a meter may make a reading on a regular interval, such as every 15 minutes, or hourly, those intervals may fall randomly on the actual clock. For example, a meter taking a reading every 15 minutes may take those readings at 11, 26, 41, and 56 minutes after the hour. Moreover, meters in a distribution system may not be synchronized with one another; so even if all are taking a reading on the same reading interval (e.g., every 15 minutes) the distribution of when those readings are made, with respect to actual time, is somewhat random. Also, the internal clocks of meters may be subject to drift in accuracy over time, such that synchronization or lack thereof, with respect to actual time, may be constantly changing. For all of these reasons, the readings taken by meters are usually out of synch with one another and with defined points on the clock (such as the top of every hour). As a result, an actual reading at the desired beginning and ending of the specified time period (such as midnight), will likely be missing for a large number of meters. With a complete set of readings for a defined time period, a utility can determine if the unaccounted for resource is due to leaks, inaccuracies in meters, or theft.
Thus, there is a need for a method and system to provide a utility or other entity a complete set of readings for each meter of interest in a large distribution system, in which some meters may be inoperable, nonresponsive, where data transmissions may be lost or corrupted, and where lack of synchronization results in readings being missing for a defined time period.

Method of computing quantity of unaccounted for water in water distribution


A non-transitory computer readable medium stores a program causing a computer to execute a process. The process includes searching a document memory, the document memory storing electronic documents of medical records of patients in association with document types of the electronic documents, for electronic documents associated with a patient specified by a user from among the patients; referring to group definition information that defines document groups and grouping the electronic documents obtained in the searching so as to create the document groups; and generating data of a search result display screen in which an icon associated with a corresponding one of the document groups created as a result of the grouping is arranged at a position of a schema, the position corresponding to a site of a human body associated with the document group.

(i) Technical Field
The present invention relates to a non-transitory computer readable medium, a medical record search apparatus, and a medical record search method.
(ii) Related Art
Paper documents of various types or formats, such as medical charts, letters of introduction, and various examination records, and data of various types or formats, such as radiographs and moving or still images resulting from endoscopic examinations, are stored as consultation and treatment records at medical institutions, such as hospitals.
In recent years, systems have been developed which make a database of various types of documents and data regarding medical records to centrally manage the various types of documents and data. Systems of this type search for documents or the like that satisfy a search condition specified by the user (such as a doctor who refers to medical records) and present a list of the retrieved documents or the like to the user. This list shows, for example, for each of the retrieved documents, attribute information such as the document name that represents the document (which is associated with actual data of the document or the like), the registration date and time and the registrant of the document, and the name of the doctor in charge. The user selects a document or the like that they wish to read from the list so that the actual data of the document is loaded and displayed on the screen.
Such a display method using a list requires the user to recognize individual search results from text information, such as the document name or the attribute. Thus, finding a desired document is not necessarily easy.

Non-transitory computer readable medium, medical record search apparatus, and medical record search method


A method, a computer system, and a computer program product are disclosed for consolidating text conversations from text collaboration channels. An algorithm is executed to: identify a set of parameters from a first, a second, and a third set of textual data, associated with a first, a second, and a third collaboration channel, respectively; compare the parameters of the sets of data to identify a parameter that is a same parameter from the first set of textual data and the second set of textual data; and determine a frequency at which the first and second set of data comprise the identified parameter. In response to a determination that the frequency exceeds a threshold, the algorithm may further generate and display another set of data that includes the first and second set of data on a user interface.

Text-based collaboration channels allow users to share ideas, work on projects, and engage in conversations in a continuous textual stream. This continuous stream results in intermixed conversations. For example, a first message drafted by a first user on a first text-based collaboration channel may be split up into two messages by a second message drafted by a second user. The intermixing of the conversations results in a high degree of "noise" with respect to a single conversation. Further, this noise may make it difficult for users who may want to join and follow a specified conversation after the conversation has been underway for a period of time.
Also, the conversation may move from a first text-based collaboration channel to a second text-based collaboration channel or from a first text-based service to a second text-based service. If the user isn't monitoring one of the text-based collaboration channels or one of the text-based services, the user may find it extremely difficult to determine the originating text-based collaboration channel or the originating text-based service.

Consolidating text conversations from collaboration channels

International Business Machines Corporation


Laundry articles comprise a water-insoluble substrate and a particulate soil absorber comprising a crosslinked polyamide including units having a nucleophilic group. The particulate soil absorber is adhered to the water-insoluble substrate and is effective for inhibiting transfer or redeposition of particulate soil to items in a wash solution. Methods for making such articles comprise adhering a particulate soil absorber comprising a crosslinked polyamide including units having a nucleophilic group to the water-insoluble substrate.

One problem often encountered during normal laundering operations is the tendency of particulate soils to remain associated with items within the wash solution. In fact, even after their removal, particulate soils have been known to redeposit back onto the items during the wash cycle. Another problem associated with laundering operations involves the tendency of colored items to release dye into the wash solution. The extraneous dye is then transferred onto other items present in the wash cycle, thereby causing the newly dyed items to be permanently stained and/or color-altered. Another similar problem involves the premature fading of items within the wash solution as a result of undesirable dye removal.
One way of overcoming the problem of particulate soil and/or extraneous dye deposition onto items within the wash solution is to complex and/or adsorb the particulate soils and dyes before they can deposit on such items. In yet other approaches, these problems may be addressed by physically separating the various items within the wash solution by enclosing and/or encasing them within an envelope-like structure.
While the abovementioned techniques have proven useful for solving some laundering problems, developing improved yet consumer-friendly processes and/or products which address these problems has remained difficult. Accordingly, there is a desire for providing improved processes and/or products which solve these associated problems while simultaneously providing consumers with the quality and convenience they expect of such products.


A method and apparatus for searching a gene sequence. The gene sequence search method includes receiving the gene sequence from a user, generating extended sequences including the received gene sequence, partial sequences included in the gene sequence and an inverse sequence complementary to the gene sequence, storing the gene sequence, the extended sequences, the partial sequences, the inverse sequence and input-related record information in a database, integrated-searching the gene sequence using a gene sequence search server, estimating a gene sequence search ranking for a predetermined period using the database and outputting an integrated and searched result of the gene sequence and a gene sequence search ranking result to the user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for searching a gene sequence, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for searching a gene sequence, through which study trends in a biology field can be understood.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Human Genome Project for revealing a complete sequence of human genome is established and thus diagnosis and treatment of intractable diseases using a gene are being significantly developed. The future of so-called Personalized Medicine and Predictive Medicine is opening due to the Human Genome Project.
When genes properly perform their own parts and functions, the human body grows normally, persons can perform his/her functions and maintain his/her life. However, if mutation occurs at even a very small part in a gene and thus an aberration is generated, a variety of diseases, malformations and even death can be caused by the aberration.
With growth in genetics, functions of genes, correlations between genes and diseases, etc. are being revealed, diagnosis on gene mutations regarding specific diseases becomes possible and gene diagnosis is used in clinical treatment.
In such gene research, gene sequence search is essential.
Gene researchers have sequences for desired genes or bacteria. Gene researchers obtain new information, such as new or mutant viruses, through searching web sites updated frequently. The web sites may include the National Center for Biotechnology Information Basic Local Alignment Search Tool ("NCBI BLAST") and the European Bioinformatics Institute Basic Local Alignment Search Tool ("EBI BLAST").
However, when the conventional search method is used, there is inconvenience that a researcher must access an individual web site and separately search a desired gene sequence. Also, as the search result, only whether a desired gene sequence exists can be checked and no information regarding study trends in the biology field can be obtained. For example, through the conventional search method, there is provided no information about search frequency of gene sequences, different gene sequences in which researchers studying a specific gene sequence are interested, transition in search frequency of a specific gene sequence, etc.

Method and apparatus for searching gene sequence


Provided are a proton-exchange membrane of which the ionic conductivity is high and the methanol crossover is low, and a fuel cell of high power that comprises the proton-exchange membrane. The proton-exchange membrane has a structure of mesogen-containing organic molecular chains and a proton-donating group-containing group covalent-bonding to a silicon-oxygen three-dimensional crosslinked matrix, in which at least a part of the organic molecular chains are oriented to form an aggregate thereof; and the fuel cell comprises the membrane.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a silica sol composition, to a membrane electrode assembly with a proton-exchange membrane, and to a fuel cell comprising the assembly.
2. Description of the Background
These days it is expected that solid polymer fuel cells will be put into practical use for, for example, power sources for household use and power sources to be mounted on vehicles as clean power-generating devices that are ecological to the global environment. The main stream of such solid polymer fuel cells is toward those that require hydrogen and oxygen as the fuel thereof. Recently, a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) has been proposed, in which methanol is used in place of hydrogen for fuel. This is expected to give high-capacity batteries for mobile devices that are substitutable for lithium secondary batteries, and is now much studied in the art.
The important functions of the electrolytic membrane (proton-exchange membrane) for solid polymer fuel cells are to physically insulate the fuel (e.g., hydrogen, aqueous methanol solution) fed to the anode, catalyst electrode from the oxidizing gas (e.g., oxygen) fed to the cathode, to electrically insulate the anode from the cathode, and to transmit the proton having been formed on the anode to the cathode. To fulfill these functions, the electrolytic membrane must have some mechanical strength and proton conductivity.
In the electrolytic membrane for solid polymer fuel cells, generally used is a sulfonic acid group-having perfluorocarbon polymer such as typically Nafion®. The electrolytic membrane of the type has good ionic conductivity and has relatively high mechanical strength, but has some problems to be solved such as those mentioned below. Concretely, in the electrolytic membrane, water and the sulfonic acid group form cluster channels, and protons move in the cluster channels via water therein. Therefore, the ionic conductivity of the membrane significantly depends on the water content thereof that is associated with the humidity in the service environment in which the cells are driven. For poisoning reduction in the catalyst electrode with CO and for activation of the catalyst electrode therein, solid polymer fuel cells are preferably driven at a temperature falling within a range of from 100 to 150° C. However, within such a middle-temperature range, the water content of the electrolytic membrane in the cells lowers with the reduction in the ionic conductivity thereof, and it causes a problem in that the expected cell characteristics could not be obtained. In addition, the softening point of the electrolytic membrane is around 120° C. and when the cells are driven at a temperature around it, then still another problem with it is that the mechanical strength of the electrolytic membrane is unsatisfactory. On the other hand, when the electrolytic membrane of the type is used in DMFC, then it causes still other problems such as those mentioned below. Naturally, the membrane readily absorbs water and its barrier ability against the fuel methanol is not good. Therefore, methanol having been fed to the anode penetrates through the electrolytic membrane to reach the cathode. Owing to it, the cell output power lowers, and this is referred to as a methanol-crossover phenomenon, and is a serious problem. For practical use of DMFC, this is one important problem to be solved.
Given that situation, there is a growing tendency for the development of other proton-conductive materials substitutable for Nafion®, and some hopeful electrolytic materials have been proposed. For inorganic proton-conductive materials, for example, proton-conductive glass is disclosed (for example, see JP-A 2000-272932, 2000-256007, 2000-357524, 2001-93543; Journal of Physical Chemistry, B, 1999, Vol. 103, p. 9468; Physical Review, B, 1997, Vol. 55, p. 12108). This is obtained through polymerization of tetraalkoxysilane in the presence of acid in a sol-gel process, and it is known that its humidity dependency is low in a high-temperature range. However, the glass is not flexible and is extremely brittle, and large-area membranes are difficult to produce from it. Therefore, the glass is unsuitable for electrolytes for fuel cells.
For easy film formation based on the good characteristics of inorganic material, one proposal is a nanocomposite material hybridized with polymer material. For example, proposed is a method of forming a proton-exchange membrane by hybridizing a polymer compound having a sulfonic acid group in the side branches, a silicon oxide and a proton acid (for example, see JP-A10-69817, 11-203936, 2001-307752). Another proposal is an organic-inorganic nanohybrid proton-conductive material that is obtained through sol-gel reaction of a precursor, organic silicon compound in the presence of a proton acid (for example, see Japanese Patent 3,103,888, and Electrochimica Acta, 1998, Vol. 43, Nos. 10-11, p. 1301). WO03/041091 discloses a proton conducting membrane crosslinked by silicon-oxygen linkages, which is characterized by a fact that it bears a carbon-containing organic-inorganic composite structure covalently bonded to plural silicon-oxygen crosslinks and an acid-containing structure having acid groups. These organic-inorganic composite and hybrid proton-conductive materials comprise an inorganic component and an organic component, in which the inorganic component comprises silicic acid and proton acid and serves as a proton-conductive site and the organic component serves to make the materials flexible. When the inorganic component is increased so as to increase the proton conductivity of the membranes formed of the material, then the mechanical strength of the membranes lowers. On the other hand, however, when the organic component is increased so as to increase the flexibility of the membranes, then the proton conductivity of the membranes lowers. Therefore, the materials that satisfy the two characteristics are difficult to obtain. Regarding the methanol perviousness of the materials, which is an important characteristic of the materials for use in DMFC, satisfactory description is not found in the related literature.

Silica sol composition, membrane electrode assembly with proton-exchange membrane, and fuel cell


A weft control method capable of adjusting weft feed rate correctly and easily. The control method is for looms which include a weft length measuring system having a length measuring roller 1a and a pinch roller 1b, a weft feeding system having a gripper (4) and a nozzle (3), and weft arrival sensors (6, 7) installed in a weft arriving position in the loom. In accordance with the weft control method, a weft arrival measurement value measured by weft arrival sensors is stored, an average weft arrival value for a certain number of picks is calculated, then the calculated average arrival value is compared with a preset reference target value; and the weft length measuring system is controlled based on the result of the comparison.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a weft control method for looms which permits easy adjustment of the length of weft fed from a weft length measuring system in a fluid jet loom.
2. Related Prior Art
With the weft length measuring method on a conventional fluid jet loom, the speed of the weft length measuring drum and the timing of the pinch roller must be adjusted to adjust the weft feed length. Furthermore, electric timing and mechanical adjustment are also required in the case of a drum type length measuring system. These adjustments can take significant amounts of time and a skilled operator is required.
Weft feed rate requires finer adjustment than before since the loom speed and weft inserting speed are faster than before. However, a system to control the weft feed rate easily and correctly has not yet been developed.


An X-ray tube includes: a vacuum housing configured to include an internal space which is vacuum; a target unit configured to be disposed in the internal space, and include a target that generates an X-ray by using an electron beam incident therein, and a target support unit that supports the target, the X-ray generated by the target being transmitted through the target support unit; and an X-ray emission window configured to be so provided as to face the target support unit, and seal an opening of the vacuum housing, the X-rays transmitted through the target support unit being transmitted through the X-ray emission window. At least a part of the X-ray emission window is in contact with the target support unit.

A fixed anode X-ray tube described in Patent Literature 1 is known as a conventional X-ray tube. According to the fixed anode X-ray tube described in Patent Literature 1, heat electrons collide with a target provided on a target substrate inside a vacuum housing (anode base) to generate X-rays. The generated X-rays are transmitted through the target substrate, further transmitted through an X-ray emission window (window plate) attached to the vacuum housing, and applied to an object.


A file format for a serverless distributed file system is composed of two parts: a primary data stream and a metadata stream. The data stream contains a file that is divided into multiple blocks. Each block is encrypted using a hash of the block as the encryption key. The metadata stream contains a header, a structure for indexing the encrypted blocks in the primary data stream, and some user information. The indexing structure defines leaf nodes for each of the blocks. Each leaf node consists of an access value used for decryption of the associated block and a verification value used to verify the encrypted block independently of other blocks. In one implementation, the access value is formed by hashing the file block and encrypting the resultant hash value using a randomly generated key. The key is then encrypted using the user's key as the encryption key. The verification value is formed by hashing the associated encrypted block using a one-way hash function. The file format supports verification of individual file blocks without knowledge of the randomly generated key or any user keys. To verify a block of the file, the file system traverses the tree to the appropriate leaf node associated with a target block to be verified. The file system hashes the target block and if the hash matches the access value contained in the leaf node, the block is authentic.

File systems manage files and other data objects stored on computer systems. File systems were originally built into a computer's operating system to facilitate access to files stored locally on resident storage media. As computers became networked, some file storage capabilities were offloaded from individual user machines to special storage servers that stored large numbers of files on behalf of the user machines. When a file was needed, the user machine simply requested the file from the server. In this server-based architecture, the file system was extended to facilitate management of and access to files stored remotely at the storage server over a network.
One problem that arises in distributed file systems concerns storage of identical files on the server. While some file duplication normally occurs on an individual user's personal computer, duplication unfortunately tends to be quite prevalent on networks where a server centrally stores the contents of multiple personal computers. For example, with a remote boot facility on a computer network, each user boots from that user's private directory on a file server. Each private directory thus ordinarily includes a number of files that are identical to files on other users' directories. Storing the private directories on traditional file systems consumes a great amount of disk and server file buffer cache space. From a storage management perspective, it is desirable to minimize file duplication to reduce the amount of wasted storage space used to store redundant files. However, any such efforts need to be reconciled with the file system that tracks the multiple duplicated files on behalf of the associated users.
To address the problems associated with storing multiple identical files on a computer, Microsoft developed a single instance store (SIS) system that is packaged as part of the Windows 2000 operating system. The SIS system reduces file duplication by automatically identifying common identical files of a file system, and then merging the files into a single instance of the data. One or more logically separate links are then attached to the single instance to represent the original files to the user machines. In this way, the storage impact of duplicate files on a computer system is greatly reduced.
Today, file storage is migrating toward a model in which files are stored on various networked computers, rather than on central storage server. The serverless architecture poses new challenges to file systems. One particular challenge concerns managing files that are distributed over many different computers in a manner that allows a user to quickly access a file, verify that it is indeed the requested file, and read/write that file, all while insuring that the files are stored and accessed in a secure way that prevents access by non-authorized users.
The invention addresses these challenges and provides solutions that are effective for distributed file systems, and in particular, serverless distributed file systems.

On-disk file format for a serverless distributed file system


A brace for a folding chair comprised two pieces of like construction with each piece having a support surface in a central portion of the brace sized and shaped to be fitted snugly about one side of a leg of a folding chair. Two flange portions straddle the central portion. One of the flange portions is formed with a groove and the other with a tongue of a shape and size to be fitted into the groove. Stacked chairs to which the braces are mounted with the tongue of one brace fitted into the groove of the brace of the other chair are held in a stable stack.

Hotels and caterers use folding chairs for special events since they can be folded into generally flat configurations so that they may be compactly transported and stored for space economy and moving efficiency. However, many models of folding chairs cannot be stacked in a horizontal position one on top of the other because they will not "nest" or lock into place. Such chairs are normally stored and transported in a vertical position and, since they stand on only two legs, must be held in such position by a rack or cart built for that purpose. The number of chairs stored or transported is limited by the size of the rack or cart. Another problem associated with storing or transporting in this manner is that the chairs are unstable and prone to tipping. They also slide and move against each other causing them to be scratched or otherwise marred. One attempted solution to these problems has been the construction of racks and carts on which the chairs are suspended on hooks. All such racks and carts, whether for standing or hanging the chairs, are bulky, awkward and expensive.
Heretofore folding chairs have been retrofitted with interlocking braces to prevent them from slipping and shifted when mounted in a stack. My prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,256 describes such a brace for folding chairs of the type housing rectangular, wooden legs. The brace is constructed with a lug on one side and a stop on its opposite side that is offset from the lug. With two braces screwed to the chair legs, lengthwise sliding movement of one chair upon another is limited by engagement of the brace lugs with brace stops of an adjacent chair.
Though the just described devices have worked well on folding chairs having rectangular, wooden legs, they are ill suited for use on metallic folding chairs with round legs. Holes would have to be drilled through the metal legs for mounting the braces. Once mounted the braces would easily become skewed since they would have only a point of contact with the cylindrical leg instead of being flush with their flat surface abutting the flat leg. Moreover, they would not prevent lateral shifting since the brace of one would not overlay the leg of the adjacent chair.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need has long remained for some mechanism or device by which folding chairs of the type having round legs could be stacked securely without shifting or sliding upon one another. It is to the provision of such therefore that the present invention is primarily directed.


The present invention comprises a real time image insertion system for video utilizes a three-dimensional model of at least one target area within a site for identifying the target area within an original video image of the site, and for rendering a target image and inserting it into the target area of the video image. The target area may be a real, existing surface of the site or an imaginary surface defined only in the model. The model is rendered from the position and angle of a camera that generated the video image. By using a three dimensional model of the site to generate the target image, the resulting image with the inserted target material appears more realistic.

Many systems and methods have been proposed for inserting static and dynamic images, such as advertising, into video in real time. These prior art systems and methods suffer from various drawbacks and problems, many of which are detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,892,554 to DiCicco, et al.
More current systems and methods, including the one disclosed by DiCicco, et al, rely on pattern recognition techniques for identifying landmarks within an image. The spatial relationships among the landmarks within the video image are used to locate, size and orient an inserted image. This approach has several problems. First, it is relatively computationally intensive, and therefore tends to require relatively expensive equipment. Second, it does not scale well, meaning that inserting multiple images simultaneously in the same frame is not easily accomplished. Third, it relies on two-dimensional information, gathered from the image, to guide insertion of an image into a three-dimensional scene. The process of creating a two-dimensional image of a three-dimensional world loses information relating to the physical structure of the world. Consequently, the inserted material may not seem realistic.

Method and apparatus for real time insertion of images into video


The present invention relates to methods and devices for monitoring a data path extending from an originating node to a terminating node in a network. In a first aspect of the present invention, the method comprises the step of submitting, to the originating node, a request to monitor at least one network status parameter associated with a particular data flow transported on the data path. Further, the method comprises the step of submitting, to all nodes in the data path, a data flow identifier indicating the particular data flow being one out of a plurality of data flows that can be transported on the data path. Moreover, the method comprises the step of receiving, from at least one of the nodes in the data path, a response message comprising the requested at least one network status parameter.

Ethernet service operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) is a key component of operation, administration and maintenance for carrier Ethernet. It specifies protocols, procedures and managed objects for end to end fault detection, verification and isolation. Ethernet service OAM defines a hierarchy of up to eight OAM levels, allowing users, service providers and operators to run independent OAMs at their own level. It introduces the concept of a maintenance association (MA) that is used to monitor the integrity of a single service instance by exchanging connectivity fault management (CFM) messages. The scope of a maintenance association is determined by the management domain (MD), which describes a network region where connectivity and performance is managed. Each MA associates two or more maintenance association endpoints (MEP) and allows maintenance association intermediate points (MIP) to support fault detection and isolation.
A continuity check protocol is used for fault detection. Each MEP can periodically transmit connectivity check messages (CCM) and track CCMs received from other MEPs in the same maintenance association.
A loopback message (LBM) is used for fault verification. It is typically performed after fault detection. It can also confirm successful initiation or restoration of connectivity. Loopback messages are transmitted by operator command. The receiving MEP or MIP respond to the LBM with a unicast loopback reply (LBR).
A multicast linktrace message (LTM) is transmitted in order to perform path discovery and fault isolation. The LTM is transmitted by operator command. The intercepting MEP or MIP sends a unicast linktrace reply (LTR) to the originator of the LTM. The originating MEP collects the LTRs and provides sufficient information to construct the sequence of MEPs or MIPs that would be traversed by a data frame sent to the target MAC address.
There are usually two types of Ethernet service performance management: delay measurement (DM) and loss measurement (LM).
DM is performed between a pair of MEPs. It can be used for on-demand measurement of frame delay and frame delay variation. A MEP maintains the timestamp at the transmission time of ETH-DM frame.
LM is performed between a pair of MEPs, which maintain two local counters for each peer MEP and for each priority class; TxFCI: counter for data frames transmitted towards the peer MEP, RxFCI: counter for data frames received from the peer MEP. OAM frames are not counted.
There are two types of multiprotocol label switching-transport profile (MPLS-TP) OAM.
The first method is to enhance the available MPLS OAM toolset to meet the OAM requirements of MPLS-TP. Labeled switched path (LSP) ping should be extended for working without internet protocol (IP), should include tracing functionality and should support point to multipoint LSPs. For bidirectional forwarding detection (BFD), the globally unique identifier should be enabled, BFD should be enabled to work on LSP without reliance on IP/user datagram protocol (UDP) functionality and BFD should also be extended to cover point-to-multipoint LSPs.
The second method is to develop MPLS-TP OAM based on Y.1731 Ethernet service OAM. The basic idea is that Y.1731 specifies a set of OAM procedures and related packet data unit (PDU) formats that meet the transport network requirements for OAM. The actual PDU formats are technology agnostic and could be carried over different encapsulations, e.g. MPLS Generic Associated Channel.
A control protocol known as OpenFlow provides a vendor agnostic interface for controlling network forwarding elements. The essence of OpenFlow is the separation of the control plane and data plane in routing and switching gear. The interface allows flexible deployment of the network control plane software, and simplifies the control plane on network forwarding hardware. The control plane can be deployed on a centralized controller that controls multiple forwarding elements which allows increased innovation in control plane software and simplified operations and management (O&M).
In the canonical OpenFlow architecture (see FIG. 1, from Open Flow Switch Specification version 1.0), the control plane in network switching and routing equipment is moved into a separate controller 10. The controller communicates over a secure channel with the switches 11 through the OpenFlow protocol. Software running on the controller "programs" the switches with flow specifications that control the routes of packets through the network. For routing purposes, the switches only need to run an OpenFlow control plane, considerably simplifying their implementation. The architecture allows the controller to run on a separate PC and control multiple switches, rather than having a distributed control plane with components that run on each switch.
Switches are modeled as a flow table implementing e.g. firewalls, network address translation (NAT), quality of service (QoS), and to collect statistics. In the flow table, there are three columns: rules, actions, and counters. The rules column defines the flow. Rules are matched against the headers of incoming packets from network nodes 12, 13, 14, 15. If a rule matches, the actions from the action column are applied to the packet and the counters in the counter column are updated. If a packet matches multiple rules, the rule with the highest priority is applied.
The Internet has grown tremendously and the existing architecture has shown some weaknesses: the proprietary hardware design and supply, the single sourced system software supply closely coupled with equipment vendors, no application ecosystem for 3rd party innovation exists, and so on. To address all those challenges, with reference to FIG. 2, a more elaborate split network architecture concept has been proposed, where data and control plane are split and a standardized interface is built between the controller 20 and data forwarding devices 21, 22, 23.
OpenFlow is one example of a split architecture platform. It is not yet carrier-grade and needs many extensions, where one important issue is OAM. There are several split architecture OAM challenges:                Mapping traditional OAMs; i.e. how to attain a generalized Split Architecture OAM for OAM types such as Ethernet OAM, MPLS OAM, and OAM tools for IP.        The virtualization enables many operators to use the same network, i.e. a multi-carrier service OAM scenario should be supported, and further OAM automatic configuration should provided in this environment.
The existing solutions for split architecture OAM simply copy the old OAM with static configuration. For example, again with reference to FIG. 2, to support Ethernet OAM, the Ethernet OAM modules are configured in every node 21, 22, 23. This configuration works well with Ethernet traffic flows. While split architecture (e.g. OpenFlow) can support various traffic flows such Ethernet, MPLS or IP, an Ethernet OAM is useless for monitoring an MPLS traffic flow and vice versa. The result will be different OAM configuration modules and OAM generator/parsing modules for different traffic flows. As a consequence, the complexity of data forwarding devices 21, 22, 23 will increase.

Methods and devices for monitoring a data path


A restraining arrangement for limiting the separation of a feed table having a pivot pin and a positioner block of a mobile track drill. The restraining arrangement includes a first constraint device positioned on the positioner block and a second constraint device secured to the feed table. The first constraint device, consisting of a bushing having a pair of extending ears, is retained within a pair of female constraint members each having a recessed groove. The recessed groove formed in each of the pair of female constraint members is sized to receive the extending ears to allow the bushing and the female constraint members to rotate relative to each other while limiting the separation between the feed table and the positioner block along the rotational axis of the pivot pin.

The present invention generally relates to a mobile track drill. More specifically, the present invention relates to a mechanical device that restricts the relative movement between the feed table and the positioning elements of drilling equipment upon mechanical failure.
In presently available mobile track drills, a drill track is used to guide the movement of a drill along a longitudinal axis. The drill track, in turn, is mounted to a feed table that serves as the point of connection to the articulated drilling boom of the movable track drill. Specifically, the feed table includes a pivot pin that is received and retained within a positioner block mounted to the drilling boom. The positioner block, in turn, is coupled to a hydraulic cylinder to control the position of the drill track to orient the drill track in the desired direction.
The pivot pin contained on the feed table allows the feed table and the attached drill track to rotate relative to the positioner block to further control the position of the drill track as desired. In present available mobile track drills, the feed table is manufactured such that the pivot pin is inserted into the positioner block and a retaining cap is attached to the pivot pin by a series of bolts to retain the pivot pin within the positioner block. The axial alignment and integrity of the feed table/positioner block joint is assured only by the material integrity of the pivot pin, the retaining cap and the connecting bolts.
During operation of the mobile track drill, if the drill track contacts the ground or an overhead obstacle while the mobile track drill is being moved, only the material integrity of the retaining cap, the pivot pin and the connecting bolts prevents separation of the drill track, feed table and drill from the drill boom. Any failure in these components could result in the unrestrained movement of the feed table and drill track away from the drill boom which, depending upon the direction of such relative movement, could result an undesirable and possibly unsafe situation.
Therefore, a need exists for a constraining device that further limits the ability of the feed table and drill track to separate from the positioner block mounted to the drill boom. Further, a need exists for a constraining device that allows the feed table to freely pivot relative to the positioner block while restricting the uncontrolled separation of the feed table from the positioner block.

Feed table pivot pin constraining device


Systems and methods for delay-fault testing field programmable gate arrays (FPGA's), applicable both for off-line manufacturing and system-level testing, as well as for on-line testing within the framework of the roving self-test area (STARs) approach are described. In one described method, two or more paths under test receive a test pattern approximately simultaneously. The two paths are substantially identical and thus should propagate the signal in approximately the same amount of time. An output response analyzer receives the signal from each of the paths and determines the interval between them, and then determines whether a delay fault has occurred based at least in part on the interval. The output response analyzer may include an oscillator and a counter. The oscillator generates an oscillating signal during the interval between when the test signal propagates through the first path and the last path under test.

A field programmable gate array (FPGA) is a general-purpose integrated circuit consisting of a two-dimensional array of programmable logic blocks interfaced with a programmable routing network and programmable input/output cells (I/O cells). By programming interconnections between the logic blocks, routing network, and I/O cells, a generic FPGA can be selectively configured to provide a wide variety of specific circuit functions.
It is desirable to thoroughly test FPGA's for defects. Two common defects are hard faults and delay faults. A hard fault is a defect that causes a functional failure within a circuit, while a delay fault is a defect that affects a circuit's delay. Though various conventional methods exist for efficiently testing FPGA's for hard faults, conventional methods of delay-fault testing are either non-comprehensive or require expensive test equipment and significant time to implement.
The conventional testing method that is regularly employed by FPGA manufacturers relies on iteratively configuring an FPGA with many designs and running each design at speed. This conventional method does not provide comprehensive delay-fault testing, because it is virtually impossible to test every circuit design that could be conceivably implemented on each FPGA. Given the difficulties and deficiencies of manufacturer conducted testing, other conventional methods of delay fault testing have considered only the testing of a user's specific FPGA configuration.
Configuration specific testing is problematic for a number of reasons. By their very nature, configuration specific tests are not feasible for wide-scale use by FPGA manufacturers. Consequently, significant overhead costs are imposed on individual users. Development time for configuration specific tests may be significant and test execution requires expensive machinery. Even after users have developed and executed these tests, it may be difficult to distinguish between problems caused by manufacturing defects and problems caused by user configuration errors. Furthermore, testing only static configurations is insufficient for users employing FPGA's in adaptive computing systems that dynamically reconfigure FPGA's while the system is on-line and running. However, conventional methods are not comprehensive for online testing, because delay faults are just as likely to occur in currently unused portions of the operational system. This problem is particularly significant for users employing FPGA's in high-reliability and high-availability applications, such as telecommunication network routers, in which the FPGA hardware cannot be taken offline for testing, maintenance, or repair without considerable cost or inconvenience. Conventional testing methods leave much to be desired.
An improved method of efficiently testing FPGA's for delay faults is needed.

Methods for delay-fault testing in field-programmable gate arrays

University of North Carolina at Charlotte


The invention predicts premature dielectric breakdown in a semiconductor. At least one dielectric breakdown mode is calculated for a layer within chips comprising a semiconductor wafer lot. If only one mode is calculated, that is the best calculated mode. If multiple modes can be calculated, a best mode that most accurately represents dielectric breakdown for the semiconductor wafer lot is determined. Premature dielectric breakdown will be associated with any semiconductor with a breakdown voltage less than a predetermined standard deviation from the best calculated mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to semiconductors and more particularly to predicting premature dielectric breakdown for semiconductors on a semiconductor wafer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Dielectric breakdown is important because dielectric breakdown provides an accurate measure of the Back End of the Line ("BEOL") reliability of a semiconductor. Semiconductor defects cause dielectric breakdown. Therefore, when one monitors dielectric breakdown, one monitors the health of the manufacturing line.
One prior art method for determining dielectric breakdown is time dependent dielectric breakdown ("TDDB") test, which stresses a semiconductor at a constant voltage, e.g. 12 V, over an extended period of time, e.g. 1000 hours. A serpentine comb structure, such as shown in FIG. 1, is applied to an area 3×106 um2 large on the semiconductor and detects any leakage current between a pair of metal lines in the semiconductor. TDDB test is not a wafer level test. Therefore the wafer must be diced and the selected chips must be packaged into modules. Accordingly, TDDB test is expensive because of the associated dicing and packaging costs, e.g. operation of the ovens. In addition, TDDB test is inefficient because the test period extends for over a month. Finally, TDDB test wastes resources because both the wafer and the tested semiconductors are destroyed. For at least these reasons, TDDB test is problematic.
Another prior art method for determining dielectric breakdown is a current voltage ("IV") test, which stresses a semiconductor at a ramped voltage, e.g. 0-100 V with a step size of 1V, for an abbreviated period of time, e.g. 100 seconds. Similar to TDDB test, a serpentine-comb test structure is used to monitor for leakage current, however unlike TDDB test, IV test is implemented at the wafer level, accordingly the wafer must not be diced and semiconductors must not be packaged. IV test is inefficient to conduct on every chip because IV test requires the tedious study of IV plots such as shown in FIG. 2 for abrupt increases 205 or decreases 210 in leakage current. Dielectric breakdown occurs whenever the IV plot indicates an abrupt discontinuity in leakage current. Weak dielectric breakdown is apparent whenever a chip experiences dielectric breakdown at a voltage statistically lower than other chips in the same lot of wafers. Therefore, with continued reference to FIG. 2, the chip that has an abrupt discontinuity in leakage current 205 is unreliable because the chip experiences weak dielectric breakdown at 25 V, while other chips in the same lot of wafers experience dielectric breakdown between 35 and 50 V.
What is needed in the art is an improved method for the determination of dielectric breakdown, which is inexpensive and efficient, can be applied to a large number of chips, and avoids destruction of the semiconductor wafer.

Method for prediction of premature dielectric breakdown in a semiconductor


A flexible process for gasoline refineries is described. The process can vary depending on the available feedstock and the desired products. At one time, the process can involve disproportionating pentanes to a product mixture including isobutane and isohexane. At other times, by switching the feedstock and operating conditions, the process can convert a mixture of C4 and C7 paraffins to a low aromatic blendstock with suitable octane and a vapor pressure lower than butanes. The process can be performed in separate stand-alone units operated at different times, or a single unit can be operated according to one process at one time and according to the other process at another time.

High octane gasoline is required for modern gasoline engines. Previously, it was common to achieve octane number improvement by the use of various lead-containing additives. As lead has been phased out of gasoline for environmental reasons, it has become increasingly necessary to rearrange the structure of the hydrocarbons used in gasoline blending in order achieve higher octane ratings. Catalytic reforming and catalytic isomerization are two widely used processes for this upgrading.
The traditional gasoline blending pool normally includes C4 and heavier hydrocarbons having boiling points of less than 205° C. (400° F.) at atmospheric pressure. This range of hydrocarbons includes C4-C6 paraffins, and especially the C5 and C6 normal paraffins which have relatively low octane numbers. The C4-C6 hydrocarbons have the greatest susceptibility to octane improvement by lead addition and were formerly upgraded in this manner. With the phase out of lead additives, octane improvement was obtained by using isomerization to rearrange the structure of the paraffinic hydrocarbons into branched-chain paraffins or reforming to convert the C6 and heavier hydrocarbons to aromatic compounds. Normal C5 hydrocarbons are not readily converted into aromatics; therefore, the common practice has been to isomerize these lighter hydrocarbons into corresponding branched-chain isoparaffins. Although the C6 and heavier hydrocarbons can be upgraded into aromatics through dehydrocyclization, the conversion of C6 hydrocarbons to aromatics creates higher density species and increases gas yields with both effects leading to a reduction in liquid volume yields. Moreover, the health concerns related to benzene have lead to restrictions on benzene and aromatics. Therefore, it is preferred to change the C6 paraffins to an isomerization unit to obtain C6 isoparaffin hydrocarbons. Consequently, octane upgrading commonly uses isomerization to convert C6 and lower boiling hydrocarbons.
The Reid vapor pressure (RVP) of gasoline has been utilized by the Environmental Protection Agency as a means of regulating volatile organic compounds emissions by transportation fuels and for controlling the formation of ground level ozone. As these regulations become more stringent and as more ethanol (which has a high vapor pressure) is blended into gasoline, C5 paraffins need to be removed from the gasoline pool. Moreover, the need to remove components may also extend to some C6 paraffins. This may result in refiners being oversupplied with C5 paraffins and possibly C6 paraffins, forcing them to sell these products at prices lower than gasoline blendstock.
Commercial refiners face a number of problems utilizing hydrocarbons with molecular weights less than about 90 in gasoline. Some refiners are limited in the amount of light naphtha, particularly pentanes, they can add to gasoline in the summer months because of more stringent regulations on vapor pressure. In addition, some refiners cannot blend all of the high octane reformate they produce into gasoline because of new regulations limiting the total aromatics to 35 vol %. The growth of shale crude oil production has increased the amount of low value butanes and pentanes produced in refineries. Finally, some refiners need to purchase isobutane as feedstock for C3 and C4 olefin conversion to gasoline in existing alkylation units.
Therefore, there is a need for processes which allow better utilization of light and heavy naphtha in refineries.

Flexible gasoline process using multiple feedstocks