A method and apparatus for rapidly measuring nitrogenase activity of a nitrogen fixing plant growing in a medium in a non-porous container, is described. Gas containing hydrogen is sampled at the surface of the medium at a rate approximately equal to the rate of hydrogen diffusion from the medium, and the sample is passed to a hydrogen sensor where it is measured and nitrogenase activity is determined therefrom.

The yield of many crop species is limited by the amount of nitrogen available in the soil, since nitrogen is a nutrient required for the synthesis of amino acids, proteins and other nitrogenous compounds such as DNA. To alleviate this limitation, farmers supplement the soil with nitrogenous fertilizers which are expensive and hazardous to the environment. Some important crop species such as the legumes soybean, pea, alfalfa, clover and bean, do not rely entirely on soil nitrogen but are able to meet their requirements by reducing atmospheric N.sub.2 to ammonia. This process is called N.sub.2 fixation and it is carried out by bacteria which form a symbiotic association with the roots of the host plant. The bacteria inhabit outgrowths of the root, termed nodules, which provide them with a suitable environment for N.sub.2 fixation. Biological N.sub.2 fixation is likely to become an essential component of sustainable agricultural systems, and a great deal of research is currently in progress to investigate the genetics of nodule formation and to determine the factors which regulate N.sub.2 fixation in leguminous crops. Consequently, a simple, accurate method is required for providing a non-invasive measurement of the rate of N.sub.2 fixation.
The reduction of atmospheric N.sub.2 to ammonia is catalyzed by the enzyme nitrogenase and the activity of this enzyme therefore determines the N.sub.2 fixation rate. Several methods have been devised to measure the N.sub.2 fixation rate and/or nitrogenase activity of legumes. These methods include:
(a) Measurement of whole plant nitrogen increment in which plants are harvested at different times during development and their nitrogen content measured. This method is destructive, labour intensive, requires complex and expensive equipment and does not distinguish between the nitrogen derived from the soil and that derived from N.sub.2 fixation. (b) Measurement of the .sup.15 N and .sup.14 N content of plant tissues and comparison of this with that of the atmosphere and the soil (the .sup.15 N natural abundance assay). Alternatively, nodulated roots may be fed with an atmosphere enriched in .sup.15 N.sub.2 (.sup.15 N.sub.2 enrichment assay) or a soil enriched in .sup.15 NO.sub.3.sup.- or .sup.15 NH.sub.4.sup.+ (.sup.15 N dilution assay) and the subsequent rate of .sup.15 N incorporation into tissues measured. These assays are destructive, time-consuming and require the use of expensive and complex analytical instruments. Also, like the nitrogen-increment method, they provide only a time-integrated measurement of nitrogen incorporation and do not show how nitrogenase activity and N.sub.2 fixation rate may vary over the short term.
(c) An acetylene reduction assay in which the nodulated roots of the legume are supplied with a gas containing about 10% acetylene and the reduction of this acetylene to ethylene is monitored with time. In the presence of 10% acetylene, virtually all electron flow through nitrogenase is diverted to acetylene reduction to ethylene. Therefore, the rate of ethylene production provides a measure of total nitrogenase activity. The assay can be performed by sealing the nodulated root into a closed cuvette containing 10% acetylene and then measuring ethylene accumulation measured with time (the closed system assay). Alternatively, 10% acetylene may be passed continuously through a cuvette containing the nodulated root, while ethylene concentration in the effluent gas stream is measured (the open system assay). In the former case, the assay provides only an isolated measurement of nitrogenase activity at a particularly time, while in the latter case taking discrete samples of effluent gas from the cuvette allows a time-course of nitrogenase activity to be measured. Both methods suffer from the fact that in vivo nitrogenase activity is inhibited by exposure of nodulated roots to acetylene. Consequently, the assays often greatly underestimate true activities. Also, the assays provide only a measurement of total nitrogenase activity and cannot be used to measure N.sub.2 fixation rate. In addition, the assays require the use of an expensive gas chromatograph, and the use of an explosive acetylene/air mixture that requires very careful handling.
(d) The H.sub.2 evolution assay which depends on the fact that during N.sub.2 fixation, the nitrogenase enzyme also reduces protons to H.sub.2 gas which is evolved from the nodule. H.sub.2 evolution rate may be measured by sealing a nodulated root in a cuvette and measuring the accumulation of H.sub.2 in the cuvette with time (the closed system H.sub.2 assay), or by passing gas through the cuvette continuously and monitoring H.sub.2 concentration in the effluent gas stream (the open system H.sub.2 assay). H.sub.2 may be monitored in discrete samples of the effluent gas by gas chromatography, or H.sub.2 concentration may be monitored continuously using a semi-conductor H.sub.2 analyzer such as that described by Layzell et al. (Plant Physiol. 582-585, 1984). The rate of H.sub.2 evolution in air provides a measurement of apparent nitrogenase activity (ANA) since only a proportion of the electron flow through nitrogenase is used for proton reduction. To measure total nitrogenase activity (TNA), it is necessary to expose nodulated roots to a gas mixture lacking N.sub.2, such as an Ar:O.sub.2 (80:20) mixture. In the absence of N.sub.2, all electron flow is diverted to proton reduction and the rate of H.sub.2 evolution from the nodule provides a measure of TNA (FIG. 1). The difference between the rates of H.sub.2 evolution in N.sub.2 :O.sub.2 and in Ar:O.sub.2 at a constant pO.sub.2 can be used to estimate N.sub.2 fixation rate thus: EQU N.sub.2 Fixation Rate=(TNA-ANA)/3 Equation 1
A denominator of 3 is used since 3 electron pairs are used in the reduction of N.sub.2 compared to 1 electron pair for the reduction of protons to H.sub.2 gas.
The measurement of H.sub.2 evolution using a H.sub.2 analyzer in the open system assay has several advantages over other methods for measuring nitrogenase activity and N.sub.2 fixation rate. These include:
The H.sub.2 analyzer is extremely sensitive and it is the only instrument which allows continuous, real-time measurement of nitrogenase activity. PA0 Measurements of ANA and short-term measurements of TNA are not inhibitory to nitrogenase so that measurements can be performed on the same plant material either continuously or intermittently over virtually any experimental period. PA0 Despite these advantages, relatively few researchers use the H.sub.2 evolution assay to measure nitrogenase activity. This is because the method has some disadvantages. These include:
The H.sub.2 analyzer is the only instrument which allows measurement of ANA, TNA, EAC and N.sub.2 fixation rate on the same plant material. PA1 The method is not labour intensive and the H.sub.2 analyzer is much cheaper than the mass spectrometer required for .sup.15 N measurements or the gas chromatograph required to measure ethylene production. PA1 The assay can only be used on legume symbioses which lack the enzyme uptake hydrogenase (HUP). This enzyme recycles some or all of the H.sub.2 produced by nitrogenase. Although H.sub.2 analysis cannot be used to measure nitrogenase activity in HUP.sup.+ symbioses, many agriculturally-important symbiosis are HUP.sup.-. PA1 Extended exposure of nodulated roots to Ar:O.sub.2 causes inhibition of nitrogenase. However, short-term exposures are not inhibitory and repeated assays of TNA can be made on the same plant material. PA1 The output of the H.sub.2 analyzer changes with pO.sub.2, with differences in water content of the gas stream and with the nature of the balance gas (N.sub.2 or Ar). The analyzer is, therefore, difficult and time-consuming to calibrate.
The acetylene reduction assay, and current methods of the H.sub.2 assay, require that plants are sealed in their growth pots to allow nitrogenase end-products to accumulate before analysis (closed system assays), or to allow nodulated root systems to be flushed with specific gas mixtures (open system assays). The procedures for both assays are time-consuming, and at least 5 minutes is required before stable measurements can be obtained. Also, the pots must be unsealed after the assays are completed if further growth and development of the plant is to be studied. This increases the time required to conduct the measurements, which limits the number of plants that can be assayed within a working day. A further limitation to the use of both the acetylene and H.sub.2 assays is that they require the use of sophisticated instrumentation, and the supply of specific gas mixtures to the material being studied. As a result the assays can only be conducted in laboratories within research institutions, or in mobile laboratories constructed in the field.
These limitations of the acetylene and H.sub.2 assays make them unsuitable for the large scale screening of plants that is needed to identify legumes with specific N.sub.2 -fixing characteristics. At present, much of the research in the field of N.sub.2 fixation involves genetic manipulation of legumes, and assessment of the effects of such manipulation on nitrogenase activity. This approach requires the growth of large populations of genetically altered plants (usually in a greenhouse) and assessment of their nitrogenase activities under various environmental conditions. To make appropriate statistical analyses of the data, the plants must be screened at the same stage of development and, as near as is possible, at the same time of day. It should be apparent, therefore, that there is need for a rapid method of nitrogenase activity analysis that can be performed in a greenhouse setting.

Apparatus for rapid measurement of hydrogen concentration and its use in the measurement of nitrogenase activity


A fiber-based sensor and a method of forming a fiber-based sensor using microsphere lithography techniques in which a microsphere array is applied to a surface of a tip of an optical fiber to provide for microsphere lithography fabrication of a desired pattern on the tip of the optical fiber. The characteristics of the pattern define sensing capabilities of the sensor to provide for chemical and/or biological sensing.

Small scale sensors have been widely used in many applications due to their wide range of applicability, including physical, medical, chemical and biological sensing. For example, there are many biochemical applications that require inexpensive, minimally intrusive sensors, such as continuous blood glucose monitoring, pH identification, humidity measurement and liquid identification. These small scale sensors can be built in micro/nano scale, and nanoscale phenomenon can be utilized to provide particularized sensing capabilities.
Optical refractive index (RI) sensing can be used in chemistry and biology for label-free detection. Both metal-based plasmonic and dielectric-based optical designs produce a resonant frequency that depends on the refractive index of an analyte. The performance of these sensors is characterized by their sensitivity (S), where S=Δλ0/Δn, which describes the shift of the resonant wavelength with respect to the change in the refractive index of the analyte. The ability to resolve the resonant wavelength is also affected by its full width at half maximum (FWHM), and a known figure of merit (FOM) for RI sensors is FOM=S/FWHM. Propagating surface plasmon resonance (PSPR) sensors have sensitivities as high as 2×106 nm/RIU (refractive index unit) due to the large penetration depth of the evanescent field into the dielectric medium. However, this comes at the expense of a relatively large interrogation volume.
Local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensors have lower sensitivity but a confined interrogation volume which provides a greater spatial resolution of the analyte. In an LSPR based sensor, high charge density oscillations interact with the surrounding environment. The generated evanescent field is sensitive to small changes of the refractive index of the surrounding medium. The feature sizes required for LSPR based sensors dictates the use of nano patterning techniques. The theoretical limit for the sensitivity of LSPR sensors is proportional to the ratio between the resonant wavelength and index of refraction, λ0/n. Sensitivities of 1000 nm/RIU are typical and can be further improved by introducing Fano resonances with dark modes.
For example, a small scale sensor according to the above may be fabricated with a structural feature created by (e.g., direct-write) fabrication techniques such as Focused Ion Beam (FIB), Electron Beam Lithography (EBL), nanosphere lithography (NSL), and nanoimprint lithography. However, direct-write techniques such as FIB and EBL are slow and costly, and are not well-suited for large-scale fabrication/production of sensors. These direct-write techniques are instead better suited for one-off scenarios such as prototyping and academic studies. These techniques are also not very versatile to tune the geometry of individual nanostructures. Diffraction limits the ability to pattern certain sensors using conventional lithography techniques because of the nanoscale dimensions. Additionally, conventional lithography techniques have limited applicability at nanoscale dimensions. For NSL, as the nanospheres cannot be recollected in the NSL process, it is unlikely to be used for large-scale nanomanufacturing problems. Nanoimprint lithography also has issues, as it often involves a template transfer technique using a transparent curing adhesion layer, and the pressure applied during nanoscale mask alignment could, in the case of an optical fiber-type sensor, result in bulging of the fiber tip and misalignment due to the small area of the fiber core.
In view of the drawbacks of the techniques discussed above, there is a need for a versatile, low-cost fabrication method for large-scale production of small scale sensors.

Microsphere based patterning of metal optic/plasmonic sensors including fiber based sensors

The Curators of the University of Missouri


A method for electrophoresis of nucleic acid fragments present in the solution which contains an amount, e.g., 0.2% or more, of a reagent, e.g., glycerol, dithiothreitol (DTT) and trehalose or other sugars, which interact to form a complex with borate or boric acid. The method includes applying the solution to an electrophoretic gel and electrophoresing those fragments into the gel in the presence of a buffer lacking boric acid, or a derivative thereof, which forms a chelate complex with the reagent and thereby causes distortion of electrophoresis of the fragments in a gel including such a buffer.

Fuller, 16 Comments 1989 reports that the presence of glycerol in a sample loaded on an electrophoretic gel may cause artifacts, such as distortion of nucleic acid fragments in DNA sequencing gels. The distortion is said to resemble a bulge in the sequencing gel, and renders the 400-600 nucleotide region of the gel unreadable. Fuller states that because of the distortion caused by the presence of glycerol, United States Biochemical Corporation supplies a sequencing enzyme, SEQUENASE Version 2.0 T7 DNA polymerase, at a high enough concentration so that no glycerol distortion occurs when the enzyme is diluted prior to use.
Carninci et al. 18 Nucleic Acids Research 204, 1989 describe a standard sequencing gel system using Tris/Borate/EDTA buffer (TBE). It also describes a discontinuous buffer system using Tris-sulphate and Tris-borate. The Tris-sulphate is used as a running gel buffer, and Tris-borate as a tank buffer.
Richards, et al., 12 Analytical Biochemistry 452, 1965 and Peacock and Dingman, 6 Biochemistry 1818, 1967 describe electrophoresis of ribonucleic acid in polyacrylamide gels and resolution of multiple RNA species by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Richards, et al., describe use of Tris-HCl buffer as well as acetic, cacodylic, diethyl barbituric, and glycyl glycine buffers. Peacock and Dingman describe use of Tris-EDTA and boric acid buffers for electrophoresis. The RNA species are not provided in glycerol-containing samples.
Ansorge and Barker, 9 J. Bioc. Biop. Meth. 33, 1984 describe use of Tris/Tricine buffer and an ammediol system for electrophoresis of Maxam and Gilbert DNA sequencing products. Such products are provided in samples without glycerol.
Brumley and Smith, 19 Nuc. Acid. Res. 4121, 1991 describe use of a borate buffer for a sequencing gel.

Electrophoresis of nucleic acid fragments


This disclosure relates to a method for operating a start-stop system of a motor vehicle. The method include cutting off a drive motor when the speed of the motor vehicle falls below a speed threshold. The speed threshold is determined depending on at least one piece of environment-related information.

Motor vehicles are increasingly equipped with a start-stop system which is automatically cut off in certain situations and is switched on again at a later time as needed. The cut-off process can be triggered for example when a motor vehicle stops at a red light, during which time the electrical loads are supplied by a vehicle battery. It has already also been proposed to switch off the drive motor of a motor vehicle when the motor vehicle is moving, for example when driving down an incline or during a braking action until the vehicle stops.
DE 10 2009 046 829 A1 recommended a method for controlling a motor of a driving motor vehicle. In this respect road information or speed information is provided by a navigation system. Depending on the road information and the speed information, a motor cut off process is triggered.
From DE 10 2008 064 018 A1 a method is known for operating a start-stop system in which at least one piece of environmental information is used as an influencing variable to change or retain an operating state. This method is suited for a hybrid vehicle, in particular for a mild hybrid vehicle. Among other things, it provides that the cutting off or on of a drive motor occurs depending on falling below or exceeding a speed threshold.
The subsequently published DE 10 2014 014 293 B3 discloses a method for operating a motor vehicle having a start-stop system for an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle with a device for registering the area in front of a vehicle, wherein the start-stop system stops the internal combustion engine when speed falls below a limit speed value depending on at least one signal relating to the driving dynamics of the vehicle. Here the internal combustion engine is not shut off if by means of the device for registering the area in front of the vehicle a lane irregularity is detected in the area in front of the vehicle that requires slower overtaking.
From DE 10 2004 024 213 B4 a method is known for controlling the operation of a motor vehicle with an internal combustion engine and automatic start-stop system that implements an automatic cut off system that comprises an automatic cut off system which in the presence of stop conditions implements an automatic cut off of the internal combustion engine and an automatic starting system which in the presence of start conditions implements an automatic start of the internal combustion engine. A first stop condition is present when at a vehicle speed below a predetermined speed threshold, actuation of the brake pedal occurs, wherein the first stop-condition comprises a vehicle speed below a speed threshold of more than 0 km/h and/or the speed threshold is provided depending on a selected gear.
DE 10 2010 038 010 A1 discloses an operating method for a hybrid vehicle in which driving occurs in pure electric motor mode, if among other things, a driving speed falls below a predefined limit value which can vary over time.
In conventional methods for operation of a start-stop system of the motor vehicle there is the problem that it is frequently difficult to decide whether cut off of the drive motor is helpful or not at a particular time.

Method for operating a start-stop system and a motor vehicle


The present invention provides a series of non-peptidergic antagonists of NPY comprising piperidine derivatives of 4-phenyl-1,4-dihydropyrimidinones of the Formula I ##STR1## wherein R, R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are defined herein. As antagonists of NPY-induced feeding behavior, these compounds are expected to act as effective anorexiant agents in promoting weight loss and treating eating disorders.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a 36 amino acid peptide first isolated in 1982 from porcine brain K. Takemoto, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., (1982) 79, 5485-5489; D. R. Gehlert, Life Sciences, (1994) 55, 551-62; L. Grundemar and R. Hakanson, TIPS, (1994) 15, 153-159; J. M. Lundberg, TIPS, (1996) 17, 301-304; C. Wahlestedt and D. J. Reis, Ann. Rev. Pharmacol. Toxicol., (1993) 32, 309-352; P. A. Hipskind, Ann. Rep. Med. Chem., (1996), 31,1-10; J. D. White, Regulatory Peptides, (1993) 49, 93-107; A. Sahu and S. P. Kalra, Trends Endocrinol. Metab., (1993) 4, 217-224; Y. Dumont, J.-C. Martel, A. Fournier, S. St. Pierre and R. Quirion, Prog. Neurobiol., (1992) 38, 125-167; M. C. Michel and A. Buscher, Drugs of the Future, (1992) 17, 39-45; M. C. Michel, TIPS, (1991) 12, 389-394; J. Lehmann, Drug. Dev. Res., (1990) 19, 329-351; G. Williams, Peptides, (1995) 4, 757-771!. The peptide is a member of a larger peptide family which also includes peptide YY (PYY), pancreatic peptide (PP), and the non-mammalian fish pancreatic peptide Y (PY). Neuropeptide Y is very highly conserved in a variety of animal, reptile and fish species. It is found in many central and peripheral sympathetic neurons and is the most abundant peptide observed in the mammalian brain. In the brain, NPY is found most abundantly in limbic regions. The peptide has been found to elicit a number of physiological responses including appetite stimulation, anxiolysis, hypertension, and the regulation of coronary tone.
Structure-activity studies with a variety of peptide analogs (fragments, alanine replacements, point mutations, and internal deletion/cyclized derivatives) suggest a number of receptor subtypes exist for NPY L. Grundemar and R. Hakanson, TiPS, (1994) 15, 153-159!. These currently include the Y.sub.1, Y.sub.1 -like , Y.sub.2, Y.sub.3, and the Y.sub.4 subtypes.
Although specific peptidic antagonists have been identified for most of the subtypes, few selective non-peptidic antagonists have been reported to date. Several competitive but non-selective, non-peptidic antagonists are known. The heterocyclic guanidine derivative He 90481 (4) was found to be a weak but competitive antagonist of NPY-induced Ca++ entry in HEL cells (pA.sub.2 =4.43) M. C. Michel and H. J. Motulsky, Annu. Rev. N.Y. Acad. Sci., (1990) 611, 392-394; U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,119, 1990 (Heumann Pharma GMBH)!. The compound was also found to have .alpha..sub.2 -adrenergic and histaminergic activity at this dose range. D-Myo-inositol-1,2,6-triphosphate (5) was reported to be a potent but non-competitive antagonist to NPY-induced contractions in guinea pig basilar artery L. Edvinsson, M. Adamsson and I. Jansen, Neuropeptides, (1990) 17, 99-105!. Similarly, the benextramine-like bisguanidines 6a and 6b were reported to displace .sup.3 H-NPY in rat brain (IC.sub.50, 19 and 18.4 .mu.M) and to display functional antagonism in rat femoral artery M. B. Doughty, C. Chaurasia and K. Li, J. Med. Chem., (1993) 36, 272-79; M. B. Doughty, S. S. Chu, G. A. Misse and R. Tessel, BioMed. Chem. Lett., (1992) 2, 1497-1502; C. Chaurasia, G. Misse, R. Tessel and M. B. Doughty, J. Med. Chem., (1994) 37, 2242-48!. The bisguanidine 6b was shown to be functionally selective for the Y.sub.2 receptor since it antagonized the effect of the NPY.sub.2 agonist NPY.sub.13-36 but had no effect on the vasoconstrictive activity of the NPY.sub.1 agonist Leu31, Pro34!NPY C. Chaurasia, G. Misse, R. Tessel and M. B. Doughty, J. Med. Chem., (1994) 37, 2242-48!.
A substantial body of art has accumulated over the past two decades with respect to 4-aryl-1,4-dihydropyridine compounds. A large number of these possess calcium antagonist properties and find utility in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Several 4-aryl-1,4-dihydropyridines with piperidine-ring-containing-substituents have been reported.
A series of compounds of formula (1) was claimed to be ##STR2## useful as vasodilators, antihypertensives and diuretics in U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,486.
A series of dihydropyridines, including compounds of formula (2), were disclosed and claimed to have antitumor promoting activity in European Patent Application 533,504. ##STR3##
European Patent Application 534,520 discloses related compounds having formula (3) wherein R.sub.5 is alkyl, phenyl and aralkyl. ##STR4##
A compound of formula (4) has been disclosed in JO 4049-237-A and claimed to be an inhibitor of Phospholipase A.sub.2. ##STR5##
Of less significance is a series of antihypertensive dihydropyridine anilide derivatives disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,076 and containing compounds of formula (5) ##STR6## in which B is a chemical bond or an alkylene group.
Dipeptide-like sulfonamidoyl amidine derivatives of formula (6) ##STR7## have been disclosed as selective NPY Y.sub.1 antagonists. See: French Patent 9,301,686; Serradeil-LeGal, et al., Society for Neuroscience, (1994) abstract no. 376.14.
A guanidine derivative of formula (7) having NPY Y.sub.1 selective receptor antagonist activity was ##STR8## disclosed by Rudolf, et al., Eur. J. Pharmacology, (1994) 271, R11-13.
A series of substituted benzylamine derivatives of the general formula (8) having NPY Y.sub.1 receptor antagonist activity ##STR9## was disclosed by Peterson, et al. in International Patent Application WO 96/14307, published May 17, 1996.
These reference compounds are readily distinguished structurally from the compounds of the instant invention by virtue of many of the art compounds having the piperidine substituents attached to the dihydropyridine ring itself as well as by the nature of most of the linking functional groups, e.g. oxyalkylenyl and carboxylate groups. In contrast, compounds of the instant invention contain an alkylenylpiperidine moiety attached to the 3-position of the 4-phenyl ring by means of an urea connection. Not only are the present compounds structurally novel, they also have been discovered to possess novel NPY antagonist activity.
In summary, the prior art does not disclose nor suggest the unique combination of structural fragments which embody these novel dihydropyrimidinone derivatives as having good antagonist activity at NPY Y.sub.1 receptor sites.

Dihydropyrimidone derivatives as NPY antagonists


An electronic apparatus of the present invention has a bottom surface on which a first connection terminal is disposed, and a rear surface on which a second connection terminal is disposed. The first connection terminal and the second connection terminal are formed on a common substrate. An edge formed by the bottom surface and the rear surface is formed by the substrate. The electronic apparatus is to be connected to an expansion unit including a first connection-target terminal to which the first connection terminal is to be connected and a second connection-target terminal to which the second connection terminal is to be connected.

An electronic device system in which a computer is mounted on an expansion unit is disclosed in Patent Literature 1. Patent Literature 1 discloses an electronic device system that includes a computer having a housing with a modem built therein and a first extension connector disposed on a rear surface of the housing, and an expansion unit having a placement surface on which the computer is to be mounted on a removable manner and a second extension connector that is formed on the placement surface and to which the first extension connector is to be connected. In addition, the computer includes a first relay connector electrically connected to the modem, and the expansion unit includes a connector for communication to which a communication line is to be connected, and a second relay connector connected to the connector for communication. When the computer is mounted on the placement surface, the second relay connector is electrically connected, on the same lateral surface of the second extension connector, to the first relay connector that is separate from the second extension connector.

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


An air-conditioning apparatus includes: a housing having an intake air passage communicating with an air inlet and a blowout air passage communicating with an air outlet that allows air to be blown out in a single direction; a fan; a front heat exchanger facing the air outlet of the housing and including first and second heat exchangers; and at least one of rear and side heat exchangers that face rear and side surfaces of the housing, respectively. When the front heat exchanger operates as a condenser, the first heat exchanger operates as a condenser, and condensed and liquified refrigerant flows in the second heat exchanger. The second heat exchanger is located downstream of the first heat exchanger and the at least one of the rear and side heat exchangers in the flow direction of a refrigerant.

For example, Patent Literatures 1 and 2 disclose an air-conditioning apparatus in which heat exchangers are disposed in such a manner as to surround a fan in order to improve the heat exchange efficiency.
The air-conditioning apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 1 includes indoor heat exchangers that are disposed around a centrifugal fan employed as the above fan and in a substantially quadrangular manner, and that have air inlets and air outlets formed in lower surfaces of the indoor heat exchangers.
The air-conditioning apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 2 includes indoor heat exchangers that are disposed on left and right sides of a centrifugal fan employed as the above fan, and that have air inlets and air outlets formed in front surfaces of the indoor heat exchangers.


A dock leveler support frame includes an upper frame member and a substantially vertical frame member connected thereto. The substantially vertical frame member includes both a structural member and a height-adjusting leg assembly. The leg assembly is adjustable via a drive member proximate the upper frame member. Rotating the drive member raises or lowers the upper frame member by altering the distance between the upper frame member and a foot at the lower end of the leg assembly. Ramp attachment points are also provided proximate the upper frame member. The support frame is installed by placing it in a pit with the upper frame member adjacent the curb, and adjusting the leg assembly to level the upper frame member to the curb. Once level, the back frame is secured to the dock, and the drive member may be secured to the upper frame member to prevent counter-rotation.

Dock levelers, also referred to as dock boards, are mounted in loading docks and are used to bridge the gap between the loading dock floor and the end of a vehicle parked at the loading dock. For example, trucks or tractor trailers may back into a loading dock for loading and unloading, and the dock leveler will form a bridge between the dock floor and the bed of the vehicle being serviced. The dock leveler enables material handling equipment, such as a forklift truck, and material handling personnel to move freely between the dock and the parked vehicle.
Typical dock levelers include a frame or support structure mounted in a recess in the dock known as a pit. A ramp, sometimes referred to as a deck, is generally pivoted about an upper end of the support structure between a horizontal, storage position and a working position where the deck may be rotated upwardly or downwardly to follow the height of a transport vehicle. Often, an extension lip movable between a downwardly hanging pendant position and an extended position is hinged to the forward end of the ramp to serve as an extension thereof.
The dock leveler pit is typically formed from concrete with structural steel angles or channels embedded in the exposed edges thereof, such as along the dock curb. The embedded angle at the rear of the pit (that is, the angle embedded along the rearmost dock floor curb, called the rear curb angle) is generally welded to the dock leveler frame to aid in anchoring the dock leveler in the pit. In this way, the frame can provide a path for vertical and horizontal loads borne by the deck and lip by passing the structural loads through the frame and into the floor and rear curb angle of the pit.
Pit floors, however, will generally not be level and square. For example, the floor of the pit may slope or undulate from front to back, from side to side, or both. To address this problem, extant dock leveler support structures are customarily designed to be shallower than the nominal pit depth, and typically use a stack of thin metal pieces known as shims inserted beneath the frame in order to stabilize the support structure in the pit, similar to how a matchbook or coaster may be used to stabilize a wobbly dining table. Shims are also used to raise the support structure until it is level with the rear curb angle of the dock leveler pit. Shims are typically sized to provide a structural path between the dock leveler and the pit floor, and are generally welded in place, both to each other and to the support frame.
Installing shims is difficult and time consuming, as it requires the installer to crawl under the dock leveler and apply laminations of shims to shore the support structure up to the pit floor. Failure to provide adequate shimming may leave the dock leveler hanging unsupported from the weld between the frame and the rear curb angle. This, in turn, can lead to structural failure of the frame or separation of the dock leveler from the rear curb angle when loaded. Even where adequate shimming is provided to level and stabilize the dock leveler, if the shims are improperly welded, or not welded at all, vibrations suffered during use may induce the shims to "walk" out from under the frame, causing a similarly undesirable condition.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a dock leveler support frame that stabilizes and levels the dock leveler, and provides structural support for and a load path between the deck and the pit, without the need to install shimming or access the underside of the support frame during installation.

Dock leveler support frame and method of installation


A rectangular probe includes two broad side surfaces and two narrow side surfaces each parallel to a longitudinal direction of the rectangular probe. The rectangular probe includes a middle segment, a first connecting segment and a second connecting segment respectively extending from two opposite ends of the middle segment, a first contacting segment and a second contacting segment respectively extending from the first and second connecting segments, and a stroke structure arranged on the middle segment, the first contacting segment, or the second contacting segment. A longitudinal thru-hole of the stroke structure is formed by penetrating through the two broad side surfaces. Two transverse grooves of the stroke structure are respectively recessed in the two broad side surfaces. The two transverse grooves are configured to move in two directions away from each other so as to reduce a length of the rectangular probe.

When a semiconductor chip is tested, a testing apparatus is electrically connected to the semiconductor chip (i.e., device under test, DUT) by a probe card device, so that a testing result can be obtained from the signal transmission between the semiconductor chip and the probe card device. A conventional probe card device includes a plurality of probes corresponding in position to the electrical pads of the DUT, and the probes can be in contact with the electrical pads of the DUT.
However, when the conventional probe card device is applied to a signal transmission test of high speed signals, the probes have to be deformed for generating an elastic force before the signal transmission test, so that the probe of the conventional probe card device is longer and not suited to transmit a high speed signal.

High speed probe card device and rectangular probe


There is disclosed a connector construction in which the operability in the insertion and withdrawal of a connector is greatly enhanced, and an installation space is reduced, and the rigidity is increased, and the number of component parts is reduced, thereby simplifying the construction. An LIF connector includes a first connector, a second connector for being inserted into and withdrawn from the first connector, and a slider for inserting and withdrawing the second connector relative to the first connector. The first connector includes a reception portion for receiving the second connector, and a through hole communicating with the reception portion. The second connector includes a driven shaft for being inserted into the through hole in the first connector, and guide pins projecting perpendicularly from the driven shaft. The slider includes a box-like body having an open bottom, and slanting cam grooves formed respectively in opposed side walls of the box so as to respectively guide the guide pins of the second connector.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an LIF connector having an LIF (low insertion force) mechanism by which a multi-pole connector, having many terminals, can be easily inserted into and withdrawn from a mating connector.
The term "connector", used in this specification of the present invention, means a connector including a housing having at least male terminals or female terminals mounted therein, and the housing may be either separate from or integral with other member.
2. Related Art
A multi-pole connectors has a plurality of terminals, and therefore a large insertion/withdrawal force is required for inserting and withdrawing the connector relative to a mating connector, and it has been rather difficult to effect the insertion and withdrawal of the connector. In view of the difficulty of insertion and withdrawal of such a multi-pole connector, there have now been proposed various connectors (LIF connectors) having an LIF mechanism.
Representative examples of such conventional LIF connectors includes one in which a connector is inserted and withdrawn by operating a lever, and one in which a connector is inserted and withdrawn by operating a slider.
One example of LIF connectors, in which the connector is inserted and withdrawn by operating the lever, is disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 7-169529. FIG. 1 is an exploded, perspective view of the LIF connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 7-169529.
This LIF connector comprises a first connector 110 having female terminals (not shown), and a second connector 120 having male terminals (not shown).
A cam lever 111, having an eccentric cam 111a formed integrally therewith, is provided on the first connector 110, and this cam lever 111 is pivotally mounted through a pivot shaft 113 on support portions 112 and 112 formed upright on a central portion of the first connector 110. Two pairs of lock pawls 114 for locking the cam lever 111 when this lever is pivotally moved 180.degree. are formed respectively on opposite end portions of the upper surface of the first connector 110.
A driven shaft 121 is formed upright on a central portion of the second connector 120. The driven shaft 121 is pivotally connected to the eccentric cam 111a of the cam lever 111 through an insertion hole (not shown) extending through a central portion of the first connector 110.
With this construction, when the cam lever 111 is operated, the driven shaft 121 is moved upward and downward, and the second connector 120 is inserted into and withdrawn from the first connector 110. Namely, with a small force obtained by operating the cam lever 111, the multi-pole connector can be inserted into and withdrawn from the mating multi-pole connector.
Another example of LIF connectors, in which the connector is inserted and withdrawn by operating the lever, is disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 6-140094.
One example of LIF connectors, in which the connector is inserted and withdrawn by operating the slider, is disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 4-319271. FIG. 2 is an exploded, perspective view of the LIF connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 4-319271.
This LIF connector comprises a plurality of connectors 211 and 212, a rectangular frame-like holder 220 for receiving these connectors 211 and 212, a mating connector 230 for receiving the connectors 211 and 212 received in the holder 220, and a slider 240 of a generally U-shape for inserting and withdrawing the connectors 211 and 212 relative to the connector 230.
A pair of projections 221 and 221 are formed on each of upper and lower surfaces of the holder 220, and insertion holes 231 and 231 for the slider 240 are formed respectively through opposite end walls of the mating connector 230, and a pair of cam grooves 241 and 241, corresponding to the projections 221 and 221, are formed in each of upper and lower walls of the slider 240.
In the LIF connector of the above construction, the slider 240 is inserted into a predetermined position in the mating connector 230, and the projections 221 on the holder 220 are positioned respectively relative to the cam grooves 241 in the slider 240. Then, when the slider 240 is pushed into the mating connector 230, the projections 221 on the holder 220 move respectively along the cam grooves 241 in the slider 240, so that the connectors 211 and 212, received in the holder 220, are inserted into the mating connector 230.
Namely, in this LIF connector, by merely pushing the slider 240, the connectors 211 and 212 can be easily fitted into the mating connector 230.
However, the above conventional LIF connector, having the lever, is inferior in operability to the LIF connector having the slider.
More specifically, in the LIF connector having the slider, the connectors can be inserted into and withdrawn from the mating connector merely by linearly moving the slider 240. However, in the LIF connector having the lever, the cam lever 111 must be pivotally moved so as to insert and withdraw the connector, and when pivotally moving the cam lever 111, a release operation, in which the cam lever 111 is released from the lock pawls 114 and 114, is involved.
In addition, a space for allowing the cam lever 111 to be pivotally moved 180.degree. must be secured at the upper side and lateral sides, and therefore there has been encountered a problem that a large installation space is needed. Furthermore, in the case where one of the connectors 110 and 120 to be fitted together and removed from each other is provided integrally in a junction block, it is difficult to secure the installation space since this junction block is usually mounted in a small space where wires are installed densely. Even if the connector is installed, there has been encountered a problem that the cam lever 111 can not be operated.
Further, the support portions 112 and 112 and the pivot shaft 113, which pivotally support the cam lever 111, and the lock pawls 114 for locking the cam lever 111 are the essential constituent parts, and thus the number of the component parts is large, which has invited a problem that the construction is complicated.
On the other hand, in the LIF connector having the above slider, although the slider 240 can be easily inserted into the insertion holes 231 and 231 in the mating connector 230, it is difficult to withdraw the slider 240, and therefore the connectors 211 and 212 can not be easily withdrawn.
In addition, the slider 240 is designed to be inserted into the mating connector 230, its configuration is naturally limited to a generally U-shape, and therefore there has been encountered a problem that the rigidity of the slider 240, on which a large force acts when inserting and withdrawing the connectors 211 and 212 relative to the connector 230, is very low.
Furthermore, since the slider 240 is inserted into the mating connector 230 in a direction of the length of this mating connector 230, the slider 240 has a large length, which has invited a problem that its rigidity is further reduced.


A refrigerator includes a cabinet comprising a storage compartment An evaporator is positioned at an upper portion of the cabinet and generates cold air supplied to the storage compartment. A unit (e.g., closable damper) controls supply of cold air generated by the evaporator to the storage compartment.

Refrigerators are home appliances that are able to freeze or preserve fresh foods, such as meats, fruits, beverages, and the like, in predetermined storage compartments, using a four-step-cycle of compressing, condensing, expanding and evaporating refrigerant. Such a refrigerator may have a cabinet including a storage compartment, a door coupled to the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment, a cold air generating compartment accommodating an evaporator to generate cold air, and a machine compartment accommodating components, such as a compressor and a condenser and the like.
According to some configurations of a refrigerator, the cold air generating compartment is provided in a rear of the storage compartment. For example, a refrigerating compartment or freezing compartment and the cold air generating compartment are partitioned by a partition wall. The machine compartment is provided in a rear portion under the storage compartment.

Refrigerator having cold air generating compartment and machine room positioned at upper portion of cabinet


An object of the present invention is to provide a curable composition excellent in on-site formability, excellent in heat resistance, chemical resistance and oil resistance, and low in compression set. The invention relates to a curable composition comprising (a) a vinyl-based polymer containing at least one (meth)acryloyl group in a molecule thereof and having a number average molecular weight of 500 to 1,000,000, (b) an ethylenic unsaturated group-containing compound, (c) a thixotropic property-imparting agent, (d) fumed silica surface-treated with a (meth)acryloyl group-containing silane and (e) a photopolymerization initiator.

For automotive parts, electrical parts and the like, it becomes necessary to seal the inside from the outside in some cases, in order to prevent internal liquid and gas from leaking outward, or to the contrary, in order to prevent external liquid, gas, dirt and the like from entering inward. Usually, tight seal or sealing can be obtained by bringing members into close contact with each other. However, when hard ones are brought into close contact with each other, it is difficult to obtain an effective sealing effect. In that case, a member such as a relatively soft sheet such as a packing or a gasket or an O-ring is put therebetween, and pressure contacting is performed. At this time, a portion to be brought into abutting contact is usually called a flange. This packing or solid gasket is formed by die molding of paper, cork, rubber or the like or stamping of a sheet.
The above-mentioned packing or solid gasket is required for each form of a part to be sealed, so that there are disadvantages of the increased number of parts and the difficulty of automating incorporation into a part to be sealed, although this is a well-known problem. Accordingly, on-site forming gaskets have been abundantly used in which a liquid sealing member is applied to a flange portion of a part to be sealed, and cured. The on-site forming gaskets are roughly classified into three types. The first is a mold in-place gasket (MIPG) method comprising previously bringing a mold into pressure contact with a flange of a part to be sealed, injecting a liquid sealing member such as a heat curable silicone into a cavity formed between the mold and the flange, and curing it to form a gasket, the second is a formed in-place gasket (FIPG) method comprising automatically applying a liquid sealing material such as a room-temperature (moisture) curable or two-component mixing curable silicone to a flange of a part to be sealed, bringing a flange of another part to be sealed into pressure contact therewith, and aging it for a specified time to cure the liquid sealing material between the flanges, and the third is a cured in-place gasket (CIPG) method comprising applying a liquid sealing material such as a two-component mixing curable or room-temperature (moisture) curable silicone in bead form, and aging or heating it as such for a specified time to form a sealed portion.
The MIPG requires the preparation of a mold for each part to be sealed, so that it is not adequate to small-lot large item products. Moreover, a production technique for preventing the occurrence of burrs is also not easy. The FIPG is easily automated, and in curing and aging, the parts can be allowed to stand as they are combined in many cases. Accordingly, it is excellent in productivity. However, the flanges of the parts to be sealed are laminated at the time when curing has not been caused, so that a sealing layer formed or the sealing material between the flanges becomes a thin film. This is as the flanges are adhered to each other, and shows extremely high seal pressure resistance. On the other hand, one used under severe conditions such as high-temperature conditions or violently vibrating conditions has the possibility that the sealing layer is broken or the possibility that separation occurs at an interface between the sealing material and the flange. Accordingly, the use in such a portion has come to be feared. The CIPG comprises forming the sealing material in bead form, and bringing it into pressure contact with the flange of another member to be sealed. Sealing properties have been maintained by repulsive force generated from elasticity of the sealing material. For that reason, in order to exhibit a long-term sealing effect, it has been necessary that repulsive force is maintained for a long time, that is to say, that a sealing material having low compression set is used.
The sealing material used in the above-mentioned on-site forming gasket is practically one containing an organopolysiloxane as a main component. The organopolysiloxane is referred to as a so-called silicone resin, and excellent in heat resistance and handleability. Many prior art documents including patent document 1 and patent document 2 have been published.    Patent Document 1: JP-A-63-251488    Patent Document 2: JP-A-5-246456
However, in recent years, in portions such as an engine portion in which an engine oil, a gear oil or the like must be sealed at high temperatures, portions have increased in which an oil containing an extreme-pressure additive in increased amounts is used in order to improve lubricating performance. When the silicone resin is used in this site, there has come to cause the problem that the extreme-pressure additive contained in the oil breaks the bond of the organopolysiloxane to deteriorate the sealing material. In particular, in the CIPG, the seal form is in bead form, so that the area which contacts with the oil is large, and the possibility of being deteriorated is high. Accordingly, as described in patent document 3, there is proposed a sealing material using a so-called acrylic rubber in which an acrylic ester is copolymerized, without using the silicone resin. The acrylic rubber is little deteriorated by the extreme-pressure additive, compared to the silicone resin, and useful to such a portion. However, the acrylic rubber represented by patent document 3 is solid at ordinary temperature, so that it can only be used as a solid packing, and has not been able to be readily used in a technique of applying a liquid material and curing it, such as the FIPG or the CIPG.    Patent Document 3: JP-A-8-284746
On the other hand, from long ago, there has been proposed a technique of adding a reactive functional group into a molecule of a relatively low molecular weight copolymer of an acrylic ester and reacting the reactive functional group, thereby performing curing. That is described in patent document 4 and the like. When a composition described in patent document 4 is used, it can be easily applied, because it is liquid at the time of coating, and when it is cured, oil resistance of the acrylic rubber is exhibited. It is therefore an extremely useful composition. However, it is practically difficult to selectively add the reactive functional group in a copolymerization reaction of the acrylic ester, and such a resin has not commercially come in practice. In recent years, reactive liquid acrylic rubbers have been developed by methods described in patent documents 5 to 8 and the like, resulting in the possibility of practical use.    Patent Document 4: JP-A-61-133201    Patent Document 5: JP-A-11-80250    Patent Document 6: JP-A-2000-38404    Patent Document 7: JP-A-2001-271055    Patent Document 8: JP-A-2002-69121


A cooking system includes a grill, a first arm assembly and a second arm assembly. An electronic hardware controller is in signal communication with the at least one grill, the first arm assembly and the second arm assembly. The controller operates the first arm assembly to transfer a prepared product to the grill, and operates the second arm assembly to transfer a cooked product from the grill.

Exemplary embodiments pertain to the art of restaurants and food preparation and, more particularly, to handling of pre-cooked and cooked food products.
Cooking meat, vegan, vegetarian, and/or seafood products is often labor intensive and requires a human server to transfer, handle and/or interact with the food product throughout the cooking process. Variations in cooking expertise and style may often lead to differences in uniformity of the final product (i.e. the cooked product). In addition, several different kitchen utensils may be used during the product handling and cooking process, which can cause interaction between pre-cooked foods and cooked foods.


A record is received including a token without a corresponding predetermined weight. Information pertaining to the received token is retrieved from at least one of external reference information and historic statistics. A token with a predetermined weight closest to the received token is determined based on the retrieved information. The predetermined weight of the closest token is assigned to the received token and data is matched based on the assigned weight of the received token.

1. Technical Field
Present invention embodiments relate to probabilistic matching of data records, and more specifically, to assigning a known token weight to a token with an undefined weight based on at least one of external reference information and historic statistics to perform probabilistic matching.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In probabilistic matching systems, the weights for tokens or symbols (e.g., words, phrases, numbers, dates, etc.) are usually generated from the initial input data and are frequency based. The principle is that the higher the frequency, the lower the weight, i.e., higher token frequencies make the tokens less relevant because they are more common, and therefore, not as distinguishable from other tokens with lower frequencies for record matching. When building a token weight table, not all of the tokens are added to the weight table, but rather, only the most common ones in the input dataset are used and the rarer tokens are assigned a default value which is the highest value in the weight table, thereby indicating their relative rarity.
When matching data records (e.g., in a data records management system), the highest weight may end up causing an incorrect record match or false positive when new records are added or updated with tokens that do not exist in the weight table. For example, a weight table is generated based on the initial data load (e.g., from a database of existing records). This weight table may contain the name-string values (e.g., Bob Jones, John Smith, etc.) with their weights based on a calculation. For example, the token name Alice may have a relative weight of 279 denoted as ALICE|279, the token Aline may be assigned a weight, ALINE|323, while a default weight is assigned a value of 672. However, the weight table does not contain a weight value assigned to "Kylee" which may be because the initial data load does not contain Kylee or that Kylee appears rarely in the initial data load. Thus, if Kylee shows up later as an updating record, it will get the default weight of 672. With this high weight, records with Kylee will have a higher chance to be matched, even when the matched record is not relevant.
Accordingly, traditional approaches to record matching may result in errors that lead to false record matches even when a correct match exists.

Weight adjustment in a probabilistic matching system based on external demographic data

International Business Machines Corporation


In a bending machine for bending rod-shaped workpieces made from wire, tubular material or the like, a machine frame is provided with at least one bending station including two bending units. Each of said bending units includes a bending head with a bending head housing and a bending tool, an auxiliary gripper arranged on the bending head housing so as to be pivotable perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the machine frame, and a gripping unit, which is spaced apart from the bending head as viewed along the longitudinal axis of the frame, pivotable perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the machine frame and displaceable on a guide in the direction of said axis. The two bending heads of each bending station are arranged next to each other with their auxiliary grippers facing each other and are positioned between the two gripping units such that each bending head- viewed in the direction of the frame's longitudinal axis—is mounted between the other bending head and the gripping unit associated with the other bending head.

In the prior art, different bending machines for bilateral processing of workpieces cut to length are known.
DE 3922326 C2 describes a bending machine comprising two bending heads mounted to robot arms, wherein up to four axes of rotation are present for positioning the tool on the workpiece. Each robot arm has its own guide assigned to it, allowing said robot arm to be displaced parallel to the workpiece. Between the guideways of the robot arms, a gripping unit is provided for fixing the respective workpiece to be processed, which gripping unit can be lowered, in which case a bending tool then functions as gripping means. The use of bending robots for bending the workpiece to be shaped is very complex, so that due to the workpiece to be processed being held only at its center or even only due to the fixation of the workpiece when lowering it, undesired vibrations may occur at the bending tool in the longitudinal direction of the workpiece, which has an unfavorable influence both on the bending accuracy as well as on the possible speed of the bending operations and, thus, on the performance of the machine.
A bending device is known from DE 4300311 C2, which bending device comprises one or more gripping units that can be displaced in one plane, said gripping units transporting the workpiece to be processed between parallel bending stations, each of said bending stations carrying out one single bending operation. During bending itself, the tool is fixed by the clamps of the bending tool of the respective bending station. In this case, the bending heads are fitted on a vertically displaceable table so as to enable transport of the workpieces without vertically moving the gripping units. This known machine is very complex in terms of its overall structure and does not allow the processing of wire directly from the coil.
DE 19630023 A1 describes a bending system comprising a plurality of bending stations in which a workpiece can be processed first on one side and then on the other or, in the case of bending in one plane, on both sides at the same time. In this case, a plurality of gripping units are provided to convey the workpiece between the individual bending stations, which grippers are also used to rotate the workpieces. The bending heads are arranged for displacement parallel to the workpiece axis. All gripping units are mounted to a portal. This known bending machine also has a very complex structure, which applies particularly to the arrangement of the gripping units on a portal construction. This known bending machine also does not enable processing of wire drawn directly from the coil.
The bending machine known from DE 20 2004 011 947 U1 also serves to process elongated workpieces in a plurality of stations. In this case, each station comprises a central gripping unit and two bending heads mounted laterally thereof, which are displaceable on a common bed guide as is the gripping unit. In addition, a pivotable transfer device is provided by which the workpiece can be pivoted from the first processing station to the second, parallel processing station. The transfer device may be the gripping unit at the same time. This known machine works serially from out of a magazine and likewise does not allow the processing of wire directly from the coil.

Bending machine for rod-shaped workpieces made from wire, tubular material or the like


The present invention discloses a method and an apparatus for implementing acceleration processing on a VNF. In the present invention, an acceleration request of performing acceleration processing on a virtualized network function VNF is received; a hardware acceleration device capable of performing acceleration processing on the VNF is determined according to the acceleration request; and an acceleration resource of the hardware acceleration device is allocated to the VNF, so as to perform acceleration processing on the VNF. According to the present invention, a corresponding hardware acceleration device can be dynamically selected for and allocated to a VNF, implementing virtualized management on the hardware acceleration device, and improving resource utilization.

In the network function virtualization (NFV) technology, dedicated network element devices in a communications network are replaced with an x86 server, a storage device, and a switching device that are based on the industry standards, which can save investment costs for an operator and help the operator obtain more network capabilities that are more flexible. Therefore, the NFV technology has a wider range of applications.
FIG. 1 is an architectural diagram of an NFV system 100. As can be known from FIG. 1, a VNF runs on the NFV system in a software form. A network function virtualization infrastructure (NFVI) virtualizes, by using a virtualization technology, hardware devices such as a Computer (a processing device), a Storage (a storage device), and a Network (a network interface) as abstract resource information, that is, virtualized resources. The VNF may invoke the virtualized resource obtained by means of virtualization, and does not need to sense underlying hardware information, thereby implementing operations such as online maintenance and online upgrading on a hardware device. A virtualized network function manager (VNFM), an Orchestrator (a management platform), and a virtualized Infrastructure Manager (VIM) that are in network function virtualization management (NFVM) can centrally invoke and manage hardware resources and virtualized resources.
Currently, for some VNFs that consume more hardware resources, for example, a network device with a particular network processor, a traditional network processor has a strong processing capability. However, a standard x86 server usually cannot satisfy a resource requirement of the VNFs that consume more hardware resources, which affects normal operation of the VNFs, and cannot satisfy actual applications.
To ensure normal operation of a VNF that consumes more hardware resources, a hardware accelerator is usually used to perform acceleration processing on the VNF. Generally, a card insertion manner is used, where an accelerator card is inserted into a port of an x86 server to perform acceleration processing on a data packet. The accelerator card performs corresponding processing on the data packet according to a set function such as WAN acceleration, encryption, or compression. The accelerator card is similar to a network interface card, is easy to use, and has good acceleration performance. However, the accelerator card can be used by only one X86 server, and cannot be shared by multiple X86 servers.
An objective of NFV is to implement virtualization of different hardware by using the virtualization technology, so as to implement non-customized solutions for multiple vendors. Similarly, for various physical hardware acceleration devices, if acceleration processing is performed in the current card insertion manner, an inserted physical hardware acceleration device can be used to perform acceleration processing on the VNF only, while various physical hardware acceleration devices cannot be virtualized when acceleration processing is performed on the VNF. The resource utilization is low.

Method and apparatus for implementing acceleration processing on VNF


Disclosed is a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus for polishing a surface of a wafer using a mechanical friction as well as a chemical polishing agent. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes a polishing head for absorbing a wafer and a polishing means for polishing the wafer. The polishing apparatus may include a platen composed of at least three segments formed in conformity with polishing zones, a polishing pad provided on each of the segments, and a support for supporting the segments such that the segments are separately adjustable in the height depending on the polishing zones and are rotatable.

Recently, due to the high integration level of semiconductor devices, semiconductor devices have been structured in multiple layers. Accordingly, a polishing process for planarizing layers of a semiconductor wafer is indispensably included in a fabrication process of the semiconductor devices. One known polishing process, CMP, is mainly being used.
The CMP process is a process for polishing a surface of a wafer coated with tungsten, oxide, etc., through the use of mechanical friction, as well as a chemical polishing agent. The mechanical portion of the CMP polishes a surface of a semiconductor wafer using friction between a polishing pad and the surface of the semiconductor wafer by rotating the wafer fixed on a rotating polishing head, with the wafer pressed against the polishing pad. The chemical portion of the CMP polishes the surface of the wafer using a slurry supplied between the polishing pad and the wafer as the chemical polishing agent.
This CMP process results in excellent planarity in a wide region as well as a narrow region. Accordingly, CMP is particularly adapted to the trend toward enlargement of wafer diameter.
Referring to FIG. 1, which illustrates a schematic configuration of a conventional CMP apparatus for performing the CMP process, the CMP apparatus generally includes a polishing station 110 and a polishing head assembly 120.
The polishing station 110 has a platen 114 on which a polishing pad 112 is placed. The polishing head assembly 120 includes a polishing head 122 for adsorbing a wafer W in a vacuum and an arm 124 connected to the polishing head 122. An actuator (not shown) loadings/unloadings the polishing head 122 on/from the polishing pad 112. The polishing station 110 may also utilize a vacuum supply unit (not shown), a compressed air supply unit (not shown), etc. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 126 denotes a slurry supply nozzle.
In the CMP process using the CMP apparatus as configured above, one conventional method for controlling uniformity of the wafer in order to secure a margin of depth of focus (DOF) in a photolithography process includes adjusting the number of turns of the platen and the polishing head. A pressure applied to the polishing head may also be adjusted in an attempt to achieve uniformity.
In addition, recently, there has been proposed a method for adjusting a pressure applied to the polishing head, such that different pressures are applied to different zones of the wafer for improving the uniformity of the wafer.
The above-mentioned conventional methods are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,056,631, 6,179,956, and 6,293,845.
However, when the wafer W is polished using the conventional CMP apparatus, a problem arises in that it is not easy to control the uniformity in the CMP process.


A method and system of alignment of two mechanical members of a mechanical structure, particularly the primary and secondary mirrors (22, 24) of a telescope (20), is provided by a set of auxiliary optical elements (40) disposed on the primary mirror and a corresponding set of detectors (42) disposed on the secondary mirror. The array of detectors corresponds in configuration to the array of auxiliary optical elements so that there is correspondence between positions of auxiliary optical elements with positions of detectors about a common central axis (38) of the two mirrors. A source (44) of light disposed on the axis between the two mirrors illuminates the auxiliary optical elements to develop a set of eight beams, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, which are directed to the optical elements. There are two subsets of the beams, one set comprising four crisscrossing beams (C) which cross the central axis, and the second subset (D) traveling directly between the mirrors without crossing the central axis. The locations of reception of the beams relative to the detectors is sensed to ascertain the presence of any failure of alignment, thereby to permit correction of alignment with respect to tilt, decentering, despace, as well as a bowing of the primary mirror. The optical elements may be fabricated as holographic optical elements.

This invention relates to alignment of two elements of an apparatus, such as the primary and the secondary mirrors of a telescope and, more particularly, to the use of an array of detectors positioned about the secondary mirror, in conjunction with a corresponding array of reflective or diffractive optical elements positioned about the primary mirror, for redirecting light of a central source to the detectors by means of direct beams and crisscrossing beams to develop a measure of alignment including data as to deformation of the primary mirror.
In the construction of mechanical structures, it may be necessary to provide precise alignment of a first element of a structure to a second element of the structure. Accurate alignment can be accomplished best by use of optical apparatus. An important example of such a mechanical structure is a telescope wherein the first element corresponds to a primary mirror and the second element corresponds to a secondary mirror. In the usual construction of such telescopes, the two mirrors are positioned coaxially in spaced-apart relation, with a reflecting surface of the secondary mirror facing a reflective front side of the primary mirror.
In terms of an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system, wherein the Z axis coincides with the optical axis of the foregoing telescope, and the X and the Y coordinates are transverse to the Z axis, alignment concerns an offset between mechanical elements or mirrors in either the X direction or the Y direction, this being known as decentering. The alignment also concerns a displacement along the Z axis, known as despace, which alters a desired spacing between the two mechanical elements or mirrors. The alignment furthermore concerns rotation of the first mechanical element, or primary mirror, about either the X or the Y axis. In addition, particularly in the case of optical systems such as the foregoing telescope, there is concern as to any deformation or bowing of the primary mirror, particularly in the case of large mirrors of astronomical telescopes. Therefore, the alignment is concerned also with the detection of any bowing of the primary mirror, since the effects of this deformation on the performance of most in-situ alignment systems is significant.
A problem arises in that presently available optical systems for measurement of alignment present excessive difficulty in use and, furthermore, as in the case with a laser gauge system, require a succession of steps which, if interrupted, necessitates a restart of the calibration procedure.

Optical alignment by use of arrays of reflective or diffractive optical elements and detectors


Disclosed is a vehicular lamp having a light source and a light guide body. In the vehicular lamp, the light guide body is configured by a first and a second rod shaped light guiding portions disposed at positions spaced apart from each other, and a planar light guiding portion disposed to connect the circumferential surface portions of the first and second rod shaped light guiding portions with each other. Further, the light source configured to include a first light source and a second light source disposed to cause light to be incident from an end portion surfaces of the first and the second rod shaped light guiding portions, respectively, and then configured to make each of the first light source and the second light source to emit a different color light with each other.

There has been known a vehicular lamp having a configuration in which a light guide body disposed to cause light emitted from a light source to be incident thereto and then emitted toward the front side of the vehicular lamp, is provided.
Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-190762 discloses a configuration in which a rod shaped light guiding portion and a planar light guiding portion extending from a circumferential surface portion thereof are provided as the light guide body in the vehicular lamp. Also, the light guide body is configured such that some of light emitted from a light source, which is incident from one end surface of the rod shaped light guiding portion and then guided to the rod shaped light guiding portion, is allowed to be incident onto the planar light guiding portion, and then emitted from the planar light guiding portion toward a front of the vehicular lamp.
It is possible to secure a luminescent region widened in planar shape in the vehicular lamp described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-190762.
However, in such a vehicular lamp, a plurality of pairs of light sources and light guide bodies are required in order for the vehicular lamp to make a luminescent region luminescent with a plurality of luminescent colors and thus, the vehicular lamp may not be configured compactly, which is problematic.
The present disclosure has been made in an effort to solve the problems, and intends to provide a vehicular lamp equipped with a light guide body that may be implemented with a compact configuration while making a luminescent region widened in a planar shape luminescent with a plurality of luminescent colors.
The present disclosure is contrived to achieve the object described above by investigating the configuration of the light guide body.


A method and system for generating an estimate of a clean speech signal extracts time trajections of short-term parameters from a noisy speech signal to obtain a plurality of frequency components each having a magnitude spectrum and a phase spectrum. The magnitude spectrum is then compressed, filtered and then decompressed to obtain a modified magnitude spectrum. The speech signal is then reconstructed using the original phase spectrum and the modified magnitude spectrum.

Voice communication systems are susceptible to interfering signals normally referred to as noise. The interfering signals may have harmful effects on the performance of any speech communication system. These effects depend on the specific system being used, on the nature of the noise, the way it interacts with the clean speech signal, and on the relative intensity of the noise compared to that of the signal.
A speech communication system may simply be a recording which was performed in a noisy environment, a standard digital or analog communication system, or a speech recognition system for human/machine communication. Noise may be present at the input of the communication system, in the channel, or at the receiving end. The noise may be correlated or uncorrelated with the signal. It may accompany the clean signal in an additive, multiplicative, or any other more general manner. Examples of noise sources include competitive speech, a background sound like music, a fan, machines, a door slamming, wind or traffic, room reverberation, and Gaussian channel noise.
The ultimate goal of speech enhancement is to minimize the effect of the noise on the performance of speech communication systems. Consider, for example, a cellular radio/telephone communication system. In this system, the transmitted signal is composed of the original speech and the background noise in the car. The background noise is generated by an engine, a fan, traffic, wind, etc. The transmitted signal is also affected by the radio channel noise. As a result, noisy speech with low quality and reduced intelligibility may be delivered by such systems.
Background noise may have additional devastating effects in the performance of a system. Specifically, if the system encodes the signal prior to its transmission, then the performance of the speech coder may significantly deteriorate in the presence of the noise. The reason is that speech coders rely on some statistical model for the clean signal. This model becomes invalid when the signal is noisy. For a similar reason, if a cellular radio system is equipped with a speech recognizer for automatic dialing, then the error rate of such recognizer will be elevated in the presence of the background noise. The goals of speech enhancement in this example are to improve perceptual aspects of the transmitted noise and speech signals as well as to reduce the speech recognizer error rate.
The problem of speech enhancement has been a challenge for many years. Different solutions with various degrees of success have been proposed over the years. One known prior art speech enhancement solution is the spectral subtraction approach as described in "Suppression of Acoustic Noise in Speech Using Spectral Subtraction," by S.F. Boll, IEEE Transactions on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, Vol. ASSP-27, No. 2, April 1979. This approach provides estimates of the clean signal based on the short-term spectrum of the noisy signal. Estimation is performed on a frame-by-frame basis, where each frame consists of 20-40 ms of speech samples. In a spectral subtraction approach, the signal is Fourier transformed, and spectral components whose values are smaller than that of the noise are nulled. The surviving spectral components are modified by an appropriately chosen gain function. The signal estimate is obtained from inverse Fourier transforms of the modified spectral components. Major drawbacks of the spectral subtraction enhancement approach, however, are that noise needs to be explicitly estimated, and the residual noise has annoying tonal characteristics referred to as "musical noise".
The known prior art fails to disclose a simple and accurate method for enhancing the quality of speech transmitted from a noisy environment.

Method and system for generating an estimated clean speech signal from a noisy speech signal

Oregon Graduate Institute of Science & Technology


This invention provides a high throughput PECVD process for depositing TEOS films in a multi-station sequential deposition chamber. The methods significantly reduce the number of particles in the TEOS films, thereby eliminating or minimizing small bin defects. The methods of the invention involve dedicating a first station for temperature soak while flowing purge gas. Stopping the flow of reactant gas and flowing the purge gas for station 1 eliminates TEOS condensation on a cold wafer surface and significantly reduces the number of defects in the film, particularly for short temperature soaks.

TEOS (tetra-ethyl-ortho-silicate) is a silicon-containing compound that is a liquid at room temperature. TEOS is used in many applications to deposit dielectric film on a substrate. TEOS is used in applications where conformality is required as silicon dioxide (or "TEOS oxide") films deposited by TEOS chemical vapor deposition processes have good conformality. TEOS oxide is often deposited by a plasma enhanced deposition chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process. TEOS-based PECVD processes typically involve exposing a substrate to a process gas including TEOS and an oxidant such as oxygen or ozone. Liquid TEOS is first vaporized in a preheater to about 150 degrees Celsius. TEOS vapor flows first to a "mixing bowl" in the deposition chamber, then to the individual showerheads in each station—if a multi-station chamber is used.
In a Multi-station Sequential Deposition (MSSD) system, the wafer spends equal amount of time at each of multiple stations. As an example, at each station, the wafer experiences more or less the same process as follows: the wafer is heated on the pedestal with helium purge; some oxygen flows into the station out of the showerhead; the precursor gas flows out of the showerhead with some oxidant gas; plasma is struck; a dielectric film is deposited onto the wafer; the precursor gas is turned off; then a few second later, the oxidant gas and the plasma are turned off; and lastly, the wafer advances to the next station. Gases flow to the showerheads from a mixing bowl. Every station receives the same gases.
To improve the throughput, the first station may be dedicated to heating the wafer, commonly known as the temperature soak step. This reduces the time a wafer spends at each station by eliminating the initial temperature soak step from each station. The wafer is thereby heated at the first station for about the length of time the other stations run their processes. Because the wafer does not lose much heat between stations, the temperature soak only needs to be performed once. Therefore, more wafers per hour can run through the system because each wafer spends less time in the system. Of course, the oxide that would have been deposited at the first station must now be deposited at other stations.
As throughput increases and film thickness decreases, the amount of time at each station also decreases. Not only is deposition time decreased, but also the temperature soak time. At very short temperature soak times, the wafer is not heated long enough to reach a high temperature, resulting in small bin defects. FIG. 1 shows the relationship between defect level on the y-axis, shown as particle adders with SiN Cap, and soak time/wafer temperature. In the particular experiment used to generate the data in FIG. 1, SiN is deposited on wafers to magnify small bin defects for optical detection. Because SiN has poor conformal properties, when deposited on a wafer it highlights defects that ordinarily may not have been visible by some optical detection methods.
As soak time increases, defects of all sizes decrease, but the smallest defects are most sensitive to soak time. Small bin defects are those smaller than 0.16 microns. As device size shrinks to 65 nanometers and below, small bin size defects can greatly reduce yield. Even more yield problems can arise as the number of integration layers increase; the upper layers magnify small bin defects from lower layers to become large bin defects.
Because small bin defects are strongly correlated to wafer temperature, one solution is to lengthen the temperature soak time. The wafer would reach a high temperature, and the small bin defects would be eliminated. However, the advantage of high throughput would be lost. What are needed therefore are improved methods for depositing thin TEOS films at high throughput without small bin defects and without sacrificing the film quality.

Method of eliminating small bin defects in high throughput TEOS films


A universal belt scale for measuring the weight of material being transported on a conveyor belt includes a pair of independent weigh beams, each having a cantilevered deflection section, the beams being uniquely mounted to extend inwardly of the stringers in such a way that the universal belt scale can be used with a variety of belt widths and belt loading situations. The neutral axis of the deflection section is preferably positioned in substantially the same plane as the roll supporting the belt. Alternative embodiments of a mounting allows the position of the weigh beam to be adjusted relative to the idler assembly. Alternative embodiments of an adjustable pivot allow the full scale capacity of the belt scale to be varied. The universal belt scale may also include varying the sensitivity of the weigh beam, for more accurate weighing.

The need for accurately measuring the weight of material being transported on a belt conveyor has long been recognized. Knowing the weight of the transported material is particularly important when granulated commodities are involved, such as grain, ore, aggregate, minerals, and coal because certain variables, such as belt speed and the flow rate of the conveyed material, may need to be adjusted for optimal conveying. Weigh feeders are commonly used to regulate the flow of, for example, powdered coal into a coal furnace used at an electric power generating plant.
A primary problem with traditional conveyor scales is their restricted range of application. Conveyors come in a variety of sizes and different load ratings. Materials as diverse as heavy mineral ores, on the one hand, and as light as bags of cotton or tea leaves, on the other hand, may need to be conveyed. Conveyor belts of many widths and load ratings are manufactured for all conceivable situations. This has traditionally required a large number of different conveyor scales.
Attempts have been made to overcome the problems of traditional belt scales by mounting one or more strain sensors on the top surface of the cantilevered portion that supports the idler assembly. The strain sensors measure the stress in the cantilevered portion to measure the weight of material being transported. Such arrangements have also had problems with inaccurate weight measurements because the strain gages lie in a different plane than the carry roll (which supports most of the weight of the material being transported) of the idler assembly. The weight of material being conveyed causes friction when the belt strikes the idler roller and places a horizontal force on the roller. This creates a torque effect or an overturning moment which affects the measurement readings of the strain sensors and thus the accuracy of the weight measurement, since the strain sensors ideally will measure only the stress due to the weight of material on the belt.
Certain prior belt scale mounting arrangements have been designed to avoid interference between the weigh beams and the ends of the idler assembly and the stringers that support the idler assembly. Such mounting arrangements have traditionally involved crossbars. Some of these arrangements have resulted in the strain sensors mounted on the cantilevered weigh beam being placed closer to the level at which the material is being conveyed. Such prior weigh scales have, however, failed to appreciate the importance of carefully adjusting the position of the weigh beam so that the sensors are located at approximately the same horizontal level as the material being weighed.
An additional problem with traditional belt scales is that the conveyor truss or framework experiences shifting, twisting, or movement because of material loading, temperature changes, and vibration from heavy process machinery. Because traditional conveyor scales include a rigid crossbar coupled between the stringers to which a pair of weigh beams are connected, movement of the conveyor frame by the above-mentioned forces cause the weigh idlers on the scale to shift and move, which adversely affects the weight signal.
A problem in common with the above-described traditional weighing mechanisms for conveyor belts is that a specific weigh beam or weighing mechanism must be tailored for each belt conveyor system and the particular weight of material to be conveyed. Conveyor belts come in many different widths and thicknesses according to the type of hauling required. Hence, many types of conveyor scales, such as weigh beams, have traditionally have been required to accommodate the various conveying systems. Factors that have traditionally been unique to the specific designs include the cross-sectional size, the strength, and the length of the cantilever portion of the weigh beam. The costs associated with constructing and inventorying these multiple weighing mechanisms are substantial.


A method and a system for providing services to roaming subscribers of mobile telephone networks. The system comprising a packet-switch network and intelligent gateways coupled to the packet-switch network enables roaming subscribers to continue using their value added services using familiar access, interface and language. The system also enables mobile operators to deliver new services to roamers and subscribers.

Mobile subscribers access a variety of value-added services in their home mobile networks. They usually use short codes, thereby enjoying fast and easy-to-remember access. Subscribers use short codes to access services such as voicemail retrieval, customer care service, informational services or virtual private network (VPN) services.
Yet home-network short codes are presently unavailable to subscribers while they are roaming. This situation is due to the complexity of supporting short codes of other operators. Subscribers wishing to access home value added services are, therefore, forced to remember full international telephone numbers. Moreover, they may not be able to access home value added services due to handicaps of international carriers.
Furthermore, global service providers such as airlines companies, international travel agencies, and car rental agencies may offer their customers a local toll free number, however, these numbers are not supported on a global basis due to differences in numbering plans at different networks. Thus, there is a need for a service enabling roaming mobile subscribers access to value added services.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and methods for global access to services for mobile telephone subscribers