A rate controller for allocating a bit budget for video frames to be encoded is disclosed. The rate controller of the present invention considers many different factors when determining the frame bit budget including: desired video quality, target bit rate, frame type (intra-frame or inter-frame), frame duration, intra-frame frequency, frame complexity, intra-block frequency within an intra-frame, buffer overflow, buffer underflow, and the encoded video frame quality for a possible second pass.

Digital based electronic media formats are finally on the cusp of largely replacing all of the older analog electronic media formats. In the audio media arena, digital compact discs (CDs) replaced analog vinyl records long ago. Analog magnetic cassette tapes are becoming increasingly rare and will eventually share the same fate of 8-track tapes. Second and third generation digital audio systems such as digital Mini-discs and MP3 (MPEG Audio-layer 3) files are now taking market share away from the first generation digital audio format of compact discs.
The video media has been slower to move from analog storage and transmission formats to digital storage and transmission formats than audio. The reason for this slower analog to digital transition is largely due to the massive amounts of digital information required to accurately represent video images in digital form. The massive amounts of information require very high-capacity digital storage systems with high bit-rate outputs and high-bandwidth transmission systems. Furthermore, cost of switching from analog video equipment to digital video equipment is significantly higher than the cost of switching from analog audio equipment to digital audio equipment.
However, video is now finally rapidly moving from analog storage (VHS and Beta) and analog transmission formats (NTSC and PAL) to digital storage (MPEG) and digital transmission formats (ATSC). The DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a digital video system, has been one of the fastest selling consumer electronic products in years. DVDs have been rapidly supplanting VHS and Beta Video-Cassette Recorders (VCRs) as the pre-recorded video playback system of choice due their high video quality, very high audio quality, convenience, and extra features. A new generation of intelligent Personal Video Records (PVRs) such as TiVo and Replay have emerged that take advantage of digital video technology. The antiquated analog NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) video transmission system is now being replaced with the digital ATSC (Advanced Television Standards Committee) video transmission system that provides for 5.1 channels of CD-quality digital audio and beautiful high-definition television (HDTV) images.
Computer systems have been using various different digital video storage and transmission formats for a number of years. Among the best digital video compression and encoding systems used by computer systems have been the series of digital video encoding systems backed by the Motion Pictures Expert Group, better known as MPEG. The three most well known and widely used digital video encoding systems from MPEG are known simply as MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4. The MPEG-1 format was used by VideoCDs. The MPEG-2 digital video compression and encoding system is used by DVDs and the ATSC digital television system.
The MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 standards compress a series of video frames (or fields) and encode the compressed frames (or fields) into a digital stream. The video frames may be compressed as Intra-frames or Inter-frames. An Intra-frame independently defines a complete video frame without any reference to any other information. An Inter-frame defines a video frame with reference to other video frames such as previous video frames or video frames subsequent to the current video frame.
When compressing video frames, an MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 encoder usually implements a 'rate controller' that is used to allocate a 'bit budget' for each video frame that will be compressed and encoded. Specifically, the bit budget specifies the number of bits that have been allocated to encode the video frame. By efficiently allocating a bit budget to each video frame, the rate controller attempts generate the highest quality compressed video stream without overflowing buffers (sending more video frame information than can be stored in the target device's buffers) or underflowing buffers (not sending frames fast enough such that the decoder runs out of video frames to display). Thus, to efficiently compress and encode a digital video stream, a digital video encoder should have a rate controller that makes very wise decisions on how to allocate the available bandwidth. The present invention introduces several different methods and systems for implementing a rate controller for a digital video encoder.

Method of performing rate control for a compression system


An apparatus having first and second floor plates defining a floor opening to receive a ladder therethrough is provided, with the floor plates having first and second side plates mounted to opposed ends of the floor plates, with the side plates arranged in a parallel coextensive relationship. At least one of the side plates includes a support container, and optionally, both side plates may include support containers hingedly mounted to permit pivotment together in adjacency forwardly of the apparatus. Roller structure is mounted interiorly of the side plates to guide and direct ladder legs of the ladder within the floor opening. Further, a brake lever is arranged for engagement relative to a rear wheel guide for selective positioning of the organization relative to the ladder. A floor hook cooperative with a ladder rung pulley for selective securement to an associated ladder rung is arranged to permit selective lifting of the carriage apparatus relative to the ladder.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to ladder support structure, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved ladder carriage apparatus wherein the same permits the selective positioning and mounting of a support container structure relative to a ladder assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Support container structure of various types are utilized throughout the prior art to provide for the positioning and mounting of paint assisting components and structure relative to a ladder assembly. Such apparatus is exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,684 to Kellstad wherein a paint pan is fixedly mounted relative to a support bracket that in turn is secured to the ladder rung of an associated ladder.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,925 to Gorecki sets forth a ladder caddy having a container arranged for relatively fixed positioning to a ladder structure.
Further examples of step-ladder type tray support structure is exemplified in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,874,147 to Ory, et al.; 4,318,523 to Weatherly; and 4,310,134.
The prior art has heretofore failed to provide for the mobility available as set forth by the instant invention to permit selectively positioning and latching of container structure relative to a ladder assembly and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


A telecommunications network (10) comprises a set of telephone service operator domains (20), including domains (20A-20C) having intelligent network-type services having non-geographic telephone numbers. A call-originating domain (20G) accesses a non-geographic service number database (30G) to obtain address information concerning the domain which currently handles the called service (90). The address information obtained from the non-geographic service number database includes the address a node in the domain which handles the service, e.g., the address of a gateway node (GW), and optionally the addresses of a service switching point (SSP), a service control function (SCF), and a service data function (SDF) which handles the called service (90). When changing telephone service operators (e.g., changing to a new domain), the non-geographic service number database is updated to reflect the change. Access of the database and usage of the addresses obtained therefrom in the routing message permit the service (90) to retain the same directory number when changing telephone service operators.

1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to telecommunications systems, and particularly to the routing of calls through a telecommunications system to an intelligent network service having a non-geographical telephone number.
2. Related Art and Other Considerations
A telecommunications network typically includes a number of physical nodes, often referred to as local exchanges, to which subscribers are connected. The local exchanges are generally connected in the telecommunications network by other physical nodes, known as transit exchanges.
To simply the routing of calls through the network and to have a good structure of a telephone numbering plan, each local exchange is allocated one or more unique exchange number groups. The telephone number of a subscriber typically includes both an exchange number group (typically a 10,000 number block) for the exchange to which a subscriber is connected, and a number in that group which is peculiar to the subscriber. For example, a subscriber having a telephone number"881-1657" is connected to a local exchange having an exchange number group "881", and within that group the subscriber has a subscriber number of "1657". The subscriber's telephone number is published or otherwise circulated as his directory telephone number e.g., in a telephone directory or book.
The foregoing is an example of telephone numbers which are geographical, i.e., for which there is a defined relationship between the telephone number and a geographical area served by the exchange to which the subscriber is connected. For other telephone numbers, referred to as "non-geographical telephone numbers", no geographical relationship exist.
Non-geographical telephone numbers include those associated with services such as services provided by intelligent networks, for example toll-free numbers ("800" in the United States), Freephone, Universal Access Numbers, Personal Numbers, Universal Personal Telecommunications (UPT), Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), International Virtual Private Networks (IVPNs), etc. Such intelligent network (IN)-type services are controlled and executed by a service control point (SCP). For each IN service, data used for the SCP's performance of the IN service typically resides in and is retrieved from a service data function (SDF), which can either be collocated with the SCP or remotely located at a service data point (SDP).
With the advent of pro-competitive regulations for the telephone industry, telecommunications subscribers will be entreated to change telephone service providers. In some instances, a change of telephone service providers has traditionally involved a change of directory telephone number for the subscriber, since differing telephone service providers have differing blocks of numbers in a telephone numbering plan. Changing a directory telephone number undesirably occasions expense and effort for the subscriber. For example, the subscriber incurs expense in providing notice of the new directory number to potential callers (friends and business contacts). If such notice is not provided or retained by the potential callers, calls may not be placed to the relocated subscriber. Loss of calls to a ported subscriber can result in loss of social or business opportunity.
For clarity, what is commonly referred to as a telephone service provider, e.g., a telephone company, will hereinafter be referred to as a telephone service operator (TSO). Unless in context of TSO or otherwise stated, the word "service" hereinafter refers to an intelligent network type of service as is offered by a subscriber e.g., to other subscribers.
If subscribers could retain their original telephone numbers, decisions regarding telephone service operator networks could be based on other factors, such as competitive pricing, quality of service, and service features, for example. Providers of IN services having non-geographical telephone numbers could avail themselves of opportunities for changes of telephone service operators if the providers were assured that their original non-geographical telephone numbers could be retained after the change to a new telephone service operator.
Traditional telephone call routing principles pose a problem for retention of telephone numbers upon a change of telephone service operator. In this regard, a common way of routing a call through a telecommunications network to a final destination is to use the directory telephone number of the called party (e.g., the called subscriber), i.e., the "1-800-xxx-nnnn" for a toll free call. In particular, in traditional routing, the called party's directory telephone number occupies an address signal field of an ISUP parameter known as the "Called Party Number" parameter ("CdPN"), with the "Called Party Number" parameter ("CdPN") being a routing or address message utilized for routing purposes.
What is needed therefore, and an object of the present invention, is an efficient way of permitting a provider of a non-geographic telephone number to retain the non-geographic telephone number when the service provider changes telephone service operators.

Portability of non-geographic telephone numbers of intelligent network services


A versatile patient support and restraint system is provided. It includes a couch (14) having a top surface (22) for supporting a patient being examined within an examination region (12). Two substantially parallel grooves (20) are formed along a longitudinal direction in the top surface (22) of the couch (14) on opposite sides thereof. Two removable tracks (30) extending in a longitudinal direction are removably seated in the grooves (20). Adjustable restraint straps for securing the patient to the couch (14) are also provided. The adjustable restraint straps include pins attached to opposing ends of the adjustable restraint straps. The pins selectively engage the two removable tracks (30) thereby selectively securing opposing ends of the adjustable restraint straps to opposite sides of the top surface (22) of the couch (14).

The present invention relates to the art of patient restraints. It finds particular application in conjunction with patient restrains for couches and/or tables employed in diagnostic imaging apparatus (i.e. magnetic resonance (MR) systems, computer tomography (CT) scanners, gamma cameras, and the like), and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the present invention is also amenable to other applications wherein the immobilization and/or securing of patients is desired.
In diagnostic imaging, typically patients or subjects being examined or whose anatomy is being imaged are supported or suspended in an examination region by a patient table or couch. In order to reduce or eliminate motion artifacts in the resulting image, it is advantageous to immobilize the patient and/or secure him to the couch. Additionally, during imaging, it is often desirable to have certain patient support equipment or accessories remain with the patient. For example, the patient may have an IV inserted in an arm such that it is desirable to have the arm off to the side of the patient table or couch and have an IV bag elevated above the patient. Moreover, in diagnostic image-guided interventional procedures, it may be desirable to have a shelf or sideboard accompanying the patient table or couch which would hold the attending physicians or surgical team's medical instruments, surgical tools, and the like.
Previous systems and techniques have addressed these issues. However, these systems and/or techniques were accompanied by certain inherent drawbacks. Some systems and/or techniques lacked the versatility desired. Other systems and/or techniques employing grooves in the top surface of the couch lack the desired ease of sanitation. That is to say, the grooves which often collected dirt and other outside contaminants were difficult to clean and/or otherwise maintain. Still other systems were too complicated and/or lacked a continuous range of adjustability. A continuous and large range of adjustability provides for improved immobilization of various size patients and/or varying anatomies. This, in turn, results in a greater reduction of motion artifacts and ultimately leads to improved image quality.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved patient restraint system which overcomes the above-referenced problems and others.


A self-propelled stroller apparatus comprising a motor, a drive train, a braking mechanism, and a set of hand controls, is herein disclosed. Two (2) rear wheels of the stroller are driven by a battery-powered motor utilizing a chain-driven drive train. The motor is controlled by a handlebar-mounted control lever, which when pushed motivates the stroller in a forward direction. During times when the motor and drive train are deactivated, the stroller may be pushed in a normal manner. The apparatus is additionally provided with an emergency braking system to stop or securely park the stroller. The battery is recharged by a normal household outlet and an electrical cord when the stroller is not in use.

There are many products designed to assist caregivers with infants and young children. One (1) of the most common and useful is the children's stroller that carries the child while the caregiver operates the stroller. Conventional strollers are designed for use with newborns up to children five (5) years or older; the stroller does a great job of enabling the caregiver to take the child along for various outings without being required to constantly carry the child. The stroller also prevents the child from wandering off during shopping trips, at amusement parks, or anywhere the parent or care provider typically walks. However, the stroller must still be moved around by the caregiver. Although seemingly an easy task, when one considers the weight of the child, child care items, blankets, extra clothes, food, and the like that is typically transported on a stroller the easy task of pushing the stroller can become quite daunting, especially over long periods of time or distances. Additionally, strollers are often pushed up very steep inclines and are pushed all day long on an almost daily basis; it is easy to see how pushing a stroller alone can tire the caregiver out.
Various attempts have been made in the past to overcome these disadvantages and provide a means for personal pushed transporting devices having motorized push assistance. One (1) solution is the attachment of a motorized add-on to the frame and wheel assemblies of conventional strollers. While drive assembly add-ons can provide a means of push assistance to a stroller they have distinct disadvantages as well. Many use mounting mechanism which can be inconvenient to apply or require regular inspection to ensure proper mounting is maintained. The controller mechanisms may also require mounting or comprise tethered switches which can become cumbersome to keep up with. Many add-ons simply engage the wheels of the strollers, frictionally driving them which can be inefficient in inclement weather. Others only engage a single wheel which can lead to unstable or uneven propulsion. Larger axially driven devices can disturb the weight proportions of the stroller making it less stable and creating a dangerous situation for the child passenger. Among the relevant attempts to address these problems are several U.S. patents, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,629,950; 5,494,126; 5,937,961; 6,148,942; 6,983,813; and 7,198,122.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,425, issued in the name of Yang, describes a motorized stroller with rear wheel drive assembly comprising a motor and gear housing that is mounted to a rear wheel support rod of the stroller and a roller which makes contact with the tire portion of a rear wheel transporting the rotational motion of the motor to that of the wheel and a tethered control unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,360,836, issued in the name of Milano, Jr. et al., describes an add-on drive assembly for baby strollers and carriages comprising a motorized chassis attached to the rear axle of a stroller and a pair of drive wheels which engage the walking surface replacing the rear wheels of the stroller.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives, each of these references suffers from one or more of the aforementioned disadvantages. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which mechanical assistance can be provided to a user of a stroller when needed and the physical effort required to move a stroller can be reduced. The development of the invention herein described fulfills this need.


A method of killing microorganisms which form a biofilm on a tissue or implant surfaces in a patient, and which are refractory to a biocide at a dose which is effective to kill the microorganism in planktonic form. The effect of the biocide is potentiated, to an effective killing level, by applying an electric field across the surface containing the biofilm.

In natural environments, and particularly in aquatic environments, certain microorganisms preferentially exist in sessile, colony-forming cells which form a biofilm. A biofilm is a conglomerate of microbial organisms embedded in a highly hydrated matrix of exopolymers, typically polysaccharides, and other macromolecules (Costerton 1981). Biofilms may contain either single or multiple microbial species and readily adhere to such diverse surfaces as river rocks, soil, pipelines, teeth, mucous membranes, and medical implants (Costerton, 1987). By some estimates biofilm-associated cells outnumber planktonic cells of the same species by a ratio of 1000-10,000:1 in some environments.
Prevention of colonization by and eradication of biofilm-associated microorganisms is an important, and often difficult, problem in medicine. Unlike planktonic organisms, which are relatively susceptible to biocides, e.g, antibiotics, the structural matrix established during biofilm formation can make the colonizing cells able to withstand normal treatment doses of a biocide. It is known that when organisms are isolated from biofilms and then grown in planktonic culture, they lose many of the characteristics associated with the progenitor cells, in particular, the ability to produce a glycocalyx (Costeron, 1987). In the biofilm, the glycocalyx matrix appears to serve as a barrier which protects and isolates the microorganisms from host defense mechanisms such as antibodies and phagocytes as well as from antimicrobial agents including surfactants, biocides and antibiotics (Costerton, 1981). In one study, biofilm-associated bacteria were able to survive a concentration of antibiotic 20 times the concentration effective to eliminate the same species of bacteria grown in planktonic culture (Nickel, 1985a). The higher doses of biocides needed to eliminate biofilm growth may not well tolerated in the body.
Biofilm infections can occur in a variety of disease conditions. In some tissue infections, such as prostatitis, the infective bacterium is capable of growing in the infected tissue in both biofilm (sessile) and circulating (planktonic) form (Costerton, 1987). Although growth of the planktonic cells can be controlled by antibiotic treatment, the biofilm itself may be refractory to treatment, providing, in effect, a reservoir of infection which can lead to recurrence of the infection after antibiotic treatment.
Osteomyelitis is another biofilm-associated bacterial infection which can be difficult to treat. In severe cases, the infected bone must be exposed operatively, and the interior of the bone scraped to remove infected regions. The bone is then packed with a matrix material which serves as a carrier for an antibiotic. Even with this extreme treatment, the biofilm infection may not be completely destroyed, and further such treatment may be necessary (Gristina, 1984).
Biofilm infection is also associated with septic arthritis, where biofilm formation on joint surfaces can lead to a chronic and recurrent infection In addition to sepsis, the biofilm infection can cause destruction of the joint surface material (Gristina).
Biofilm formation can also be a serious complication in bio implants, such as bone prostheses, heart valves, pacemakers and the like. Biofilm formation on exposed surfaces of a bio implant can degrade the function of the implant (Passerini), as in the case of implanted valves, lead to serious joint or bone infections, as in the case of a bone prosthesis (Gristina), and in all cases, provide a source of difficult-to-treat septic infection (Jacques).


A data head offset detecting circuit in a magnetic disk unit includes a first offset detector that detects an offset .beta. based on servo information on a data surface read by the data head, a second offset detector that detects an offset .gamma. based on servo information on the servo surface read by the servo head, and an offset calculator for calculating a real offset .alpha. resulting from the subtracting of the offset .gamma. from the offset .beta.. By using the above circuit, an offset for a correction of an offtrack is detected accurately even when the heads are vibrating.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data head offset detecting circuit for use in a magnetic disk unit and a magnetic disk unit using the data head offset detecting circuit, which uses servo information on servo and data surfaces to correct an offset of data heads in the magnetic disk unit.
In recent years as the magnetic disk unit has had an increasingly larger capacity, narrower track gaps have been utilized in magnetic disk units.
When the conventional head positioning control using the servo information on the servo surface alone is used with a magnetic disk having a higher track density with such narrower track gaps, the data head, which moves over the data surface and is controlled to be ontrack based on the servo information on the servo surface is likely to be offtrack and cannot read the data on the data surface if the operating ambient of the magnetic disk unit, especially, the ambient temperature, changes from low to high or vice versa.
A head positioning circuit for offset correction was proposed that corrects an offset by recording servo information on the data surface as well and using the servo information on both the servo and data surfaces to prevent the data head from being offset. This invention relates to the above circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
For this offset correction, a head positioning control is done by effecting an offset detection at every predetermined time interval depending upon the change of ambient temperature, storing the offset thus detected into a memory for each head, and reading a corresponding offset at the time of data write or read to correct the offset.
On the assumption that the servo head is accurately controlled to be on track based on the servo information on the servo surface, this offset detection is done to read the servo information on the data surface by the data head and detect an offset of the data heads from the servo head.
During offset detection, however, the servo head under ontrack control is likely to be offtrack due to external vibration, poor accuracy of control or the like so that the offset of the data head is detected at the timing of the offtrack. No accurate correction of the data head offset can be done.
A magnetic disk unit may have, for example, four magnetic disks mounted on the rotating shaft of a spindle motor and thus rotated at a predetermined speed.
Of the four magnetic disks, the upper three have a data surface formed on either side, front and rear, thereof and the lower one has a data surface formed on the front side thereof and a servo surface on the rear side thereof.
Data heads are provided opposite the data surfaces of the magnetic disks and a servo head is provided opposite the servo surface.
The data heads and servo head are driven together by a voice coil motor (will be referred to as "VCM" hereafter) and move in a direction crossing the tracks on the magnetic disks.
The servo surface over which the servo head is positioned has servo information recorded in all the cylinders (cylinder: all tracks accessed by all the magnetic head when a comb is in a certain position) thereof, and a position signal indicative of the position of the servo head on the track is provided based on a signal read by the servo head.
On the other hand, the data surfaces of the data heads have recorded in the free space of a predetermined cylinder track or of all the cylinder sectors thereof servo information used to detect an offset of the data heads.
First, if the servo head and data head are in the cylinder center, no offset correction is necessary; actually, however, the data head is off the cylinder center on which the servo head is positioned due to the difference in the expansion coefficient between the metals used to form the head actuator and the like.
Under the ontrack control of the heads based on the servo information on the servo surface, the offset of the data head from the servo head is detected based on the servo information read by the data head from the data surface.
At the time of write or read, the data head can be accurately positioned in the cylinder center by displacing the heads (offset correction) to eliminate the offset.
However, the aforementioned conventional offset detecting circuit has a disadvantage in that if the data heads are oscillated due to a disturbance or poor accuracy of positioning control during detection of a data head offset, then detection of a data head offset done at the time of such oscillation will result in a measurement error.
The offset of the data head from the servo head should be detected, but the offset of the data head from the cylinder center is detected in a condition where the servo head is offset from the cylinder center because of the oscillation of the heads.
If an offset correction is done based on the offset thus detected, the data head will be offset from the cylinder center so that the offset correction will cause an offset of the data head.
The related arts regarding this invention are disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 62-266781.

Data head offset detecting circuit in magnetic disk unit and magnetic disk unit using said data head offset detecting circuit


An inflatable bone tamp for performing a minimally invasive surgical procedure includes a shaft having a primary region and a reduced diameter region, and an inflatable structure surrounding at least a portion of the reduced diameter region. The reduced diameter region of the shaft allows the deflated size of the inflatable structure to be minimized, while at the same time eliminating the need for the conventional dual lumen balloon catheter construction.

A minimally invasive procedure is a medical procedure that is performed through the skin or an anatomical opening. In contrast to an open procedure for the same purpose, a minimally invasive procedure will generally be less traumatic to the patient and result in a reduced recovery period.
However, there are numerous challenges that minimally invasive procedures present. For example, minimally invasive, procedures are typically more time consuming than their open procedure analogues due to the challenges of working within a constrained operative pathway. In addition, without direct visual feedback into the operative location, accurately selecting, sizing, placing, and/or applying minimally invasive surgical instruments and/or treatment materials/devices can be difficult.
For example, for many individuals in our aging world population, undiagnosed and/or untreatable bone strength losses have weakened these individuals' bones to a point that even normal daily activities pose a significant threat of fracture. In one common scenario, when the bones of the spine are sufficiently weakened, the compressive forces in the spine can cause fracture and/or deformation of the vertebral bodies. For sufficiently weakened bone, even normal daily activities like walking down steps or carrying groceries can cause a collapse of one or more spinal bones. A fracture of the vertebral body in this manner is typically referred to as a vertebral compression fracture. Other commonly occurring fractures resulting from weakened bones can include hip, wrist, knee and ankle fractures, to name a few.
Fractures such as vertebral compression fractures often result in episodes of pain that are chronic and intense. Aside from the pain caused by the fracture itself, the involvement of the spinal column can result in pinched and/or damaged nerves, causing paralysis, loss of function, and intense pain which radiates throughout the patient's body. Even where nerves are not affected, however, the intense pain associated with all types of fractures is debilitating, resulting in a great deal of stress, impaired mobility and other long-term consequences. For example, progressive spinal fractures can, over time, cause serious deformation of the spine ("kyphosis"), giving an individual a hunched-back appearance, and can also result in significantly reduced lung capacity and increased mortality.
Because patients with, these problems are typically older, and often suffer from various other significant health complications, many of these individuals are unable to tolerate invasive surgery. Therefore, in an effort to more effectively and directly treat vertebral compression fractures, minimally invasive techniques such as, vertebroplasty and, subsequently, kyphoplasty, have been developed. Vertebroplasty involves the injection of a flowable reinforcing material, usually polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA—commonly known as bone cement), into a fractured, weakened, or diseased vertebral body. Shortly after injection, the liquid filling material hardens or polymerizes, desirably supporting the vertebral body internally, alleviating pain and preventing further collapse of the injected vertebral body.
Because the liquid bone cement naturally follows the path of least resistance within bone, and because the small-diameter needles used to deliver bone cement in vertebroplasty procedure require either high delivery pressures and/or less viscous bone cements, ensuring that the bone cement remains within the already compromised vertebral body is a significant concern in vertebroplasty procedures. Kyphoplasty addresses this issue by first creating a cavity within the vertebral body (e.g., with an inflatable balloon) and then filling that cavity with bone filler material. The cavity provides a natural containment region that minimizes the risk of bone filler material escape from the vertebral body. An additional benefit of kyphoplasty is that the creation of the cavity can also restore the original height of the vertebral body, further enhancing the benefit of the procedure.
Conventional inflatable bone tamps (IBTs) used in kyphoplasty procedures incorporate a "dual lumen" construction, in which a balloon is connected between distal tips of coaxial catheters, such that an inflation path for the balloon is defined between the coaxial catheters. However, in many instances, it can be desirable to reduce the production and manufacturing complexity associated with the assembly of this conventional dual lumen IBT construction.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an IBT that can be costs and, complexity.

Low cost low profile inflatable bone tamp


A press for producing a pellet from a powdered material, comprising a press frame with an upper and a lower retaining plate, which are connected with one another by several vertical spacers and with at least one supporting element disposed between the upper and the lower retaining plate, at least one upper punch unit with at least one upper press punch and/or at least one lower punch unit with at least one lower press punch as well as at least one holder for powdered material, which is to be pressed by the upper and/or lower press punch, at least one upper drive unit with at least one upper drive motor for moving the upper punch unit in the vertical direction and/or at least one lower drive unit with at least one lower drive motor for moving the lower punch unit and/or the holder in the vertical direction, wherein, when the press is operating, the upper drive unit and/or the lower drive unit are supported at the supporting element in such a manner, that the reaction forces, which are generated as action forces by the pressing forces, produced during the pressing of the powdered material in the at least one holder, are passed into the supporting element and wherein the upper drive motor and/or the lower drive motor are disposed at the press frame, so that the upper drive motor and/or the lower drive motor are not moved in the vertical direction when the upper punch unit and/or the lower punch unit and/or the holder are moved vertically.

The invention relates to a press for producing a pellet from a powdered material, for example, a metal or ceramic powder. The powdered material is filled into a mold holder and subsequently pressed into a pellet in the mold holder by an upper punch and a lower punch. One such a press is known, for example, from EP 2 311 587 A1. The known press has a press frame with an upper and a lower part of the press and vertical pillars, which connect the upper and lower parts of the press with one another. As precise an alignment as possible of all components in the force flux during the pressing process is of decisive importance for the result of pressing with such presses and for the wear of the press. For the known press, a plurality of components, which are usually produced individually and component levels are in the flux of the force. As a result, the manufacturing tolerances add up and, because of the high forces of the press, components of the press may become deformed. In particular, it is possible that the axes of the upper and lower drive units, which drive the upper and lower punches, are not aligned with one another precisely. Consequently, the pressing result may be defective. In order to minimize the effects on the pressing result, the use of so-called tool guiding units has been proposed, which comprise the upper and lower punches, as well as a die plate with a mold holder. If the tool guiding units are dimensioned adequately, the effect of deforming the press components on the pellet is negligible. However, this leads to a considerable additional expense with regard to the tool guiding units. In addition, during the pressing, there is increased wear of individual components, such as seals and guiding tapes of cylinders in the case of hydraulic presses, spindles and spindle nut units in the case of spindle presses or guides of the tool guiding units.
A further press is known from the WO 2008/104969 A1. This press has a frame-like press frame, for which an upper and a lower frame plate are connected with one another via several struts at the edge, which are oriented parallel to a longitudinal axis of the press frame and are connected with one another. Between the upper and the lower frame plate, a die plate, which is aligned perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis and in which there is a holder for pressing a powdered material, is fixed to the press frame. A pair of guiding rods, which are oriented in the direction of the longitudinal axis and are mounted securely in the press frame at a distance from one another in the upper and lower region thereof, penetrates the die plate as well as a press arrangement, which is disposed above and below the die plate, provided for accommodating and moving a press punch and can be moved on the guide rods. Each of the two threaded rods, which are anchored securely at a distance from one another in the die plate, engages an assigned threaded nut, which is mounted rotatably in the upper and the lower press arrangement, the two upper and the two lower ones being driven by a drive motor carried by the assigned press arrangement. The upper and the lower press arrangement can be moved in the vertical direction via the spindle drives, which are fastened to the die plate and which, synchronized in pairs, are driven by the in each case one drive motor. Accordingly, the drive motors for operating the spindle drives are moved along correspondingly with each vertical movement of the press arrangement. The pressing force, which functions as an action force and is to be applied at the upper and lower press punch whenever the powdered material is pressed, generates a reaction force, which is absorbed via the threaded rods, which are fixed in pairs above and below to the die plate, and discharged into the die plate. This construction requires a die plate and also a respective press arrangement of considerable dimensions, in order to absorb the forces and moments occurring in the course of the pressing and in the course of the hereby occurring movement of the upper and lower press arrangement. In addition, for exchanging the press arrangements with their press punches, the press must be largely dismantled, no information being provided about the exchangeability of the holder of the powdered material in the die plate.
Starting out from the prior art explained above, the invention is based on the objective of making available a press of the type named above, with which, in a structurally simple manner, an optimum pressing result is achieved.


A reticle gripper barrier system for use in concert with a reticle gripper device that contacts a lithographic reticle is presented. In a particular embodiment, a reticle gripper barrier device includes a support plate affixed near or to the reticle gripper device and a gripper barrier or a set of concentric gripper barriers affixed to or near the support plate. A reticle gripper barrier system includes one or more reticle gripper barrier devices that form a complete or partial barrier around the point or points where the reticle gripper device contacts a lithographic reticle. The gripper barriers block contaminants and prevent them from migrating towards the mask and do not contact the lithographic reticle. The gripper barriers can be interleaved with corresponding contact barriers on a lithographic reticle, which the gripper device is contacting.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lithography, and more particularly, to reticle gripper devices used in lithography.
2. Background of Invention
Lithography is a process used to create features on the surface of substrates. Such substrates can include those used in the manufacture of flat panel displays, circuit boards, various integrated, circuits, and the like. A semiconductor wafer, for example, can be used as a substrate to fabricate an integrated circuit.
During lithography, a reticle is used to transfer a desired pattern onto a substrate. The reticle is formed of a material transparent to the lithographic wavelength being used, for example, glass in the case of visible light. In other systems, such as extreme ultra violet (EUV) lithography systems, a reflective mask can be used that reflects the lithographic wavelength being used. The reticle has an image printed on it, referred to as a mask. The size of the reticle is chosen for the specific system in which it is used. A reticle six inches by six inches and one-quarter inch thick may be used, for example. During lithography, a wafer, which is disposed on a wafer stage, is exposed to an image projected onto the surface of the wafer corresponding to the image printed on the reticle.
The projected image produces changes in the characteristics of a layer, such as a photoresist, deposited on the surface of the wafer. These changes correspond to the features projected onto the wafer during exposure. Subsequent to exposure, the layer can be etched, or otherwise processed, to produce a patterned layer. The pattern corresponds to those features projected onto the wafer during exposure. This patterned layer is then used to process exposed portions of underlying structural layers within the wafer, such as conductive, semiconductive, or insulative layers. This process is then repeated, together with other steps, until the desired features have been formed on the surface of the wafer.
As should be clear from the above discussion, the accurate location and size of features produced through lithography is directly related to the precision and accuracy of the image projected onto the wafer. In particular, the rigors of sub-100 nm lithography place stringent demands not only on the lithography tool, but also on the reticle. Airborne particles and dust that settle on the mask area of a reticle can cause defects on the wafer. Small image distortions or displacements in the reticle plane can swamp critical dimension and create overlay errors.
Many approaches have been developed to reduce airborne particles and dust that settle on a mask. In particular, extreme care is taken to ensure a clean environment around the mask. For example, in addition to clean room environments and operating within a vacuum, other steps are taken to minimize contaminants, such as reticles being typically transported mask side down to minimize the settling of debris on the mask. Another approach in conventional lithography is the use of a pellicle that provides a transparent screen above the surface of a mask to prevent particles from landing on a mask. Such an approach can not be effectively used in EUV lithographic systems. In EUV applications, a mask and/or contact barrier system, such as the ones described in commonly owned, copending U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 10/628,326, filed on Jul. 29, 2003, which is incorporated herein in its entirely, can be used to reduce the number of contaminants landing on the mask portion of a reticle.
These approaches reduce, but do not eliminate the number of contaminants landing on a mask. One of the primary sources of particle contaminants and debris is the stress of contact between a reticle gripping surface and a reticle. A reticle gripper device, such as the one described in co-pending, commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/704,900, filed Nov. 12, 2003, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference, includes reticle gripping surfaces that are used to position and hold a reticle in place. Reticle gripping surfaces will touch a reticle at one or more contact points on the reticle. When the reticle gripping surfaces contact the reticle, airborne contaminants can be generated.
What is needed is a reticle gripper barrier system that reduces contaminant scattering when a reticle gripping surface contacts a reticle.

Reticle gripper barrier system for lithography use


An apparatus for and a method of Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance testing a sample in the presence of interference are disclosed. The apparatus comprises excitation applying means for applying excitation, a first antenna for detecting a response to the excitation together with the interference, and a second antenna for detecting the interference, the first and second antennas being arranged such that a signal commonly detected in the two antennas is attenuated relative to a signal that is detected by only one of the antennas. The apparatus may provide suppression of interference.

Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance (NQR) testing is used for detecting the presence or disposition of specific substances, such as polycrystalline substances. It depends on the energy levels of quadrupolar nuclei, which have a spin quantum number I greater than xc2xd, of which 14N is an example (I=1). 14N nuclei are present in a wide range of substances, including animal tissue, bone, food stuffs, explosives and drugs.
In NQR testing, a sample is placed within or near to a probe comprising a radio-frequency (rf) coil and is typically irradiated with pulses or sequences of pulses of electromagnetic radiation having a frequency which is at or very close to one or more resonance frequency of the quadrupolar nuclei in a substance which is to be detected. If the substance is present, the irradiant energy will generate a precessing magnetization which can induce voltage signals in a coil adjacent the sample at the resonance frequency and which can hence be detected as a free induction decay (f.i.d.) during a decay period after each pulse or as an echo after two or more pulses.
The invention preferably relates to the testing of what are hereinafter termed xe2x80x9cremotexe2x80x9d samples. Although the following definition is not exclusive, remote samples are typically samples which lie outside the plane of the excitation/detection probe, often at a distance away from the probe which may be comparable with or greater than the largest cross-sectional dimension of the probe. With remote testing, it is often only possible to access the sample from one side, for instance if the sample is buried or concealed. Testing of remote samples which can only be accessed from one side is often termed xe2x80x9cone-sidedxe2x80x9d testing; in such tests only the field from one side of the probe is utilised, the probe usually being shielded on the other side. Such a probe is referred to herein as an xe2x80x9copen endedxe2x80x9d probe.
More particularly, the invention relates to the detection of the presence of remote or other samples containing quadrupolar nuclei.
As an example, the present invention has particular application to the detection of 14N quadrupole signals in drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, concealed on or within the person, possibly using a hand-held probe. As another example, the invention may find application in the detection of buried or concealed explosives, for instance in airport security monitoring. Again, in industrial processes, it can be used to detect signals from quadrupole-containing materials. Such materials might be proteins in foodstuffs, or quadrupole containing substances on conveyor belts, inside furnaces or nuclear reactors or in chemically or physically hazardous surroundings in which the probe must be located away from the remainder of the testing apparatus, possibly even on one side only of the system. The probe may be located inside the pressure vessel of the nuclear reactor, which may be at extremes of temperature and pressure.
Research carried out pursuant to the present invention has shown that conventional open ended probes have the disadvantage of being susceptible to interference. One type of interference is due to external sources producing rf spikes at random points in time. This causes the probe to produce bursts of rf signals at the frequency to which it is tuned. Large amplitude bursts may seriously corrupt the NQR signal since this may be less than the preamplifier noise base. Signal averaging may help to remove the effect of rf bursts, but this will increase the time taken for testing.
Another type of interference comes from more stable sources of rf energy at a single frequency, such as amplitude modulation (am) or frequency modulation (fm) radio transmissions. This type of signal may produce a line that could be confused with, or obscure, the NQR response.
Furthermore, in practical situations such as the detection of buried explosives or airport security monitoring, spurious interference may be generated by objects or matter surrounding or in the vicinity of the substance to be detected. Examples of such spurious interference are the piezo-electric signal generated in quartz, dry sand or soil by the electric field of the rf pulse, or the signal generated by ferromagnetic objects in response to the rf pulse. The spurious interference may be large enough to obscure or obliterate the NQR signal and to saturate the rf preamplifier and subsequent amplifiers.
The present invention aims to provide suppression of interference from whatever source. The interference may be any unwanted signal such as noise, and may originate from an external interfering source, or from the sample, as is the case with spurious interference, or from the NQR apparatus itself.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance testing a sample in the presence of interference comprising excitation applying means for applying excitation, a first antenna for detecting a response to the excitation together with the interference, and a second antenna for detecting the interference, the first and second antennas being arranged such that a signal commonly detected in the two antennas is attenuated relative to a signal that is detected by only one of the antennas.
The response signal will normally be detected mainly in one antenna, while the interference will normally be detected in both antennas, and hence the apparatus according to the invention can afford the advantage that interference may be attenuated or cancelled.
In order to ensure that large spurious interference, which could potentially overload the testing apparatus, does not reach the antennas, the apparatus preferably comprises a screen located adjacent the first antenna, the screen being arranged to attenuate the electric component of an rf signal passing through it relative to the magnetic field component. For example, the screen may comprise one or more layers of a non-ferromagnetic metal such as aluminium or copper, or one or more layers of metallised plastic.
In order to prevent eddy currents from forming in the screen, which may cause the Q of the antenna to drop, the screen may be slotted. Preferably, the screen has a slot extending from its centre to its edge, although other slotting arrangements may be used.
The screen may be any suitable shape; in one preferred example the antenna is annular with a slot from the centre to the edge.
The apparatus preferably comprises a second screen, similar to the first screen, located adjacent the second antenna. This may help to ensure that the Q""s of the two antennas are as closely matched as possible.
In order to reduce further any spurious interference, the excitation applying means is preferably adapted to apply phase cycled pulse sequences, preferably according to the doctrine of phase equivalence as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,208,136 in the name of British Technology Group Limited, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Hence the apparatus may be for Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance testing a sample containing quadrupolar nuclei and which may give rise to spurious signals which interfere with response signals from the quadrupolar nuclei, in which case the excitation applying means may be adapted to apply a pulse sequence to the sample to excite nuclear quadrupole resonance, the pulse sequence comprising at least one pair of pulses, and the apparatus may further comprise means for comparing, for the or each such pair, the respective response signals following the two member pulses of the pair, the pulse sequence being such that the respective spurious signals following the two member pulses can be at least partially cancelled by the comparing means without the true quadrupole resonance signals being completely cancelled, and for the or each such pair, the two member pulses being of like phase. The sample may comprise a substance containing quadrupolar nuclei which may itself give rise to spurious signals, or the sample may comprise a first type substance containing quadrupolar nuclei and a second type substance which may give rise to the spurious signals.
For the or each such pair of pulses, a respective pulse preceding each member pulse of the pair may be of differing phase. The or each such pair of pulses may be of a first type, and the pulse sequence may further comprise at least one further second type pair of pulses, corresponding to the or each first type pair, but having cycled phases.
The excitation applying means may comprise an additional antenna for applying the excitation. However, preferably at least the first antenna is adapted to apply excitation. This can reduce the size and complexity of the apparatus.
The second antenna may also be active, that is, it may be adapted to apply additional excitation and to detect a response to that excitation. This may provide the advantage of allowing twice the area to be tested at any one time than would be possible if only the first antenna were active. Having both antennas active may also provide the advantage of reducing spurious interference, particularly in the case where the object or matter causing the spurious interference is in the field of view of both antennas.
In one preferred embodiment, the first antenna comprises a first coil and the second antenna comprises a second coil, the first and second coils being wound in the opposite sense to each other. The two coils may be connected in series or in parallel.
In another preferred embodiment, the first antenna is coupled to the second antenna via a balanced bridge circuit. This may allow the relative orientation and distance apart of the two antennas to be adjusted, and may also allow the two antennas to be more accurately balanced than in the case where the two antennas are directly connected.
In a further preferred embodiment the first antenna is coupled to the second antenna by a comparator circuit, for example an operational amplifier, or any other type of comparator.
Means may be provided for adjusting the relative orientation of the first and second antennas, to allow the common mode rejection of the two antennas to be optimized.
According to a closely related aspect of the invention there is provided a method of Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance testing a sample in the presence of interference comprising applying excitation to the sample, detecting a response to the excitation together with the interference to yield a first signal comprising a response component and an interference component, detecting the interference to yield a second signal, and combining the first signal and the second signal such that the interference component is attenuated relative to the response component.
The method may further comprise applying additional excitation and detecting a response to said additional excitation together with the interference to yield said second signal.
The interference may comprise spurious interference from ferromagnetic or piezoelectric materials.
The method may be a method of Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance testing a sample containing quadrupolar nuclei and which may give rise to spurious signals which interfere with response signals from the quadrupolar nuclei, in which case the step of applying an excitation signal may comprise applying a pulse sequence to the sample to excite nuclear quadrupole resonance, the pulse sequence comprising at least one pair of pulses, and the method may further comprise comparing, for the or each such pair, the respective response signals following the two member pulses of the pair, the pulse sequence being such that the respective spurious signals following the two member pulses can be at least partially cancelled by the comparison without the true quadrupole resonance signals being completely cancelled, and for the or each such pair, the two member pulses being of like phase. The sample may comprise a substance containing quadrupolar nuclei which may itself give rise to spurious signals, or the sample may comprise a first type substance containing quadrupolar nuclei and a second type substance which may give rise to the spurious signals
For the or each such pair of pulses, a respective pulse preceding each member pulse of the pair may be of differing phase. The or each such pair of pulses may be of a first type, and the pulse sequence may further comprise at least one further second type pair of pulses, corresponding to the or each first type pair, but having cycled phases.
The second signal may be detected in a different environment from the first signal. The method may be carried out in the absence of an applied magnetic field.

Apparatus for and method of Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance testing a sample


An extraction agent for the separation of trivalent actinides from lanthanides in an acidic media and a method for forming same are described, and wherein the methodology produces a stable regiospecific and/or stereospecific dithiophosphinic acid that can operate in an acidic media having a pH of less than about 7.

Those involved in the nuclear industry have long understood that a major obstacle to the expanded use of nuclear energy is the resulting generation of large quantities of spent nuclear fuel once the nuclear fuel cycle has been completed. Recent advanced aqueous reprocessing methods for spent nuclear fuel affords various methods for reducing waste generation and eliminating the proliferation potential in the nuclear fuel cycle. Those skilled in the art recognize that the fission products 137Cs and 90Sr are the major short term (less than 300 years) sources of heat load in spent fuel reprocessing streams. However, the trivalent actinides, those being primarily Americium and Curium are responsible for long term, that is, greater than about 1,000 years heat load that would reside in a geological repository. It has long been known that the separation of trivalent actinides via extraction agents, and subsequent recycle of these trivalent actinides to a nuclear reactor for transmutation, provides a means to safely and economically reduce the volume, heat generation, and radiotoxicity of waste material requiring geologic deposit. The obvious benefits from this technology would be extending the capacity for the Yucca Mountain Repository thus delaying or obviating the need for a second nuclear repository.
Heretofore, the commercially available extractant employed to separate trivalent actinides from trivalent lanthanides has been the product having the trade name CYANEX® 301, which is produced by Cytec Industries, Inc. This extractant is an effective agent for the separation of trivalent actinides (Am(III), Cm(III), etc.) from lanthanides in an acidic media.
While this extraction agent has worked with some degree of success, there are shortcomings with this compound that have detracted from its usefulness. Chief among these shortcomings is that this compound requires the use of mildly acidic processing conditions. In practice, the use of this compound requires complex feeding adjustments that complicates the operation of this very complex extraction process, and tends to increase the amount of secondary waste material. In addition to the foregoing, it has long been known that CYANEX® 301 is easily decomposed in acidic solutions, which further limit its usefulness in production scale processes.
An extraction agent and method for forming an extraction agent for the separation of actinides from lanthanides that avoids the shortcomings in the prior art compounds and methodology used heretofore is the subject matter of the present application.

Method for forming an extraction agent for the separation of actinides from lanthanides


A workpiece turntable comprises a turntable module and an attachable floor-engaging support. The floor-engaging support is preferably height adjustable. The turntable module comprises a rotatable base mounted on a stationary base; a wire frame mounted over the rotatable base; a first set of support elements extending from the wire frame having a first height relative to the rotatable base; and a second set of support elements extending from the wire frame having a second height relative to the rotatable base. Each one of the support elements includes a respective support finger that can be made of an elastomer such rubber, silicone, or urethane.

Refinishing or painting items, for example, drawers, panels, or doors of cabinets using a spray gun or the like can be time-consuming and tiring. The typical method involves thorough cleaning and degreasing of the cabinet surfaces, and lightly sanding if necessary. Thereafter, the drawers, panels, and doors are removed from the main structure for painting of each element of the cabinet individually.
There are a few methods in which the cabinet and cabinet elements are supported for being refinished or painted. One method involves laying each of the panels flat across sawhorses or the like and proceeding with the painting process. Another method involves leaning the panels against a vertical surface. Still another method involves laying the panels on paint stands such as painter's pyramids, cones, or the like. One problem with the conventional methods is that the painter must be careful to angle the spray gun at all portions of the panel equally so as not to have an uneven distribution of paint or finish thereon. Also, the conventional methods lack an important factor in achieving a good painting result, which is being able to easily move, and re-orient the articles being painted.


A bra includes two cups and each cup is connected with a side wrap and has a connection portion for connecting a shoulder strap which is connected to the side wrap. Each cup has a protrusion protruding from a top edge thereof so as to cover the nipple of the wearer and at least one concave portion is defined between the protrusion and the connection portion. The concave portion eliminates the stress on the top edge of each cup so as to reduce the pressing force to the breast.

A conventional bra 2 is shown in FIG. 12 and generally includes two cups 21 each are connected to a side wrap 23 and a shoulder strap 22 which is connected to a connection portion 211 between the cup 21 and the shoulder strap 22. It is noted that each cup 21 includes a top edge 212 which is an upward inclined edge extending from one end of the cup 21 to the connection portion 211. As shown in FIG. 13, when wearing the bra 2, the shoulder straps 22 pull the cups 21 upward to support the breasts in the cups 21. However, the top edge 212 tends to press the breast and to squeeze the top portion of the breast as shown by arrows in FIG. 14. This is not a healthy way to wear a bra and the top edge 212 forms an obvious line when wearing a T-shirt. This could happen to any wearer, especially during female period or period of pregnancy which makes the breasts larger.
Besides, for a maternity bra, as shown in FIG. 15, the cups 21 each have a hole 211 and a piece of cover 212 is attached to a lower edge of each cup 21 so as to cover 212 the hole 211. A hook member 26 is connected to a top end of the cover 212 so as to be hooked to a member 25 on the shoulder strap 22 to position the cover 212. Therefore, the mother can conveniently unhook the cover 212 to feed the baby without take off the bra. In addition, an extension part 24 can be added between two connection ends of the side wraps 23 so as to adapt wider body. Again, the cups 21 include the same top edges that compress the breasts and the extension part 24 cannot change the size of the cups 21 so that the inherent problems cannot be resolved.
The present invention intends to provide a bra wherein each cup have a wave-shaped top edge so as to eliminate the pressing force applied by the top edge of each cup.


Stabilized zirconia containing sintered particles of alumina and zirconia tetragonal phase at temperatures below about 1150.degree. C. is prepared by mixing alumina particles of less than 30 nanometers with zirconia particles of less than 30 nanometers in presence of a liquid to form a suspension, drying the suspension at a temperature up to about 600.degree. C. to remove the liquid and products thereof to form a dried suspension composed of agglomerated alumina and zirconia particles, sintering the dried suspension to fuse the particles, and cooling the sintered dried suspension to an ambient temperature to produce free-standing bodies or coatings on substrates.

1. Field of Invention:
This invention pertains generally to the field of stabilized zirconia, and more specifically to the field of thermally stabilized zirconia.
2. Description of Prior Art:
Thermal barrier coatings provide thermal insulation to gas turbine engine hot-end components, such as blades and vanes. The application of ceramic coatings for thermal insulation significantly increases the efficiency and the power of the engine by lowering the temperature of the metal components while reducing engine fabrication costs by avoiding complex cooling schemes. Zirconia is the ceramic material that has been studied most extensively for thermal barrier coating applications. The properties of zirccnia that are attractive for thermal barrier coatings include high melting temperature, low thermal conductivity, and a relatively high thermal coefficient of expansion to match expansion of the underlying superalloy substrate, if one is present. However, pure zirconia has a very serious drawback related to its high temperature phase stability. Depending on the temperature, zirconia has three distinct crystal structures. The cubic phase is stable at temperatures above about 2370.degree. C. A tetragonal phase is stable between about 1150.degree. C. and 2370.degree. C. Below about 1150.degree. C., the tetragonal phase transforms to a monoclinic phase through a martensitic transformation. This transformation is accompanied by a 3-6% volume expansion and the generation of shear strains due to distortion of the tetragonal crystal. The tetragonal-to-monoclinic transformation is troublesome for coating applications since it leads to coating disintegration and failure after only a few operating cycles.
Different approaches have been tried to stabilize the tetragonal phase zirconia. The most common and accepted method for phase stabilization is alloying zirconia (ZrO.sub.2) with either yttria (Y.sub.2 O.sub.3), ceria (CeO.sub.2) or magnesia (MgO). At present time, yttria-stabilized zirconia is being evaluated for thermal barrier coating applications in gas turbine engine airfoils and other high temperature gas engines. The zirconia-based thermal barrier coating system used in turbine engine components is of a multilayer construction, with an MCrAlY (M=Ni, Co, or Fe) inner coating, known as the bond coat, on a superalloy substrate and yttria-stabilized zirconia outer coating. An alumina (Al.sub.2 O.sub.3) scale forms at the interface between the MCrAlY and the yttria-stabilized zirconia layers during normal engine operation.
Failure of the thermal barrier system, often after only a few operating cycles, is often caused by cracks that develop between either the alumina scale and the yttria-stabilized zirconia coating or the scale and the bond coat. In addition to this mechanical failure mechanism, yttria is known to be subject to severe hot corrosion in the presence of salt, such as in a marine environment, and by sulfur and vanadium, which are common fuel contaminants. This hot corrosion process, leading to leaching of the yttria out of the yttria stabilized zirconia layer, effectively destroys the phase stabilization action of yttria.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,731 discloses a corrosion resistant structure of an outer ceramic layer disposed over a base alloy of MCrAlY when the outer ceramic layer is alumina stabilized zirconia consisting of 40-50 weight percent zirconium, 32-36% oxygen, and 18-24% aluminum.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


Optically active piperazine-2-carboxylic acid derivatives of the general formula: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are inter alia hydrogen, alkyl or acyl and X is alkoxy or a (substituted) amino group, are prepared by asymmetric hydrogenation of the corresponding 1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrazines, catalyzed by optically active rhodium, ruthenium or iridium complexes. The compounds of the Formula 1 are intermediates for the preparation of pharmaceutical active ingredients, for example, HIV protease inhibitors.

Hitherto known syntheses of compounds of the Formula I are based on the parent compound (R.sup.1 =R.sup.2 =H, X=OH), which can be obtained in optically active form by classical resolution of the racemate E. Felder et al., Helv. Chim. Acta, (1960), 43, 888-896!. First the ring nitrogen atoms are protected and then the free carboxyl group is converted to the amide. At best the process is suitable for the laboratory scale and it requires the use of expensive reagents.

Process for the preparation of optically active piperazine-2-carboxylic acid derivatives


The present invention is a hand-held micro-computer with an attached printer that receives input from a physician and prints out a legible prescription slip for the physician's signature. The micro-computer has a keypad, display, and memory. The memory stores information about prescription drugs and physicians who have access to the micro-computer. When a physician wants to "write" or prepare a prescription slip, the physician enters a personal identification number, thus gaining access to the micro-computer. The physician then selects a drug to prescribe, either by entering a drug identification number or scrolling through a list of drug names. After the specific drug has been selected, the physician may change the default information for that drug or accept it. Once the information is correct, the physician prints out the prescription slip on the attached printer. The prescription slip contains all the relevant and necessary information for the patient and pharmacists and need only be signed by the physician before it can be filled.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for dispensing prescription slips. In particular, the present invention relates to a hand-held microcomputer and printer that will receive input and generate a prescription slip from a physician to a patient.
2. Discussion of Background
At times a physician's handwriting can be illegible, causing problems for medical personnel, pharmacists, and patients. In fact, the poor handwriting of physicians has become legendary. This problem arises when physicians make entries into the medical file of the patient, leave instructions for nurses, order procedures for patients, and prepare prescription slips for patients and pharmacists.
Several devices are available that alleviate the necessity of physicians writing the above information by hand. For example, physicians normally dictate information to be entered into the patient's file and instructions to nursing personnel, to reduce discrepancies between what is ordered and what is to be done. Additionally, word processors are sometimes used to enter information into patient files.
However, when physicians write prescriptions containing the name of a type of drug, amounts, and dosages, the writing can be illegible both to pharmacists and patients. If the pharmacist cannot read the prescription, the pharmacist may need to call the physician's office to clarify the handwriting. This not only delays filling the prescriptions, especially if they are being filled after office hours, but patients who urgently need medication are forced to wait unnecessarily. And from a physician's viewpoint, clarification takes time away from other office staff duties. If the pharmacist does not call the physician, other complications or errors may occur. In addition, many physicians abbreviate common drug names, which sometimes results in misinterpretations by pharmacists. These errors are common and have resulted in increased professional liability insurance premiums due to claims caused by prescription errors, which can and have resulted in disabilities and deaths. Consequently, it is imperative that a prescription slip be legibly written for the benefit of the pharmacist, who must read and dispense the appropriate medication, and for the benefit of the patient, who must read and take the appropriate amount of medication at the appropriate times.
Because physicians cannot be made or required to write more legibly, there is a need for a device that will legibly print out a prescription which includes the appropriate type of medication, quantities, and dosages.

Micro-computer and printer for printing a prescription slip


Methods and/or systems/apparatus using speech for marking and subsequently identifying one or more items having electronically-readable identifiers respectively marked thereon comprise the following steps and/or perform the following operations. First, at least a portion of the electronically-readable identifier marked on an item is inputted. A user then inputs a spoken utterance that corresponds to the item. Next, the electronically-readable identifier inputted from the item is associated with the spoken utterance input from the user. Thus, when the electronically-readable identifier is inputted a next time, the spoken utterance associated with the electronically-readable identifier may be outputted. The present invention may also be embodied as an article of manufacture comprising a machine readable medium containing one or more programs which when executed implement the steps/operations of the invention.

The task of identifying items that come in standard packaging, such as groceries or the like, is known to present difficulties to individuals who have visual impairments. While individuals without visual impairments may read all or a portion of a textual description posted on an item of interest, an inability to read (or, at least, a difficulty in reading) such a textual description makes it very hard for a visually impaired individual to discriminate between items that come in standard packaging. For example, it is difficult for a visually impaired individual to discriminate between a can of chicken soup and a can of vegetable soup, given that both cans may have similar tactile attributes (e.g., size, shape, weight, etc.), as well as similar audible attributes (e.g., the sound of shifting liquid).
One typical solution to this problem is to attach a Braille label to such an item such that the visually impaired individual can identify the item by translating the Braille label via touch. However, assuming one is properly trained to do so, translating a Braille label can be time consuming. Also, such an approach requires that all items that the visually impaired individual may seek to later identify be previously fitted with an appropriate Braille label. For grocery items that are in standard packaging, this is not always practical.
A device known as "Aloud" has been proposed for providing an individual with spoken dosage information for medicine contained in a prescription bottle to which it is attached. However, the device does not provide a way for the user to originally record a spoken description of his/her choice, nor does it provide a solution for use in marking and later identifying items having a wide variety of packaging types, particularly items that come in standard packaging like grocery items.
Thus, there is a need for techniques that allow visually impaired individuals to mark and later identify items which do not rely on Braille labels and which are more practical for use with items that come in standard packaging.

Systems and methods for marking and later identifying barcoded items using speech

International Business Machines Corporation


Zirconium-rich bulk metallic glass alloys include quinary alloys containing zirconium, aluminum, titanium, copper and nickel. The bulk metallic glass alloys may be provided as completely amorphous pieces having cross-sectional diameters of at least about 5 mm or even greater.

Bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) exhibit unique properties such as high strength (≈300 ksi or 2 GPa), excellent wear and corrosion resistance, high fracture toughness (e.g., 50 MPa m1/2), outstanding castability, and low cost for alloy preparation and fabrication. These properties make them extremely attractive as materials which have great potential for practical applications. The success in making BMGs originated from the primary work of Duwez and co-workers in 1960 to synthesize metallic glass (or amorphous) oils by rapidly quenching a liquid gold-silicon alloy with cooling rates in the order of 105-106 K/s. Subsequent advances have been made for synthesizing BMGs with a 5 to 6 orders of magnitude reduction in the cooling rate in the period from the 1980s to the 1990s. One of the only commercially available bulk metallic glasses currently on the market is sold under the trade name Vitreloy 1. Vitreloy 1 is a five component zirconium (Zr)-titanium (Ti)-copper (Cu)-nickel (Ni)-beryllium (Be) alloy that has been cast commercially using conventional technology to fabricate BMG components. However, a continued need exists for more zirconium-rich bulk metallic glass alloys.


A method and apparatus for treatment of recycled fiber material and/or of the reject fraction discharged from paper mill screening systems of the short circulation of a paper machine, recover fillers as completely as possible and return the fillers back to the process as efficiently and economically as possible. The loss of fiber/mineral discharge as mill rejects from vortex cleaning and filler manufacture is decreased by treating a concentrated mineral fraction of the rejects to disperse the filler-mineral fraction and return the filler back to the paper making process.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus in the treatment of the fiber fraction exiting from treatment of recycled fibers, and/or from vortex cleaning of a paper mill as mill reject, and/or in general a fraction exiting as a mineral-containing reject. As known, sources of recycled fibers include, for example, so-called broke of a paper machine, which may be recycled as raw material, and the actual post-consumer waste paper and board. The present invention especially relates to the treatment of recycled fiber materials of this kind in such a way that the fillers contained in the materials may be recovered as completely as possible and returned to the process as efficiently and economically as possible.
In the short circulation of paper machines manufacturing filler-containing paper grades and especially coated paper grades, a substantial amount of mineral and pigment fraction is discharged nowadays from the process as mill reject of a vortex cleaning plant which as a material could be utilized as raw material for paper but the particle size of this material is too coarse. Another source of mineral-containing rejects in a paper mill are filler and coating pigment manufacturing processes and the flushing waters from the apparatus used in these processes.
In the short circulation of paper machines manufacturing SC grades and other filler-containing grades, the mineral fraction exiting the vortex cleaning as mill reject is the coarse portion of the mineral fraction, i.e. the filler, supplied in the pulp dosing and usually having a particle size of over 10 .mu.m.
In the short circulation of paper machines manufacturing coated paper grades, the mineral fraction exiting the process as mill reject mainly contains non-dispersible coating layer of coated broke. The coating layer has not dispersed in the broke dispersion system to particles fine enough. This fraction of the coating layer, usually having a particle size of over 10 .mu.m, is rejected in the vortex cleaning of the short circulation.
The same applies also to systems for recycled pulp, in which coated magazine paper or like heavily coated raw material for recycled paper is used as the raw material. In the defiberizing system for recycled pulp the coating layer of the coated paper is detached from the fiber layer of the paper itself more of less in sheet-like fractions, which become partially crumbled in the process. The crumbling and dispersion are, however, not complete and thus, these non-dispersed coating pigment particles are discharged from the process as reject of the vortex cleaning in the screening stage of the recycled pulp line. However, in view of their raw material composition, a major part of these particles would be usable in the paper manufacture as filler which may have to be added to the pulp suspension at a later stage in the paper manufacture. The size of these particles, however, will cause problems in the paper machine itself if the particles are not dispersed and thus made usable as filler.
In an arrangement according to the invention, the filler/mineral loss exiting as mill reject from the vortex cleaning process and/or as reject from the manufacture of filler or coating pigment is reduced by treating the fraction having a concentrated mineral content in the vortex cleaning plant in order to disperse the mineral fraction and to return it to the process.
The method and the apparatus of the present invention provide for example the following advantages:
Filler/mineral, water, chemical, heat and fiber losses as small as possible. Only the useless fraction and the fraction that cannot be processed into a usable form are discharged in a highly concentrated form. PA1 Dispersion of mineral particles is based on internal shear forces of the suspension; in other words mechanical wear is minimal. PA1 Investment costs of the system are very low. The invention is technically carried out with commercial apparatus, repayment period is short. PA1 System is easy to build, i.e. it may also be established in existing systems by collecting mineral-containing rejects from various sources and by adding in the process, for example, subsequent to the last cleaner step or inside the cleaner plant, a screen to fractionate the mineral fraction and the organic fraction, and a cleaner of a new type from which the rejected flow is discharged in a highly concentrated form, and by adding in the process after these stages a treatment stage for dispersing the mineral fraction. PA1 The treatment is preferably carried out in the short circulation of a paper machine for each machine individually; thus for example the water circulations of the machines are not mixed. PA1 The system is a continuously operating part of a short circulation of a paper machine, or of a screening system. In other words, the process conditions are constant and the operation trouble-free. PA1 The process adjusts itself, for example, if the amount of coarse fraction increases, the system returns only the dispersed fraction to the process and the rest is discharged from the system.
The characteristic features of the method and the apparatus of the invention become apparent in the enclosed patent claims.
The method and the apparatus of the present invention are described more in detail below, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Method and apparatus for treating filler-containing material such as recycled fibers


A 2,4-thiazolidinedione derivative of the formula (I): ##STR1## wherein R is an optionally substituted hydrocarbon group or heterocyclic group which may be attached through a hydrocarbon chain; n is 0 or 1; X is CH or N; Y is a bivalent hydrocarbon group; R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are the same or different and are a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, an optionally substituted hydroxyl group or an optionally substituted hydrocarbon group, and either R.sup.1 or R.sup.2 and a part of Y may be linked together to form a ring; and L and M are a hydrogen atom, or L and M are linked together to form a bond; or a salt thereof. A pharmaceutical composition comprising the compound (I) and a process for producing the compound (I) are also provided.

As an agent for treating diabetes, various biguanide compounds and sulfonylurea compounds have been used. However, biguanide compounds are now hardly used because of their side effect of lactic acid acidosis. Although sulfonylurea compounds have potent hypoglycemic activity, they often cause serious hypoglycemia and must be used with care.
Thiazolidinedione derivatives having hypoglycemic activity and blood lipid lowering activity without the above disadvantages have been known. For example, JP-A 61-85372, JP-A 1-272573, JP-A 1-272574, JP-A 3-2173, JP-A 4-66579, JP-A 4-69383, JP-A 6-157522, etc., disclose 2,4-thiazolidinedione derivatives having at the 5-position a substituent such as a benzyl group or an arylmethyl group substituted by a substituted aromatic ring, etc.

Thiazolidinedione derivatives, their production and use