A diagnostic method suitable for detection and quantification of blood-related diseases or conditions. The methods utilize biomarkers, such as hemoglobin and hemozoin as catalysts in an atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) reaction performed above a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of a polymer which allows the polymerization to be tracked by rate of turbidity formation. The rate of turbidity formation is correlated to the concentration of the biomarker, making the tests useful quantitative techniques which can be utilized as point-of-care tests in the field.

A myriad of diagnostic tests having been proposed in the art and literature to detect diseases and conditions afflicting mankind. Among the tests, various procedures have been proposed to detect hemoglobin and malaria, for example, as discussed below.
Hemoglobin
A decreased number of red blood cells (RBCs) or an insufficient concentration of hemoglobin in blood may cause a condition in which oxygen is not delivered in the required amounts to the cells. Such condition is named by the general term of "anemia". Anemia is normally caused by a deficiency of iron, but also by deficiencies of folate, vitamin A or vitamin B12, parasitic infections, chronic inflammations or genetic disorders. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated 1.62 billion people affected by anemia in 2008 (24.8% of the world population)1. Anemia affects countries of low and high income, having an impact on economic and social development2. Though light microscopy can give information on the causes of certain types of anemia based on the shape and the count of the RBCs3, it is a time consuming technique and requires of highly trained personnel. For this reason anemia is primarily identified based on physiological signs in non-invasive tests which measure hemoglobin levels. Non-invasive tests are generally based on the examination of the degree of pallor in eyelids, lips, tongue, gums and skin beneath the fingernails. The degree of pallor indicates the severity of anemia. The main disadvantage of this method is the subjectivity from the examiner and the variability between patients. This leads to the necessity for invasive methods of diagnosis. The hematocrit level measures the ratio of the volume of RBCs against the total volume of the blood after a centrifugation. Though this is a simple and fast method for anemia determination, it is highly dependent on the stability of the RBCs of a given sample. Therefore, direct hemoglobin determination methods become more interesting for anemia determination.
The Drabkin colorimetric assay is the most widely used method for hemoglobin quantification5. It is based on the oxidation and complexation of all hemoglobin species with cyanides to the stable cyanmethemoglobin (HiCN) form, excluding the traces of sulfhemoglobin6, 7. The absorbance value at 540 nm is used to determine the concentration of cyanmethemoglobin. However, this method employs toxic reagents8, 9 and generates highly hazardous wastes4, 10-12. In this regard, a series of alternative semiquantitative methods are available for the detection of hemoglobin. They are generally based on physical parameters. Some methods rely on the ability of blood to float in certain solutions. But most generally they are based on the color of treated or untreated dry blood against standard color strips or glass slides4. Though the previously mentioned methods have the advantage of being able to be used in low-cost settings, they have the main disadvantage of being subjective and being dependent on the sample preparation. Accurate quantitative spectroscopic methods have also been achieved13-15, though the Drabkin colorimetric assay still remains the international gold standard for hemoglobin quantification. Unfortunately, these tests have difficulties determining low concentrations of hemoglobin5, 11 which may be useful for the detection of trace amounts in urine or mild hemolytic anemia. More sensitive methods including fluorimetryl11, 16-20, electrochemistry21-25, colorimetry26, 27 or chemiluminscence28 have been studied. The main drawback of these assays is that they involve complex instrumentation and expensive chemicals such as DNA aptamers or fluorescent dyes which can ultimately undergo photobleaching.
Polymers are recently driving attention for their ability to sense biomolecules29-33. Heme-containing proteins such as horseradish peroxidase or hemoglobin have the capacity to initiate free radical polymerizations34. Moreover, Bruns and coworkers showed that these enzymes can catalyze atom transfer polymerization (ATRP)35, 36. These proteins do not only serve to initiate the polymerization reactions using an alkyl bromide initiator but also catalytically control the growth of the polymer chains. Water soluble polymers including N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAM) have been synthesized by biocatalytic ATRP. Hemin has also been shown to be a catalyst for ATRP37, 38.
Malaria
The WHO (World Health Organization) estimated 3.2 billion people at risk of being infected by the malaria disease and 1.2 billion at high risk in 2015. 214 million cases were reported ending in 438000 deaths. 90% of the deaths occurred in Africa, of which 95% were children aged under 5 years39. Malaria is caused by several Plasmodium species that undergo a complex life cycle. Diagnosis of malaria infections is one of the keys to eradicate the disease. For example, highly sensitive techniques for malaria diagnosis are needed to treat populations in endemic areas which are immune to the symptoms, but are still reservoirs of the parasite, allowing mosquitoes to be re-infected and spread the disease.40 Microscopy is the most widely used technique to diagnose malaria (Giemsa staining)41. It allows the identification of the malaria species, and has a detection limit of 5 to 20 parasites/μl.41 However, this method requires well-trained technicians, as it depends on the ability of the microscopist to correctly identify the parasite in a blood smear sample. As a result, there is a risk of misdiagnosis. This is the reason why malaria rapid diagnostic tests (MRDTs) have been developed by malaria control programs which can be applied in the field. Since the WHO recommended in 2010 the diagnosis of all suspected cases, the number of people using MRDTs has increased from less than 200 000 in 2005 to more than 314 million in 2014.39 There are more than 200 MRDTs in the market which are in general based on immuno-chromatography strips that perform antigen-antibody complexation. The antigens detected are the Histidine Rich Protein 2 (HRP-2), Plasmodium Lactate Dehydrogenase (pLDH) and Plasmodium Aldolase42. By the combination of these, all the Plasmodium sp. can be detected. But none of these antigens are specific by themselves and some variants of species do not have these antigens. Also, there can be cross reactions with antigens of other parasites such as Schistosoma mekongi43. Another problem is that antibodies are labile and do not always perform as expected at the high and humid temperatures of the tropical regions44. Moreover, MRDTs show low sensitivities (above 100-200 parasites/pi)45a,45b, and are unable to quantify parasitemia. Highly sensitive methods such as loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP)46 or enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)47 have been achieved, and efforts are being conducted to develop qPCRs for field work48-50. However, up to now these techniques can only be used in specialized laboratories.
Very few tests are based on the detection of hemozoin, hematin, or heme which are derivatives of the hemoglobin digestion of the malaria parasite51-53. Hemozoin is a biocrystal which is insoluble in physiological conditions, and consists of dimers of heme.54 Hemozoin is a powerful biomarker for the malaria infection, since it is found in all clinically relevant Plasmodium species, i.e. it is a pan-malaria-species marker.55 Moreover, all malaria parasites produce substantial amounts of it. Although microscopically visible hemozoin crystals are characteristic for the trophozite stage on the life cycle of the parasite, hemozoin actually occurs in all Plasmodium erythrocyte stages.56 This is important to note, since ring stage parasites circulate freely in blood, while later stages attach to tissue capillaries, which removes them from circulation. Thus, malaria diagnosis via the detection of hemozoin in peripheral blood samples is feasible.57 Methods such as laser desorption mass spectrometry57,58, paramagnetism detection59, raman spectroscopy60, formation of nano-bubbles after a laser pulse61,62, polarization microscopy63,64 or magnetically induced dichroism65 have been used to detect hemozoin. However, these methods have some drawbacks, such as the complex instrumentation needed for their signal readout and a sensitivity which is not high enough to detect low levels of parasitemia.
New detection methods for hemozoin are therefore of great interest. They should be able to detect very low amounts of hemozoin, rely on simple optical readout mechanisms that could be observable with a naked eye or with simple photodetectors. Moreover, they should involve reagents which are stable in storage, cheap and safe to use.

Diagnostic methods for the detection and quantification of blood-related diseases

ADOLPHE MERKLE INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF FRIBOURG


Six first holes into which lead pins of a first semiconductor laser are inserted are arranged to form a parallelogram having line segments each connecting two first holes arranged in an X direction as first short sides, and line segments each connecting three first holes arranged in an intersecting direction intersecting with the X direction as first long sides. Six second holes into which lead pins of a second semiconductor laser are inserted are arranged to form a parallelogram having line segments each connecting two second holes arranged in the X direction as second short sides, and line segments each connecting three second holes arranged in the intersecting direction intersecting with the X direction as second long sides.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording material by an electrophotographic process, such as a laser beam printer (LBP), a copying machine, and a facsimile, and an optical scanning device that is provided in the image forming apparatus.
Description of the Related Art
An optical scanning device uses a semiconductor laser as a light emitting member. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-100128 discuses a configuration in which a plurality of lead pins of a semiconductor laser is inserted into holes in a substrate and electrically connected to a circuit formed on the substrate.
Japanese Patent No. 5132087 discusses an optical scanning device in which a plurality of semiconductor lasers is closely arranged to form a color image.
Suppose that a plurality of semiconductor lasers is configured to be closely arranged as discussed in Japanese Patent No. 5132087 and lead pins are configured to be inserted into holes formed in a substrate as discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-100128. In such a case, the respective lead pins of the plurality of semiconductor lasers may be configured to be inserted into a single substrate.
In some cases, the plurality of semiconductor lasers sometimes needs to be arranged even closer to satisfy optical requirements. If the plurality of holes into which the lead pins are inserted is formed in a substrate, the holes need to be separated by a predetermined distance or more in consideration of the arrangement of a circuit pattern on the substrate. The close arrangement of the plurality of semiconductor lasers is thus limited in view of the arrangement of the holes into which the lead pins are inserted. In particular, if a single semiconductor laser includes a plurality of laser emitting units capable of independent control, the number of lead pins formed on the single semiconductor laser increases. In particular, a semiconductor laser including four laser emitting units includes six lead pins. Such semiconductor lasers are even more difficult to closely arrange.

Optical scanning device, image forming apparatus, and method for assembling optical scanning device


An athletic underpants having a body and legs with protective shields attached to the legs with releasable hook and loop fastener that allow the positions of the shields on the legs to be adjusted and the shields to be selectively removed from and attached to the legs.

Greek and Roman legionnaires used body armor as protective covering as a defense against weapons and projectiles. This armor included breast, hip and leg members to protect the body and legs of a warrior. Body armor is presently in use by the police and military. Protective sport garments are used in contact sports, such as baseball, softball, hockey, soccer, football and rugby. These garments include sport pants and trousers having pads for protection from impacting forces from balls, sticks and player contact. Examples of protective sport garments are discloses in the following U.S. Patents.
W. T. Stall in U.S. Pat. No. 759,833 discloses a padded garment comprising a trouser having a plurality of pads permanently secured to the outer surface of its body and legs. The inner surface of the trouser is smooth and adapted to fit the wearer without irritation due to the pads. The pads include left and right thigh pads permanently secured to the materials of the trouser legs with stitching.
J. W. Atack et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,844 discloses a trouser undergarment made of elastic stretchable material designed to fit the contours of the body of a person. Auxiliary pockets at the knees and thighs accommodate padding. The thigh pockets are stitched only on three sides with the top open to permit the insertion of padding.
J. T. Ross in U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,726 discloses a sport pants having a trunk and legs of elastic stretchable material with hip and knee pockets for accommodating pads of resilient closed cell foam material which are removable and replaceable in the pockets for protection of the wearer. The sport pants is washable underwear with padding to mitigate scrapes and bruises in athletic competition and games.
D. C. Strickland and M. T. Cheatwood in U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,222 discloses an athletic garment with guard members to protect the athletic inner thighs. The legs of the garment have pockets on the inside of the thigh portions of the garment's legs for holding pads. The pads are flexible so that they will conform to the shape of the thigh and bend when the athlete moves. In use, the pads absorb impact and shock forces of a ball or other blow to the inner thigh during sport activities. The pads are not removable from the pockets. The positions of the pads relative to the legs of the garment are not adjustable, as the pads are in fixed positions within the pockets.
The objects and advantages of the invention are embodied in the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment of the athletic garment with adjustable and removable leg shields.

Athletic garment with adjustable leg shields


An apparatus and method for monitoring the tipping moment severity of a mechanical press for the purpose of accurately predicting die reliability. The method includes generating a unique tipping moment severity chart for the press application to be monitored and continually monitoring the tipping moment level during production operation of the press. Apparatus is used to monitor the applied load which is communicated to a computational device for computing and plotting tipping moment severity on the tipping moment severity chart.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to press tipping moment monitoring and, more particularly, to a method of generating a tipping moment severity chart for the determination of die long-term operating reliability during production operation and to an apparatus utilizing the information generated by the above method in monitoring press tipping moment severity and die life risk condition based upon tipping moment severity so that die reliability may be determined.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional press machines employ a tooling apparatus in the form of a die assembly to shape a workpiece, such as in a stamping or drawing operation. The die assembly particularly includes a lower die attached to a non-moveable bed or bolster and an upper die or punch attached to a reciprocating slide. The upper and lower dies, which are installed in opposing spaced apart relation to one another, cooperate during press machine operation to mutually engage the workpiece at respective sides thereof to thereby effect the desired forming activity.
Repeated stamping operations of a mechanical press cause die wear. The ability to accurately predict die wear or to predict operating conditions which indicate the propensity for increased die wear is advantageous in that press down time for die replacement or reconditioning can be predicted or even potentially diverted by proactive early corrective intervention. The ability to predict die wear allows the operator of a mechanical press to better plan times for die replacement or to intervene with corrective actions, so that productivity loss is not experienced. Further, the ability to predict die wear is advantageous in that press down time associated with die maintenance can be minimized. The desire to predict die wear has led press users to monitor press load and to use this monitored load as a loosely related predictor of potential die wear.
The ability to predict die wear based upon applied load does not provide an accurate indication of die wear. To accurately predict die wear, tipping moment severity also must be accounted for. Currently, a press user cannot accurately predict die wear so that losses in productivity due to excessive or insufficient die maintenance can be avoided. Additionally, load sensors of the current die wear predictive systems do not account for die chipping due to tipping moments. Die chipping due to tipping moments in a mechanical press leads to inferior production quality and associated production losses.
The present invention is directed to improve upon the aforementioned mechanical press die wear predictive systems wherein it is desired to monitor the tipping moment of any specific press/die application while it is operating to accurately predict die wear and to avoid die chipping due to tipping moments.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for predicting conditions creating increased die wear which is developed by tipping moments experienced in the mechanical press.
The invention, in one form thereof, comprises a load sensor attached to the bed of a running press and a computational device for receiving the load value from the load sensor and computing a measure of tipping moment severity of the running press based upon the sensed load value and methods for computing moments. The computational device can be, for example, a microprocessor.
The invention, in another form thereof, includes one or more load sensors attached to the bed of a running press and a computational device which stores a unique tipping moment severity chart for the running press, a plurality of tipping moment severity factors which correspond to zones of tipping moment severity on the tipping moment severity chart and a plurality of zone of criticality factors which correspond to the zones of criticality on the tipping moment severity chart. The computational device receives the load values sensed from the load sensors and uses means to compute tipping moments based upon the sensed load values.
The invention, in another form thereof, includes one or more load sensors attached to the bed of a running press and a computational device which stores a unique tipping moment severity chart for the running press, a plurality of tipping moment severity factors which correspond to zones of tipping moment severity on the tipping moment severity chart and a plurality of zone of criticality factors which correspond to the zones of criticality on the tipping moment severity chart. The computational device receives the load values sensed from the load sensors and uses means to compute tipping moments based upon the sensed load values. The computational device also utilizes the tipping moment severity chart, the tipping moment severity factors, the zone of criticality factors, and the measured tipping moment to compute a measure of die life risk condition.
The invention, in another form thereof, includes one or more load sensors attached to the bed of a running press and a computational device which stores a unique tipping moment severity chart for the running press, a plurality of tipping moment severity factors which correspond to zones of tipping moment severity on the tipping moment severity chart and a plurality of zone of criticality factors which correspond to the zones of criticality on the tipping moment severity chart. The computational device receives the load values sensed from the load sensors and uses means to compute tipping moments based upon the sensed load values. The computational device utilizes the tipping moment severity chart, the tipping moment severity factors, the zone of criticality factors, and the measured tipping moment to compute a measure of die life risk condition. The values computed in the computational device, including tipping moment severity and die life risk condition may be communicated to, for example, a digital storage device, a modem, a display device, an alert device or a shutoff device. The digital storage device may be utilized for compiling histories of tipping moment severity and die life risk condition. A modem or other communication network such as the Internet may be used for communicating tipping moment severity and/or die life risk condition to a remote location. The display device may display tipping moment and/or die life risk condition so that service, maintenance, or production personnel may determine how changing press speed, shut height and die changes can alter the expected life span of the die and punch set. The alert device and the shutoff device will produce an alert signal and discontinue press operation, respectively, if the tipping moment severity and/or die life risk condition exceeds a predetermined measure.
The invention, in another form thereof, comprises a method of monitoring the die reliability condition of a running press by monitoring the tipping moment severity of the running press.
The invention, in another form thereof, comprises a method of monitoring the die reliability condition of a running press which includes: placing at least one load sensor on the bed of a running press, providing a computational device, communicating the load sensed by the load sensor to the computational device, and computing the tipping moment severity of the press using the sensed load value.
The invention, in another form thereof, comprises a method of computing a unique tipping moment severity chart for a particular press and die set. This method includes the steps of: dividing the ordinate of a tipping moment severity versus slide vertical position graph into a plurality of zones which zones represent different tipping moment severity levels, plotting the slide vertical motion on the tipping moment severity chart, dividing the ordinate of the tipping moment severity versus slide vertical position graph into a plurality of zones of criticality representing different phases of punch travel, projecting the zones of criticality onto the plot of slide vertical motion and projecting the zones of criticality from the plot of slide vertical motion to the abscissa of the tipping moment severity versus slide vertical position graph.
The invention, in another form thereof, comprises a method of generating a unique tipping moment severity chart for a particular press and die set. This method includes the steps of: dividing the ordinate of a tipping moment severity versus slide vertical position graph into a plurality of zones which zones represent different tipping moment severity levels; plotting the slide vertical motion on the tipping moment severity chart; dividing the ordinate of the tipping moment severity versus slide vertical position graph into three zones of criticality which represent free punch travel, punch travel through the stock material and punch travel through the die; projecting the zones of criticality onto the plot of slide vertical motion and projecting the zones of criticality from the plot of slide vertical motion to the abscissa of the tipping moment severity versus slide vertical position graph.
The invention, in another form thereof, comprises a method of generating a unique tipping moment severity chart for a particular press and die set. This method includes the steps of: dividing the positive portion of the ordinate of a tipping moment severity versus slide vertical position graph into four zones of tipping moment severity, dividing the negative portion of the ordinate of a tipping moment severity versus slide vertical position graph into four zones of tipping moment severity, plotting the slide vertical motion on the tipping moment severity chart, dividing the ordinate of the tipping moment severity versus slide vertical position graph into a plurality of zones of criticality which represent different phases of punch travel, projecting the zones of criticality onto the plot of slide vertical motion and projecting the zones of criticality from the plot of slide vertical motion to the abscissa of versus tipping moment severity versus the slide vertical position graph.
The invention, in another form thereof, comprises a method of monitoring the die life risk condition of a mechanical press. This method includes the steps of: monitoring the tipping moment severity of the press application, generating a unique tipping moment severity chart for the press application, plotting the monitored tipping moment severity of the press on the unique tipping moment severity chart for the press and computing the die life risk condition of the press.
The invention, in another form thereof, comprises a method of monitoring the die life risk condition of a mechanical press. This method includes the steps of: monitoring the tipping moment severity of the press; generating a unique tipping moment severity chart for the press; plotting the monitored tipping moment severity of the press on the unique tipping moment severity chart for the press; determining the duration of the positive peak tipping moment severity level; determining the duration of the negative peak tipping moment severity level; determining the tipping moment severity factor associated with the positive peak tipping moment severity level; determining the tipping moment severity factor associated with the negative peak tipping moment severity level; determining the zone of criticality factor associated with the positive peak tipping moment severity level; determining the zone of criticality factor associated with the negative peak tipping moment severity level; computing a die life risk condition component value associated with the positive peak tipping moment severity level using the duration of the positive peak tipping moment severity, the tipping moment severity factor associated with the positive peak tipping moment severity and the zone of criticality factor associated with the positive peak tipping moment severity level; computing a die life risk condition component value associated with the negative peak tipping moment severity level using the duration of the negative peak tipping moment severity, the tipping moment severity factor associated with the negative peak tipping moment severity and the zone of criticality factor associated with the negative peak tipping moment severity level; and computing a die life risk condition of the press by summing the die life risk condition component value associated with the positive peak tipping moment severity level and the die life risk condition component value associated with the negative peak tipping moment severity level.
The invention, in another form thereof, comprises a method of monitoring the die life risk condition of a mechanical press. This method includes the steps of: monitoring the tipping moment severity of the press; generating a unique tipping moment severity chart for the press; plotting the monitored tipping moment severity of the press on the unique tipping moment severity chart for the press; determining the duration of the positive peak tipping moment severity level; determining the duration of the negative peak tipping moment severity level; determining the tipping moment severity factor associated with the positive peak tipping moment severity level; determining the tipping moment severity factor associated with the negative peak tipping moment severity level; determining the zone of criticality factor associated with the positive peak tipping moment severity level; determining the zone of criticality factor associated with the negative peak tipping moment severity level; computing a die life risk condition component value associated with the positive peak tipping moment severity level using the positive peak tipping moment severity, the duration of the positive peak tipping moment severity, the tipping moment severity factor associated with the positive peak tipping moment severity and the zone of criticality factor associated with the positive peak tipping moment severity level; computing a die life risk condition component value associated with the negative peak tipping moment severity level using the negative peak tipping moment severity, the duration of the negative peak tipping moment severity, the tipping moment severity factor associated with the negative peak tipping moment severity and the zone of criticality factor associated with the negative peak tipping moment severity level; and computing a die life risk condition of the press by summing the die life risk condition component value associated with the positive peak tipping moment severity level and the die life risk condition component value associated with the negative peak tipping moment severity level.
The invention, in another form thereof, comprises a method of monitoring the die life risk condition of a mechanical press. This method includes the steps of: monitoring the tipping moment severity of the press, generating a unique tipping moment severity chart versus zone of criticality for the press, plotting the monitored tipping moment severity of the press on the unique tipping moment severity chart for the press, determining the tipping moment severity factor associated with the positive peak tipping moment severity level, determining the tipping moment severity factor associated with the negative peak tipping moment severity level, determining the zone of criticality factor associated with the positive peak tipping moment severity level, determining the zone of criticality factor associated with the negative peak tipping moment severity level, computing a die life risk condition component value associated with the positive peak tipping moment severity level using the tipping moment severity factor associated with the positive peak tipping moment severity level and the zone of criticality factor associated with the positive peak tipping moment severity level, computing a die life risk condition component value associated with the negative peak tipping moment severity level using the tipping moment severity factor associated with the negative peak tipping moment severity and the zone of criticality factor associated with the negative peak tipping moment severity level; and computing a die life risk condition of the press by summing the die life risk condition component value associated with the positive peak tipping moment severity level and the die life risk condition component value associated with the negative peak tipping moment severity level.
The invention, in another form thereof, comprises a method of monitoring the die life risk condition of a mechanical press. This method includes the steps of: monitoring the tipping moment severity of the press; generating a unique tipping moment severity chart for the press; plotting the monitored tipping moment severity of the press on the unique tipping moment severity chart for the press; associating the monitored tipping moment severity with the appropriate zone of criticality factor; computing the absolute value of the monitored tipping moment severity; computing a weighted tipping moment severity value using the absolute value of the monitored tipping moment severity and the zone of criticality factor associated with the monitored tipping moment severity; recording weighted tipping moment severity values versus time; and generating a cumulative tipping moment severity value for one slide stroke using the weighted tipping moment severity values versus time.
The invention, in another form thereof, comprises a method of monitoring the die life risk condition of a mechanical press. This method includes the steps of: monitoring the tipping moment severity of the press; generating a unique tipping moment severity chart for the press; plotting the monitored tipping moment severity of the press on the unique tipping moment severity chart for the press; associating the monitored tipping moment severity with the appropriate zone of criticality factor; computing the absolute value of the monitored tipping moment severity; computing a weighted tipping moment severity value using the absolute value of the monitored tipping moment severity, and the zone of criticality factor associated with the monitored tipping moment severity; recording weighted tipping moment severity values versus time; and generating a cumulative tipping moment severity value for one slide stroke using the weighted tipping moment severity values versus time. Multiple peaks of tipping moment severity are accounted for when utilizing measures of die life risk condition based upon cumulative tipping moment severity for a slide stroke.
An advantage of the present invention is that constant monitoring of the tipping moment severity of a press allows the tool design to be changed to reduce tipping moments and to increase the parallelism of the press thereby increasing the produced part quality.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the propensity for increased die wear may be accurately predicted so that press down time for die replacement or reconditioning can be predicted and die replacement or reconditioning can be planned so that lost productivity is not experienced.
Another advantage of the present invention is that die wear may be accurately predicted so that losses in productivity due to excessive or insufficient die maintenance can be avoided.
A further advantage of the present invention is that by monitoring tipping moment severity, die chipping due to tipping moments in a mechanical press can be eliminated or greatly improved so that the inferior production quality and the associated productivity losses due to die chipping can be eliminated.

Thru-stroke tipping moment severity monitor


A method and apparatus are provided for searching for information. The method includes the step of segmenting a judgement matrix into a plurality of information sub-matrices where each submatrix has a plurality of classifications and a plurality of terms relevant to each classification. The method further includes the steps of evaluating a relevance of each term of the plurality of terms with respect to each classification of each information sub-matrix of the information sub-matrices and calculating an information spectrum for each of a plurality of documents based upon at least some of the plurality of terms. The method further includes the steps of receiving a search request, calculating an information spectrum of the search request based upon at least some of the plurality of terms and identifying at least some documents of the plurality of documents as relevant to the request based upon a comparison of the calculated information spectrums.

The field of the invention relates to document retrieval and more particularly to search engines operating within the context of a database.
Automated methods of searching databases are generally known. For example P.G. Ossorio developed a technique for automatically measuring the subject matter relevance of documents (Ossorio, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1969). The Ossorio technique produced a quantitative measure of the relevance of the text with regard to each of a set of distinct subject matter fields. These numbers provided by the quantitative measure are the profile or information spectrum of the text. H. J. Jeffrey produced a working automatic document retrieval system using Ossorio""s technique (Jeffrey, 1975, 1991). The work by Ossorio and Jeffrey showed that the technique can be used to calculate the information spectra of documents, and of requests for information, and that the spectra can be effective in retrieving documents.
However, Ossorios technique was designed to solve a particular kind of document retrieval problem (i.e., fully automatic retrieval with complete cross-indexing). As a result the technique has certain characteristics that make it unusable for information retrieval in cases in which there is a very wide range of subject matter fields, such as the Internet.
A method and apparatus are provided for searching for information. The method includes the step of segmenting a judgement matrix into a plurality of information sub-matrices where each submatrix has a plurality of classifications and a plurality of terms relevant to each classification. The method further includes the steps of evaluating a relevance of each term of the plurality of terms with respect to each classification of each information sub-matrix of the information sub-matrices and calculating an information spectrum for each of a plurality of documents based upon at least some of the plurality of terms. The method further includes the steps of receiving a search request, calculating an information spectrum of the search request based upon at least some of the plurality of terms and identifying at least some documents of the plurality of documents as relevant to the request based upon a comparison of the calculated information spectrums.


Systems and methods are disclosed for managing and protecting electronic content and applications. Applications, content, and/or users can be given credentials by one or more credentialing authorities upon satisfaction of a set of requirements. Rights management software/hardware is used to attach and detect these credentials, and to enforce rules that indicate how content and applications may be used if certain credentials are present or absent. In one embodiment an application may condition access to a piece of electronic content upon the content's possession of a credential from a first entity, while the content may condition access upon the application's possession of a credential from a second entity and/or the user's possession of a credential from a third entity. Use of credentials in this manner enables a wide variety of relatively complex and flexible control arrangements to be put in place and enforced with relatively simple rights management technology.

With the advent of the Internet and the prevalent use of electronic systems, increased attention has been paid to protecting the interests of content owners and to ensuring that the integrity of electronic transactions is not compromised. These are difficult tasks, however, as the differences between electronic systems and their physical counterparts can have a profound effect on the feasibility of such protections and the ease with which they can be implemented.
While increasing attention has been paid to the development of systems that address these problems, these systems often lack interoperability with other such systems, are overly complex, and/or place an unduly large burden on a relatively small number of entities to provide the bulk of the system's security and functionality.
Systems and methods are thus needed for providing content creators, application developers, consumers, and regulators with increased power and flexibility to define and create efficient markets for the exchange, control, and protection of digital goods and for the performance of electronic transactions.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for managing and protecting electronic content and applications


A fiber composite component, in particular a torsion-bar stabilizer for a motor vehicle, having an elongate main body which has a plurality of tubular layers which are each formed from fibrous threads and casting resin, wherein the tubular layers are arranged in one another in the radial direction of the main body, and wherein the fibrous threads f the different layers are each oriented at different angles relative to a longitudinal direction of the main body, wherein the fibrous threads are braided together in order to form the different layers.

It is generally known to manufacture components in a motor vehicle and in particular load-bearing parts in a motor vehicle from carbon fiber composite materials in order to reduce the weight of the motor vehicle. The carbon fiber threads are in this case arranged in different directions of the component and connected together by way of casting resin in order to produce a stable and flexurally and torsionally rigid component. In this case, a maximum spring constant of the component occurs at an angle of the fibrous threads of 45° relative to a longitudinal direction of the component.
The carbon fiber composite components are usually constructed in a plurality of layers in order to increase the flexural rigidity of the components. A general disadvantage with such fiber composite components that are constructed in a layer-wise manner is that the different layers move relative to one another under torsional loading and therefore delamination can occur between the individual layers with the result that a service life of such fiber composite components is limited.
In order to improve the service life of a torsion tube for a motor vehicle, DE 39 10 641 A1, which is incorporated by reference herein, proposes combining a plurality of plies of fibers into bundles and arranging the fibers in the different layers at different angles relative to a longitudinal direction of the component. A disadvantage here is that the fiber bundles are wound and as a result the component has limited torsional rigidity and can absorb only small bending forces.

Fiber composite component and method for producing a fiber composite component

Dr. Ing. h.g. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft


An apparatus for smoothing a workpiece has a housing that is displaced relative to the workpiece in a direction and that carries a pair of augers provided with respective screwthreads having outer edges in contact with the workpiece. These augers are rotated on the housing about respective generally parallel axes transverse to the direction so as to scrape the workpiece with the screwthreads. Furthermore the augers are of such a hand and the are rotated in such a direction that the augers exert on the workpiece opposite axially directed forces.

European 0,465,654 describes an apparatus for leveling concrete floors or the like. A rail-mounted carriage carries a horizontal and rotationally driven auger. During translatory movement of the carriage in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the auger, the rotating auger smooths unhardened concrete.
An apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,298,555 works similarly. This apparatus serves for smoothing the inner surfaces of conical concrete floors of tanks or the like. An auger rotationally driven about its axis is movable in a frame which moves around the axis of the cone, inclined at the cone's apex angle, so that, as it orbits the frame, the entire inner surface of the cone is rotationally passed over to smooth the still plastic concrete.


Disclosed are a composition for an organic bottom anti-reflective coating able to improve the uniformity of a photoresist pattern with respect to an ultra-fine pattern formation process among processes for manufacturing semiconductor device, which prevents scattered reflection from the bottom film layer and eliminating the standing wave effect due to alteration of the thickness of the photoresist film itself resulting in increase of uniformity of the photoresist pattern. The composition for organic bottom anti-reflective coating is able to reduce amount of polyvinylphenol by introducing a specific light absorbent agent having an etching velocity higher than of the polyvinylphenol, thus notably improving the etching velocity for the organic anti-reflective coating by about 1.5 times, so that and the present composition prevents over-etching of the photoresist to make it possible to conduct a smooth etching process for a layer to be etched.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a composition for an organic bottom anti-reflective coating able to improve uniformity of a photoresist pattern with respect to an ultra-fine pattern formation process among processes for manufacturing semiconductor device, which prevents scattered reflection from the bottom film layer and eliminating the standing wave effect due to alteration of the thickness of the photoresist film itself resulting in an increase in the uniformity of the photoresist pattern. Particularly, the present invention relates to a composition for organic bottom anti-reflective coating (hereinafter, referred to as "organic anti-reflective coating composition") capable of reducing the amount of polyvinylphenol thus notably improving the etching velocity for the organic anti-reflective coating, and a method for forming a pattern using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In semiconductor production processes, an ultra-fine pattern formation process (hereinafter abbreviated as "the patterning method") necessarily involves a standing wave caused by variations of optical properties of a bottom film layer in the photoresist film and/or thickness of the photoresist film; reflective notching status; and variation of critical dimension (hereinafter referred to as CD) of patterns of the photoresist induced by diffracted light and reflected light from the bottom film layer.
Accordingly, it has been proposed an intermediate film, a so-called anti-reflective coating, which is able to prevent diffused light reflection in the bottom film layer prepared by introducing material having higher light absorption abilities in the bandwidth of wavelength for the exposure of a light source and located between the bottom film layer and the photoresist. Such anti-reflective coating is generally divided into an inorganic anti-reflective coating and an organic anti-reflective coating along different materials used.
Particularly, in recent years, the organic anti-reflective coating among the above anti-reflective coatings is applied in the ultra-fine pattern formation process using 193 nm ArF light source and, thus, the organic anti-reflective coating composition and the coating prepared by the same need to satisfy some requirements including:
(1) After lamination of the anti-reflective coating and during a coating of a photoresist film on the top portion thereof, the anti-reflective coating should remain without being dissolved into the solvent for the photoresist. For this, it requires designing the coating to have cross-linkage structures during the lamination process of the anti-reflective coating by coating an anti-reflective coating composition and then performing a baking process and, at the same time, inhibiting generation of other chemical materials as side products.
(2) In order to prevent scattered reflection from bottom film layer, the coating must contain certain materials to absorb light within the wavelength range of the exposure light source.
(3) It needs a catalyst to activate such cross-linking reaction in a process for laminating the anti-reflective coating composition.
(4) No flowing in or out of chemical materials such as acids or amines from the anti-reflective coating. For a positive photoresist, as the acid is transferred from the anti-reflective coating into a photoresist film on portion not to be exposed to the light source (that is, migration), it may cause under-cutting status at bottom portion of the photoresist. Alternatively, if a base such as amine is transferred into the photoresist film, putting phenomenon tends to be derived.
(5) The anti-reflective coating must have an etching velocity relatively higher than the photoresist film on top portion. Such a higher etching velocity allows the etching process to be smoothly conducted on the anti-reflective coating by using the photoresist film as a mask.
(6) Lastly, the anti-reflective coating should have a small thickness as possible, but sufficient to do its inherent role, that is, to serve as the anti-reflective coating.
In order to accomplish the above requirements, conventional organic anti-reflective coating compositions generally comprise a cross-linking agent to allow the anti-reflective coating to have a cross-linkage structure, a light absorbent agent to absorb the light at the wavelength range of exposure from the light source, and a thermal acid generator as a catalyst for activating the cross-linking reaction.
Especially, with respect to the ultra-fine pattern formation process of the photoresist using an ArF light source with a 193 nm wavelength, proposed is a process for producing an organic anti-reflective coating on bottom portion of a photoresist film that uses an organic anti-reflective coating composition usually including polyvinylphenol. Such an organic anti-reflective coating comprising a polyvinylphenol polymer had an etching velocity lower than the photoresist, thus, involved the problem of inducing over-etching of the photoresist making it impossible to conduct the etching process smoothly. Furthermore, since the polyvinylphenol reacts with a development solution used in the process for the formation of a photoresist pattern to generate acid which causes the under-cutting phenomenon on the bottom portion of the photoresist pattern, thus, it may represent a bad pattern such as in a trapezoidal form rather than the desired perpendicular pattern.
Moreover, such a trapezoidal pattern may induce collapse of the pattern and this may happen to the ultra-fine pattern formation process using any light source other than the 193 nm light source, if a specific material such as the polyvinylphenol used as a light absorbent agent.
Accordingly, a strong demand exists for a novel organic anti-reflective coating composition that can replace the polyvinylphenol, which is widely used as the light absorbent agent and/or reduce the amount of polyvinylphenol required, leading to an increase in the etching velocity and decrease in the under-cutting phenomenon caused by reaction between the polyvinylphenol and the development solution, so that it creates an excellent perpendicular pattern and, therefore, prevents collapse of the photoresist pattern.

Composition for an organic bottom anti-reflective coating and method for forming pattern using the same


Disclosed herein are computer-implemented method, system, and computer-program product (computer-readable storage medium) embodiments for discovering contextualized placeholder variables in template code. Some embodiments include invoking a render call to a template engine to render an input template and then receiving a message identifying a placeholder variable within the input template in response to invoking the render call. These embodiments may further include generating multiple rendered templates by rendering the input template based at least in part on a unique value and a modified unique value for the placeholder variable. Further still, these embodiments may also include storing the placeholder variable in a security vulnerability data structure in response to detecting a change in context associated with the placeholder variable between the multiple rendered templates.

It is increasingly common for an application to generate a document containing code by rendering an input template. For example, web applications frequently generate Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) documents by rendering input templates. An input template may describe the general structure of the document to be rendered and includes both fixed elements and placeholder variables. During rendering by a template engine, placeholder variables may be substituted with concrete values provided to the template engine by a user, a process called expansion. The final document generated by the rendering process may include code that is based, at least in part, on some of the concrete values provided by the user. Accordingly, by providing malicious concrete values to the template engine, it may be possible for a user to corrupt the structure of the document and/or change the intended operations of the code engine.

Discovering contextualized placeholder variables in template code


A safety light is mounted retractably in a handlebar of a bicycle and has a housing, a retaining clamp, a sleeve, a lamp assembly and a spring. The retaining clamp is mounted in the housing. The sleeve is mounted around the housing. The lamp assembly is mounted slidably in and selectively protrudes from the housing and comprises a lamp housing, a retaining post and a light assembly. The lamp housing is mounted slidably in the housing and has an inner end, an outer end and at least one lamp hole. The retaining post is formed on the inner end the lamp housing and is engaged by the clamp. The light assembly is mounted in the lamp housing and comprises a circuit board and at least one lamp. The at least one lamp is mounted on the circuit board. The spring is mounted between the lamp assembly and the retaining clamp.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a light, and more particularly to a safety light that can be mounted in a handlebar of a bicycle and be retracted into the handlebar.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional safety lights for bicycles are usually mounted on the frame or the wheels of the bicycles to provide a warning or to provide illumination.
One type of conventional safety lights is tubular, is mounted in the handlebar of a bicycle and has a globe protruding from an end of the handlebar to provide warning or illumination. However, because the globe protrudes from the end of the handlebar, the safety light is easily damaged when the bicycle falls or bumps or is leaned against an object such as a wall, lamppost or the like.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a safety light to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.


A housing (1) for a passively cooled computer (2), which is to be accommodated in the housing, the housing (1) including:                a housing cover (3) and a housing floor (4), whereby at least the housing cover (3) includes a passive cooling member (3a), and        an insulator member (5) arranged between the housing cover (3) and the housing floor (4) to prevent a thermal flow between the housing cover (3) and the housing floor (4).

The invention is directed to a housing for a passively cooled computer and to a computer arranged in this housing.
Due to the development of heat of their components, computers, for example personal computers, are equipped with cooling measures. Especially heat-critical modules like the microprocessor module, the drives, the power supply assembly and expansion assemblies, are actively cooled by one or more fans.
The fans that are utilized, however, are accompanied by certain disadvantages. Due to mechanical wear and the possibility of the rotating parts becoming blocked, there is always a considerable outage risk. Further, the fans provided in the computer require additional space, as a result whereof the computer housing becomes quite large. Finally, one disadvantage in the employment of motor-driven fans for cooling in the computer is that a considerable noise level is produced.


A power connector for receiving a circuit board in accordance with an exemplary embodiment is provided. The power connector includes first and second walls operably disposed on a first side of a base portion for receiving at least a portion of a circuit board therebetween. The base portion has a second side opposite the first side and a first aperture extending from the second side into the base portion. The first aperture has a first diameter. The power connector further includes at least one electrically conductive pin having both first and second compliant end portions. The first compliant end portion has a second diameter when the first compliant end portion has a non-compressed state, and a third diameter smaller than the second diameter when the first compliant end portion has a compressed state. The second diameter of the first compliant end portion is larger than the first diameter of the first aperture. The first compliant end portion is disposed within the first aperture to compressively load the first compliant end portion within the first aperture for affixing the pin to the base portion.

Electrical backplanes generally have multiple daughter-cards connected to the backplane that utilize both signal and power connectors to make electrical connections between the backplane and the daughter-cards.
An electrical power connector is operably coupled to an electrical backplane utilizing conductive pins that are fixedly attached to the power connector. The conductive pins have a non-compliant portion that is soldered to the power connector and another portion that is soldered to the electrical backplane. However, if one or more conductive pins are degraded or need to be replaced, the conductive pins cannot be easily replaced since they are soldered to the power connector. Instead, the entire power connector is removed and a new power connector is utilized.
Thus, there exists a need for a power connector that has conductive pins that can be easily removed from the power connector and allows the power connector to be easily removed from an electrical backplane.

International Business Machines Corporation


Techniques for circuit board processing are provided. In one aspect, a method of processing a circuit board having one or more optical waveguides associated therewith is provided. The method comprises the following steps. One or more etch stop layers in proximity to the one or more waveguides are provided, at least one of the etch stop layers comprising one or more fiducials therein. From a surface of the circuit board, the one or more etch stop layers are used to selectively remove material to provide openings having a defined positioning and depth in the circuit board. A circuit board having one or more optical waveguides associated therewith is also provided.

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) typically comprise many layers, including metal wiring layers and organic and/or ceramic insulating layers. PCBs may also contain "optical wiring layers" comprising single-mode, multi-mode or other dimension optical waveguides. A large number of waveguides may be placed in a given area, e.g., greater than 100 waveguides per centimeter. This is important because with equipment such as servers, supercomputers and telecom switch-routers, which consist of multiple racks, each rack having an aggregate data rate reaching multiple terabits per second (Tb/s), i.e., potentially on the order of tens of Tb/s, a larger capacity is needed.
Further, the waveguides are easily patterned, routed and are insensitive to electrical interferences within the PCB. The use of such waveguides provides several notable benefits, including the ability to transmit data in the optical domain.
The waveguides may be integrated in the PCB. By integrating the waveguides within the PCB, several advantages may be achieved. For example, the individual waveguides are protected from the environment, can be routed directly underneath opto-electronic (OE) modules and allow valuable top PCB surface space to be preserved for other components.
A waveguide typically comprises a cladding layer and a core formed in the cladding layer. Such a waveguide may be fabricated by first forming a cladding layer on a substrate. On top of the cladding layer, the core layer is next deposited and patterned to achieve lateral definition. The core layer is covered with another cladding layer, to bury the core layer.
The refractive index of the core is selected to be larger than either of the cladding layers. The materials making up the cladding layers and the core layer are optically transparent, to obtain low propagation loss. Multi-mode waveguides typically have a cross-sectional geometry of about 50 square micrometers (μm).
OE modules may contain optical transceivers, for example, vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) and photodiodes (PDs) which serve to transmit and receive optical signals, respectively. These OE modules can reside on/in the PCB, adjacent to/integrated with processors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and memory controllers, whenever dense, high speed optical interconnects are required.
Precise alignment of an optical component (e.g., with an accuracy of about five μm), which can be the OE module itself or another optical component, such as a lens or a mirror, is needed to couple the light, e.g., from the VCSELs into the waveguides and/or from the waveguides to the PDs. Various typical coupling concepts exist. These coupling concepts, however, require first positioning the optical components in a rough proximity to the waveguides (e.g., with an accuracy of greater than or equal to about 50 μm) and then further actively aligning the optical components with the waveguide core, to attain the precise alignment accuracy needed. These "active alignment" steps are however inaccurate, as well as, time consuming and cumbersome for the operator.
Therefore, techniques are needed for aligning optical components with waveguides without active alignment steps.

Circuit board integrated optical coupling elements


A motor includes an enhanced strength of a stator, the stator being formed with a plurality of core plates stacked one on top of another, and a rotor rotatably disposed at an inner side or at an outer side of the stator. Each core plate includes a body provided in a shape of an arc, a plurality of teeth radially extended from the body, and having a coil wound thereto, at least one first slit part formed on the body by being slit in a radial direction of the body, and at least one second slit part formed on the body by being slit in a circumferential direction of the body.

1. Field
Embodiments disclosed herein relate to a motor configured to generate a rotation force and a washing machine having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A motor is an apparatus configured to obtain rotation force from electric energy, and generally includes a stator and a rotor. The rotor may be composed to reciprocally act with respect to the stator in an electromagnetic manner, and may be rotated by the force that acts in between a magnetic field and the current that flows through a coil.
The stator may be formed by stacking press-processed metallic plates to each other. In order to reduce the amount of scraps (e.g., scrap metal) generated during a press processing, the metallic plates may be punched in a linear shape and stacked, and the metallic plates which are stacked may be bent into a shape of an arc.
In general, in order to easily bend the stacked metallic plates, slit grooves are formed on the metallic plates, and by using the slit grooves, the bending work may easily be performed. However, as a result of the bending action, the strength of the metallic plates is decreased, and in a case of running a motor, noise may be generated from the stator as a result of a mechanical vibration or an electromagnetic vibration.

Motor and washing machine having the same


The present disclosure relates to methods of treating a coenzyme A reduction, elevation, sequestration, toxicity, or redistribution (CASTOR) disease such as, for example, defects in fatty acid oxidation enzymes, methylmalonic acidemia, glutaric acidemia, propionic academia, and HMG-CoA lyase, via small molecule modulators of CoA levels. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention.

Coenzyme A (CoA) is a cofactor derived from vitamin B5 (pantothenate) that is covalently bound to the organic acids in cells, thereby enabling the organic acids to participate in the biochemical reactions that govern energy production and lipid metabolism. The CoA-bound organic acids, called acyl-CoAs, constitute a small, but significant portion of the total CoA pool under normal healthy conditions. A number of inborn errors of metabolism result from the genetic deficiency of one of the enzymes acting on acyl-CoAs, leading to the accumulation of acyl-CoAs to high levels. 'CASTOR' is the term that has been given to these diseases and stands for CoA sequestration, toxicity or redistribution (Mitchell et al. (2008) Mol. Genet. Metab. 94:4-15). Acyl-CoAs are known feedback inhibitors of pantothenate kinase (PANK) enzymes that catalyze the first step in CoA biosynthesis (Leonardi et al. (2005) Prog. Lipid Res. 44:125-153). Under CASTOR conditions the synthesis of CoA becomes inhibited and energy production and lipid metabolism are limited as a result.
Despite the documented association of PanK with acyl-CoAs, methods of treating CASTOR diseases using small molecule modulators of CoA levels have yet to be realized. Thus, there remains a need for methods of treating CASTOR diseases via modulation of CoA levels. These needs and others are met by the present invention.

Methods of treating disorders associated with castor

ST. JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL, INC.


A method of fabricating a composite material part includes injecting under pressure a slurry containing a powder of refractory ceramic particles into a fiber texture; and draining the liquid of the slurry that has passed through the fiber texture, while retaining the powder of refractory ceramic particles within the texture to obtain a fiber preform filled with refractory ceramic particles. The injection tooling includes a porous material mold including an internal housing in which the fiber texture is placed, the slurry being injected into the fiber texture via an injection port in the injection tooling and leading into the internal housing of the mold. The tooling includes a rigid material enclosure in which the porous material mold is held while the slurry is injected under pressure and while the liquid of the slurry is drained, the liquid of the slurry being discharged via a vent present in the enclosure.

The present invention relates to a method of fabricating a part made of composite material, in particular of the oxide/oxide or ceramic matrix composite (CMC) type, i.e. comprising fiber reinforcement made of refractory ceramic material fibers and densified by a matrix that is likewise made of refractory ceramic material.
Parts made out of oxide/oxide composite material are generally prepared by draping a plurality of fiber plies in a mold, which plies are made of refractory oxide fibers, and each of the plies is previously impregnated with a slurry filled with refractory oxide particles. The set of plies as arranged in that way is then compacted by using a counter-mold or a vacuum cover, and by passing through an autoclave. The resulting filled preform is then subjected to sintering in order to form a refractory oxide matrix within the preform and obtain a part made of oxide/oxide composite material. That technique can also be used for making parts out of ceramic matrix composite (CMC) material. Under such circumstances, the fiber plies are made of carbon or silicon carbide (SiC) fibers and they are impregnated with a slurry filled with particles of carbide (e.g. SiC), of boride (e.g. TiB2), or of nitride (e.g. Si3N4).
Nevertheless, a preparation method of that type is capable of making oxide/oxide or CMC composite material parts that present only small thickness, and fiber reinforcement that is two-dimensional (2D) only. The mechanical characteristics of those types of composite material remain limited in certain directions. In particular, those materials withstand delamination poorly, and they do not withstand shear forces well.
Making fiber textures obtained by three-dimensional weaving between continuous warp and weft yarns enables the mechanical strength of the material to be increased, and in particular enables its ability to withstand delamination to be increased. Under such circumstances, and also for thick 2D fiber textures, only methods that make use of a pressure gradient, such as methods of the infusion type, of the resin transfer molding (RTM) type, or of the submicrometer powder suction type, enable a filled slurry to penetrate into the fiber texture of thickness that may be as much as several tens of millimeters, depending on the intended application.
Nevertheless, the pressure gradient between the portion of the fiber texture via which the filled slurry is injected and the other portion of the fiber texture via which the liquid phase of the slurry is to be discharged is difficult to control over the entire fiber texture. If the pressure is not balanced over the entire surface area of the fiber texture facing the end of the mold having one or more discharge vents through which the liquid phase of the slurry is to be discharged, then pressure differences are created between zones that are close to the vents and zones that are further away. Under such circumstances, it is difficult to discharge the liquid phase since it needs to be removed from the texture without disturbing the distribution of solid particles (refractory oxide, carbide, boride, nitride, etc.) deposited by means of the slurry. Specifically, on being discharged, the liquid phase may take particles with it and/or may modify the distribution of particles within the fiber texture, thereby leading to large pores appearing in the final material because of the lack of matrix in certain locations.

Process for manufacturing a ceramic composite material part by pressurized injection of a loaded slurry into a porous mould


A data frame switching apparatus has number data ports and a port traffic management unit for each port. Each port traffic management unit includes a physical layer unit for receiving and transmitting data frames, a serial shift register for temporarily storing a portion of each received data frame in serial data format, and a port controller for extracting each data frame's source and destination address from the portion of the data frame stored in the serial shift register. A crossbar switch connects any specified one of the data ports that is receiving a data frame to another one of the data ports so as to transmit the received data frame to a corresponding destination. A global traffic manager and lookup engine map the destination address of each received data frame to a corresponding destination port, determine the availability of the destination port, and when the destination port if available, send setup signals to the switch so as to connect the data port on which the data frame is being received to the destination port.

In a frame switching system, frames (also known as packets) can be received from plurality of source ports (where each port is connected to a computer work-station or another sub-network) and are directed to plurality of destination ports according to the destination addresses embedded in the frames. In conventional frame switches incoming serial data streams are buffered and converted into parallel data (e.g., in byte or 4-byte word size units). The parallel data for each data stream is then forwarded to one or more destination port by the "shared bus method" or the "shared memory method." The parallel data approach leads to complex circuit structures and very large internal data busses and/or large shared memory arrays.

Frame switch with serial data processing

Advanced Communication Devices Cororation


An in-wall video/audio signal adapter device including a first adapter and a second adapter. The first adapter includes a transmitter unit fixed on a mount. The mount can be locked in a first cavity previously formed on a wall. The second adapter includes a receiver unit fixed on a mount. The mount can be locked in a second cavity previously formed on the wall. CAT5/CAT6 Internet signal transmission cables are previously embedded in the wall. The Internet signal transmission cables are connected between the first adapter and the second adapter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an in-wall video/audio signal adapter device and more particularly to an in-wall video/audio signal adapter device including a first adapter and a second adapter. The first and second adapters are mounted in a first cavity and a second cavity previously formed on a wall. CAT5/CAT6 Internet signal transmission cables are previously laid in the wall for connecting the first adapter with the second adapter. Accordingly, the CAT5/CAT6 Internet signal transmission cables are hidden in the wall without being exposed to an indoor environment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The existent video/audio signal transmission cable applied to video/audio multimedia products has a transmission distance limited to about 10 meters. However, in indoor layouts, a video/audio multimedia output equipment (such as a DVD player) is often spaced from a video/audio multimedia receiving equipment (such as a display) by a distance farther than the effective transmission distance of the video/audio signal transmission cable. In this case, the video/audio multimedia receiving equipment will be unable to receive the video/audio signals output from the video/audio multimedia output equipment.
A video/audio signal adapter has been developed to solve the above problem. The video/audio signal adapter includes a transmitter unit and a receiver unit. The transmitter unit includes a video/audio signal input connector and two RJ45 output connectors. The receiver unit including a video/audio signal output connector and two RJ45 input connectors. The video/audio signal input connector of the transmitter unit is connected to an output equipment (such as a DVD player) via a video/audio signal transmission cable. CAT5/CAT6 Internet signal transmission cables are connected between the RJ45 output connectors of the transmitter unit and the RJ45 input connectors of the receiver unit. The video/audio signal output connector of the receiver unit is connected to a receiving equipment (such as a display) via a video/audio signal transmission cable. Accordingly, the allowable mounting distance between the output equipment and the receiving equipment can be effectively elongated.
However, according to the above arrangement, the CAT5/CAT6 Internet signal transmission cables connected between the transmitter unit and the receiver unit are exposed to an indoor environment. The CAT5/CAT6 Internet signal transmission cables have very long lengths. This leads to poor appearance of the indoor environment. Moreover, people may be tripped by the CAT5/CAT6 Internet signal transmission cables. In addition, the transmitter unit and receiver unit are not fixed on a stationary article. The transmitter unit and receiver unit are often randomly placed on the ground or on a desktop. Under such circumstance, the transmitter unit and receiver unit will occupy much room. Also, the transmitter unit and receiver unit are likely to displace due to external force. As a result, the signal transmission cables connected with the transmitter unit and receiver unit by way of plugging are apt to unplug and detach from the transmitter unit and receiver unit.

In-wall video/audio signal adapter device


A surgical assembly is provided including a surgical passer having a wire portion coupled to a handle, with the wire portion having a free distal end, an outer periphery, and at least one recess therein in a distal end region. The assembly further includes a tube element having a proximal end, a tissue penetrating distal end, and a channel extending therein from an opening at the proximal end and defined by an inner periphery. The channel has at least one projection projecting outwardly into the channel in a distal end region thereof. The outer periphery of the surgical passer is dimensioned relative to the inner periphery of the channel of the tube element so that the surgical passer is positionable within the tube element, and when so positioned, the at least one tube element projection engages the at least one surgical passer recess to removably couple the surgical passer to the tube element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices and methods for the treatment of female urinary incontinence, and more particularly, to an improved surgical instrument and method that can be used to place a sub-urethral sling.
2. Background Discussion
Women account for more than 11 million of incontinence cases. Moreover, a majority of women with incontinence suffer from stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Women with SUI involuntarily lose urine during normal daily activities and movements, such as laughing, coughing, sneezing and regular exercise.
SUI may be caused by a functional defect of the tissue or ligaments connecting the vaginal wall with the pelvic muscles and pubic bone. Common causes include repetitive straining of the pelvic muscles, childbirth, loss of pelvic muscle tone, and estrogen loss. Such a defect results in an improperly functioning urethra. Unlike other types of incontinence, SUI is not a problem of the bladder.
Normally, the urethra, when properly supported by strong pelvic floor muscles and healthy connective tissue, maintains a tight seal to prevent involuntary loss of urine. When a woman suffers from the most common form of SUI, however, weakened muscle and pelvic tissues are unable to adequately support the urethra in its correct position. As a result, during normal movements when pressure is exerted on the bladder from the diaphragm, the urethra cannot retain its seal, permitting urine to escape. Because SUI is both embarrassing and unpredictable, many women with SUI avoid an active lifestyle and shy away from social situations.
One device and method for treating female urinary stress incontinence is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,909, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This patent discloses a surgical instrument comprising a shank having a handle at one end and connecting means at the other end to receive, one at a time, two curved needle-like elements which are connected at one end to one end of a mesh intended to be implanted into the body. In practice, the mesh is passed into the body via the vagina first at one end and then at the other end, at one side and the other, respectively, of the urethra to form a loop around the urethra, located between the urethra and vaginal wall. The mesh is extended over the pubis and through the abdominal wall and is tightened. The mesh ends are cut at the abdominal wall, and the mesh is left implanted in the body. This trans-vaginal procedure is exemplified by the TVT product sold by the Gynecare franchise of Ethicon Inc., a Johnson & Johnson Company, of Somerville, N.J., USA. In this procedure two 5 mm needles pass a PROLENE mesh trans-vaginally and through the abdomen to create a tension-free support around the mid urethra.
Sub-urethral slings have also been place by a different approach, wherein a needle is passed first though the abdominal wall, along the same path as described above, and eventually exiting through the vaginal incision. The tape is then coupled to the needle in some manner, and pulled back through the body from the vaginal incision and out through the abdominal incision. The chosen approach, vaginal or abdominal, will often depend on the preferences of the surgeon.
Yet another approach for implanting a sub-urethral sling has also been recently developed in which the implanted sling extends from beneath the urethra, and out through the obturator hole on either side. This "transobturator" procedure may involve inserting an appropriately configured needle from a vaginal incision and subsequently out through the obturator hole, or vice versa. The former technique (an "inside-out" approach) will be described in greater detail below, and has been performed using a surgical instrument substantially similar to that shown in FIG. 1. The surgical instrument 100 includes two surgical passers 101, 103 that are secured at a proximal end to handles 102, 104. The surgical passers are curved and form a somewhat helical shape, and are mirror images of one another so that one is particularly suited for passage through the body on one side of the urethra, whereas the other is particularly suited for passage on the opposite side of the urethra. Applied over the ends of the passers are tube elements 106, 108, proximal ends 109 of which are coupled to a tape 110 to be implanted. The tape is preferably of knitted mesh construction, such as Prolene® polypropylene mesh (manufactured by Ethicon, Inc. of Somerville, N.J.) having dimensions of approximately ½×18 inches. The tape is also preferably covered by a plastic sheath that overlaps in the middle section so as to be easily removable.
Previously, the tube elements were secured to the passers to enable passing of the tape into the body by press fitting the tube element onto the distal end of the passer. This attachment method does not allow pre-assembly (assembly prior to use), as sterilization gases (such as ethylene oxide) cannot effectively penetrate into the distal region of the passer and tube beyond where they are press-fit together. Pre-assembly is desirable to avoid product damage due to handling by hospital personnel, to best prevent multiple loose components on the surgical table, and also to prevent or reduce the risk of glove puncture by the sharp tips of the instrument. Further, even if effective sterilization was possible, because the tube element is preferably made of plastic, and would be subject to creep resulting from the constant pressure if pre-assembled, and may also be subject to stress cracking. Finally, manufacturing variations and moisture can have significant affects on press-fit components Thus, it would be desirable to provide an improved surgical assembly in which the surgical passer and tube element are secured together in a manner that enables pre-assembly, allows sterilization of the pre-assembled product, and is not subject to the other issues described above in conjunction with press-fit components.

Surgical instrument and method for the treatment of urinary incontinence


A display apparatus and a method for driving the same are provided. The display apparatus includes: a timing control circuit; a display source, configured to generate a light having first display information and a light having second display information, under control of the timing control circuit, during mutually alternate first and second timings, respectively; a polarizer, configured to, under control of the timing control circuit, convert the light having the first display information into a first linearly polarized light during the first timing, and convert the light having the second display information into a second linearly polarized light during the second timing; and an optical path controller, configured to receive the first linearly polarized light and the second linearly polarized light from the polarizer, and to project the first linearly polarized light and the second linearly polarized light, spatially separate from each other, into a user's eyes.

The head-up display (HUD) apparatus, which may also be referred to as heads-up display is widely used in the field of vehicle. Typically, the head-up display apparatus projects vehicle information such as vehicle speed and navigation information from an instrument panel of a vehicle onto a windshield of the vehicle. Therefore, the driver of the vehicle may see this vehicle information and navigation information without looking down at the instrument panel, thereby avoiding the potential risk of traffic accidents.

Display apparatus and method for driving the same


A system for recording and analyzing lighting attributes associated with a calibrated target device captured within an image to provide for enhanced object recognition within the captured image. A target device is used to provide lighting information relative to a subject within the image. The attributes allow the lighting conditions at the time of the image capture to be reconstructed. In addition, two or more target devices may be use to triangulate the position of a light source to any point within the captured image. Further, the lighting attributes may be used to create a contour mapping of the subject captured within the image.

Increased security concerns have brought photographic analysis to the forefront of technology concerns. Improved cameras and equipment for surveillance have been implemented in a variety of venues in an attempt to increase accuracy of images provided to security personnel. Each image represents a combination of attributes that are important to analysis of the image. These attributes may include lighting, camera angle, perspective, color, and the like.
The position and style of lighting are among the most important factors of capturing photographic images. The change in lighting may be the difference between a recognizable subject within an image or an unrecognizable subject. Photographic lighting is often described according to its position and intensity. Data may be recorded that provides a physical description of the lighting attributes of an image. The light sources may be described in terms of angular measurements, ambience, and/or degree of diffusion.
Certain software systems provide analysis of digitally captured photographic images. The photographic image is analyzed to determine a variety of attributes. One area of image analysis involves facial recognition software. When an image is taken of a person's face, the image is analyzed and compared with other photographic images of facial captures to determine if a match exists. Object recognition requires complex algorithms in order to recognize an object from a two-dimensional image. However, with new advances in software technologies, it is becoming possible to automatically scrutinize enormous amounts of data.

System and method for image attribute recording an analysis for biometric applications


A nail polish or lacquer removing composition is reported which includes a volatile organic solvent such as acetone, a conditioning agent which is a C.sub.8 -C.sub.20 fatty acid or salt thereof, and a suspending polymer which is a styrene/(meth)acrylic copolymer. Absent the suspending copolymer, the conditioning agent tends to separate from the formulation.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to stabilization of a lotion or cream added to a nail polish remover.
2. The Related Art
Products have long been marketed for the removal of nail polish (lacquer) from fingernails and toenails. Essentially, these products contain only a solvent(s) with which to dissolve the lacquer. Typically, the solvent will be a relatively volatile material such as acetone or ethyl acetate.
Organic solvents have a tendency to remove natural oils/fats found in the skin. Nail polish is usually removed by applying the stripping product to a cotton ball and rubbing the nail. Too often surrounding skin also comes in contact with the solvent laden cotton ball. As a result, this contacted skin is defatted. To overcome the defatting phenomenon, it would be desirable to include ingredients within the nail polish remover that would counteract the stripping of oils/fats from the skin. One approach has been to incorporate emollients or other beneficial agents along with the solvent which are depositable so as to either replace or form a barrier for retaining the body's natural oils.
Although not specifically directed to this problem, there have been reports of nail polish removers with additional nail benefit ingredients. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,032,464 (Mausner) discloses a composition not only containing nail lacquer solvent but also incorporating an aqueous solution of a chelating agent, a humectant, a proteinaceous material and vitamins A and D. These ingredients are dispersed in an acetone vehicle thickened with Carbopol to form a homogeneous creamy stable mixture.
EP-A-0 009 691 (Mullin et al.) reports a lacquer remover preparation held within and applied from a foam. Among the advantages of the foam form is the ready incorporation of other chemicals that would normally not be compatible with typical nail remover solvents. Lathering agents are said to be includable such as stearic acid, soaps and the like. Conditioners and emollients may also be incorporated such as glycerine, lanolin, mineral oil, fatty esters, glycols and carboxyvinyl polymer resins partially neutralized by triethanolamine (e.g. TEA Carbopol 941). Stability problems normally associated with liquid products have been avoided by incorporating all the ingredients within a foamed solid. On the other hand, there are disadvantages with foams. Unlike the small bottles of liquid nail remover, foam products require large containers that are not easily portable within a woman's handbag. Another problem is that upon storage there may occur separation of the liquid components within the foam pockets.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a nail polish (lacquer) remover containing ingredients additional to that of solvent which ameliorate the problem of defatting and deliver conditioning oils to the skin.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a nail polish (lacquer) remover that additionally contains skin conditioning agents in the form of a physically stable emulsion.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent through the detailed description of the invention that follows hereinafter.

Stabilization of emulsion additives to nail polish removers

Chesebrough-Pond's USA Co. Division of Conopco, Inc.


A guidance unit system is configured to be used for a ground-launched projectile. The system includes a housing configured to be attached to a ground-launched projectile. The housing is coupled to an attachment region that attaches to the projectile, wherein the housing is configure to rotate relative to the attachment region. A motor is contained within the housing and a bearing surrounding the motor. The bearing is rigidly attached to the housing such that the motor rotates with the housing and shields the motor from inertial loads experienced by the housing.

The present disclosure relates to unguided, ground-launched projectiles and in particular to a system for accurately guiding ground projectiles such as mortar bombs and artillery shells. Many entities manufacture such unguided projectiles in various sizes and forms. Armed forces around the world maintain large inventories of these munitions. By their nature, unguided projectiles are "dumb" in that they are not accurately guided to a target. As a result, successful use of such projectiles is largely dependent on the particular skill and experience level of the person launching the projectile.


A pixel circuit includes a first transistor coupled to a supply voltage end, a second transistor coupled to a ground end, a storage capacitor, a third transistor coupled to a data end, a fourth transistor, a fifth transistor coupled to the second transistor and the second end of the storage capacitor, and a light-emitting element coupled to the fourth transistor. The first transistor is used for conducting a supply voltage from the supply voltage end in response to a trigger of an enable signal. The second transistor is used for conducting a ground voltage from the ground end when a scan signal voltage is triggered. The storage capacitor includes a first end and a second end coupled to the first transistor and the second transistor, respectively. The third transistor is used for conducting a data signal voltage when the scan signal voltage is triggered. The fourth transistor is used for generating a conducting current based on the data signal voltage when the scan signal voltage is not triggered. The fifth transistor is used for forming a conducting route between the storage capacitor and the fifth transistor. The light-emitting element is used for generating light based on the conducting current of the fourth transistor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pixel circuit for use in an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, more particularly, to a pixel circuit capable of compensating luminance discrepancy for use in the OLED display.
2. Description of the Related Art
With a rapid development of monitor types, novelty and colorful monitors with high resolution, e.g., liquid crystal displays (LCDs), are indispensable components used in various electronic products such as monitors for notebook computers, personal digital assistants (PDA), digital cameras, and projectors. The demand for the novelty and colorful monitors has increased tremendously.
Liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors control pixel luminance by adjusting voltage drop applied on a liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal display. Differing from liquid crystal displays (LCDs), Organic Light Emitting Displays (OLEDs) determine the pixel luminance by adjusting forward bias current flowing through an LED. With self-lighting technique without requiring additional light source electrode, OLEDs provide faster response time period than LCDs. In addition, OLEDs have the advantages of better contrast and wider visual angle. More important, OLEDs are capable of being manufactured by existing TFT-LCD process. The commonly used OLEDs utilize a low-temperature polysilicon thin film transistor (LTPS TFT) substrate or amorphous silicon (a-Si) substrate.
Please refer to FIG. 1, which shows a pixel circuit 10 of an OLED display according to a prior art. The pixel circuit 10 comprises a first transistor T1, a second transistor T2, a storage capacitor Cst, and an organic light emitting diode 12. When a scan signal voltage from a scan end SCAN to turn on the first transistor T1, the data signal voltage Vdata is fed from a data end DATA and is delivered to a gate electrode of the second transistor T2 via the first transistor T1. Whereon the second transistor T2 operating in a saturation region, a current Id is based on voltage drop between the source electrode and the gate electrode of the second transistor T2 (Vsg=Vdd−Vdata), in other words, Id=K(Vsg−Vt)2=K(Vdd−Vdata−Vt)2, where K is a constant, and Vt represents threshold voltage of the transistor T2. As the luminance of the OLED 12 is proportional to the current Id, thus is adjusted as the data signal voltage Vdata to show various grey levels. Moreover, the luminance of the OLED 12 can be shown a fixed gray level for a while because the data signal voltage Vdata is stored in the storage capacitor Cst.
Please refer to FIG. 2, which illustrates a relationship of the current Id versus display time under various threshold voltages. Currently with the conventional way for fabricating the OLED display employs Polysilicon Thin Film Transistor Circuit technology, it is possible that the second transistor T2 of each pixel circuit 10 on the OLED display may have different threshold voltage Vt. From the view of FIG. 2, obviously, the current Id of the second transistor T2 is varied as different threshold voltages. That will result in uneven luminance of the OLED display 12.
In addition, the current Id is also reduced as the voltage drop Vsg between the gate electrode and the source electrode caused by a decrease in the voltage Vdd due to load effect of line resistors. This phenomenon will degrade the display quality as well.
There is a need, therefore, for an improved OLED device and method for solving the problem of uneven luminance of the OLED panel resulting from the threshold voltage difference of the transistors, and a reduction of the conducting current flowing through the transistors attributed to a decrease in supply voltage Vdd due to line resistor.

Organic light emitting diode display and related pixel circuit