A disposable food container formed of sand and a decomposable binder. The disposable food containers are suitable for holding, storing and exposing food to heat in both conventional and microwave ovens. The decomposable binders contain 20 to 40% by weight of a binder selected from the group consisting of starch, grain flours and mixtures thereof, 20 to 30% by weight salt, 1 to 3% by weight oil and water. The containers are covered with a coating to prevent the transmission or absorption of liquids.

The use of plastic as a container for food sold both in fast food restaurants and in the grocery store is increasing at an alarming rate. There is a great emphasis currently in recycling and minimizing non-biodegradable waste. However, due to the very low cost and the bulky size of plastic and styrofoam food containers, it is not practical to recycle the vast majority of plastic and styrofoam disposable food containers. There is, therefore, a great interest in utilizing food containers which are decomposable and inert in order to minimize the pollution problems resulting from the disposal of food containers in municipal land fills, incineration plants, or road side litter.
Over the years, there has been a significant amount of research to develop an environmentally acceptable disposable container as illustrated in the following patents:
______________________________________ Patent No. Inventor Issue Date ______________________________________ 3,415,402 R. L. Webber December 10, 1968 3,654,064 D. H. E. Laumann April 4, 1972 3,676,401 J. W. Henry July 11, 1972 3,844,987 R. A. Clendinning et al October 29, 1974 3,852,913 R. A. Clendinning et al December 10, 1974 3,867,324 R. A. Clendinning et al February 18, 1975 3,932,319 R. A. Clendinning et al January 13, 1976 4,191,320 L. J. Taylor et al March 4, 1980 4,641,005 O. E. Seiferth February 3, 1987 4,709,808 D. C. Balduff et al December 1, 1987 ______________________________________
These food container patents use a variety of decomposable materials such as various decomposable organic compounds, paperboard, and other biodegradable filler material. While the above listed patents disclose containers which attempt to solve the existing environmental problem, there is yet to be a commercially feasible biodegradable container developed which is competitive from a cost, mechanical structure and consumer acceptance standpoint with the plastics and styrofoam generally used today.
In addition to the environmental problems associated with the disposal of food containers, a problem exists on a smaller scale in disposing of used frangible targets. Frangible targets are commonly used in skeet and trap shooting and are referred to as clay pigeons. Typical clay pigeons are formed of a mixture of a lime based chalk and a pitch, phenyl-resinous bitumen. Broken clay pigeons pose environmental problems as they are not readily decomposable and may be toxic if eaten by animals. Recognizing the environmental problems, there have been efforts in the past to develop non-toxic frangible targets as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,124,550 and 4,568,087. None of these targets have been readily accepted in the commercial marketplace.
Frangible targets, in order to be competitive in the commercial marketplace, need to be formed of inexpensive materials and exhibit consistent fracture characteristics. Where the targets are to be thrown such as in trap and skeet, it is very important that the targets weight and flight characteristics be consistent as well. It is therefore important that targets should absorb as little moisture as possible as moisture tends to affect both the weight and frangibility.
While frangible targets are quite common, frangible projectiles are virtually unknown. Projectiles for firearms, BB guns, pellet guns and slingshots are typically formed of metal such as lead, copper or steel and in the case of slingshots, glass. The common characteristics of these projectiles is that they tend to ricochet. The ricochet problem is most troublesome when shooting in a confined area. Shooting a BB gun or a slingshot indoors can be particularly dangerous if a stray shot hits a solid object. While lead projectiles have less of a propensity to ricochet particularly at acute angles, lead is expensive and poses environmental hazards.


A shade device has a canopy mounted on a collapsible frame which is supported by a lateral support tube and an upright support tube. The collapsible frame supports the canopy in either up open configuration or a closed configuration, and includes a central support structure. The lateral support tube is attached to the central support structure above the canopy, and extends to approximately over the outer perimeter of the canopy. The upright support tube is attached to the lateral support tube and includes mounting device for mounting the upright support tube in or on the ground surface.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to shade devices, and more particularly to a shade device that is portable and includes an offset umbrella that is particularly adapted for personal use by a single person requiring a small amount of shade.
2. Description of Related Art
The prior art teaches a wide range of umbrellas, for a variety of uses. One form of umbrella, known as an offset umbrella, is a large form of umbrella typically used for shading patio areas. The offset umbrella includes a support post on the side of the canopy, and a lateral extension that extends over the patio to support the canopy. Offset umbrellas typically require large and heavy bases to offset the weight of the canopy, and prevent the offset umbrella from tipping over.
Offset umbrellas are especially unwieldy and cumbersome, and tend to get knocked over even in moderate winds, despite large and heavy bases. Because of their unwieldy construction, and heavy bases, offset umbrellas are not typically thought of as portable, although some versions can be moved around a space (e.g., a patio). The prior art does not teach an offset umbrella that could be taken to an outdoor location (e.g., a beach) for personal use. Indeed, the prior art teaches against such a use for this type of umbrella, because offset umbrellas are particularly known to be large, heavy, unwieldy, and cumbersome.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,958,901, Lai describes one prior art version of such an offset umbrella. This offset umbrella includes an upright post, a swing mechanism pivotally mounted on the upright post, a frame mounted on the swing mechanism to pivot in concert with the swing mechanism relative to the upright post, and a weighted base for supporting the swing mechanism. Lai is a good example of an offset umbrella such as would be used on a patio; and it would not be realistically possible to carry the Lai umbrella to a beach or similar location for personal use by a person (e.g., sunbather).
US 2013/0146739, Zhao teaches another example of an offset umbrella base that includes a base that is adapted to be heavily weighted. One or more identical sector-shaped base boxes are provided in the base that can be filled with heavy filling material (e.g., sand). The sector-shaped base boxes are attached to each other and placed on a formation of elongated base members of an umbrella to hold the umbrella in an upright position. Even if the fill material is removed, a difficult and time consuming process, the base is still too large to be readily portable, and the Zhao umbrella would never to suitable for a trip to the beach, or similar excursion. Other examples of offset umbrellas include Dan, U.S. Pat. No. 8,104,492, and Harbaugh, US 20040177871, which are similar in general construction.
The prior art also teaches a wide variety of standard umbrellas, that include an upright post that extends to the middle of a canopy. Since these standard umbrellas are more stable, they can be made without the heavy bases used in offset umbrellas, and are thus far more portable. These umbrellas include a wide range of bases, including various screw devices for screwing the post of the umbrella into the ground. Good examples of standard umbrellas with screw mounts are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,503, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,495.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,916, Boissonnault teaches a unique shading device including an umbrella-like canopy that includes a collapsible frame and a flexible light-proof covering. The device includes an anchoring device that includes an anchoring helix adapted to be driven into the ground. The frame of the device can be adjusted to lean outwardly in a cantilever; however, it extends upwardly to the center of the canopy, in a manner similar to standard umbrellas.
The above-described references are hereby incorporated by reference in full.
The prior art teaches offset umbrellas that include heavy bases and that are not readily portable; and the prior art teaches standard umbrellas that are more portable. However, the prior art does not teach an offset umbrella that is readily portable and usable by an individual for personal shade (e.g., while at the beach, etc.). The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further advantages as described in the following summary.


A lock includes a housing with a plug located in the housing. The plug is adapted to rotate in the housing about an axis. The lock also includes a moveable element comprising a first region with a first diameter, a second region with a second diameter that is less than the first diameter, and a third region with a third diameter that is less than the second diameter. The moveable element is located at least partly in the housing. The moveable element is adapted to move in an axis of motion substantially radial relative to the axis of the plug and to prevent rotation of the plug when the moveable element is in a first position along the axis of motion and to allow rotation of the plug when the moveable element is in a second position along the axis of motion.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to locking devices, and in particular, to the design and manufacture of locks.
2. Discussion of Related Art
A key-based lock is a mechanical fastening device which may be used on a door, vehicle, or container, for example, in order to prevent access to anyone without a correct key. Most modern locks employ a conventional "pin and tumbler" system to recognize when a correct key has been inserted into a lock. A conventional lock typically includes a plug (e.g., a cylinder) 20, a housing 22 (into which the plug fits) and a plurality of movable elements. Pairs of key pins and movable elements 28 (e.g., drive pins) are associated with one another. The pairs are disposed vertically with the key pin 26 below the moveable element 28 which engages the top of the key pin 26 in a shaft 30 which is present in the plug 20 and the housing 22. Springs in each shaft bias the associated moveable element 28 in the direction of the key pin 26. The moveable elements 28 push on the associated key pin 26 to maintain the position of the key pin 26 and the moveable element 28. Both the key pin 26 and the moveable element 28 may vary in length, however, in most conventional locks, the moveable elements 28 are typically all of the same length.
When no key is inserted in the conventional pin and tumbler lock, the key pin 26 is completely inside the plug 20, while the moveable element 28 is partially in the plug 20 and partially in the housing 22. The position of the moveable elements 28 keeps the plug 20 from turning (e.g., rotating). Thus, when no key (or the incorrect key) is inserted in the lock, the moveable elements 28 substantially fix the position of the plug 20 within the housing 22.
When a key is inserted in a conventional lock, the series of notches in the key push the pairs of key pins 26 and moveable elements 28 upward by varying amounts. An incorrect key moves at least one pair of key pins 26 and moveable elements 28 an incorrect amount such that either: 1) the pair is not moved far enough (i.e., the moveable element 28 continues to extend into both the housing 22 and the plug 20); or 2) the pair is moved too far upward (i.e., the key pin 26 extends into both the housing 22 and the plug 20).
A correct key moves each pair of key pins 26 and moveable elements 28 upward just enough so that an abutment surface occurring where the key pin 26 contacts the moveable element 28 aligns with the space where the plug 20 and the housing 22 meet (this boundary between the plug 20 and the housing 22 may be referred to as a shear line 38). Accordingly, a correct key moves the pairs of key pins 26 and moveable elements 28 into a position where all of the moveable elements 28 are inserted completely in the housing 22, while all of the key pins 26 rest completely in the plug 20. Thus, with no key pins 26 or moveable elements 28 interfering with a rotation of the plug 20 in the housing 22, the plug 20 rotates freely about an axis of rotation, and the bolt or locking device is able to move. Conventional locks are typically employed in a locking system where the plug 20 is mechanically connected to a cam, which in turn operates a spring to engage and disengage a latch.
Although locks are used for security purposes, the conventional lock may be opened without a key (e.g., the lock may be picked) thereby reducing or eliminating the effectiveness of the lock. Lock picking takes advantage of manufacturing tolerances and manufacturing defects present in virtually all conventional locks. These tolerances and defects allow the plug 20 to be rotated slightly in the housing 22 even when the lock is locked. Consequently, each moveable element 28 may rest on the shear line 38 when the abutment surface of a pair of key pins 26 and moveable elements 28 is aligned with the shear line 38 and the rotation of the plug 20 in the locked position is forced by an amount allowed by the manufacturing tolerance and/or defect. Lock pickers typically employ a tension wrench (i.e., a tensor) and a pick to pick a lock. In practice, the tension wrench is inserted into the keyhole and twisted slightly. The twisting of the wrench acts to rotate the plug 20 slightly, owing to the small spaces left in the shafts between the edges of the moveable elements 28 and the plug 20 (these are the manufacturing tolerances/defects referred to above). The rotation creates a ledge along the shear line 38 on which the moveable elements 28 can rest. The moveable element 28 rests on a ledge created by the portion of the outer surface of the plug 20 located at the radially inward end of the portion of the shaft 30 within the housing 22. The lock picker has in effect offset the portion of the shaft 30 in the housing 22 and the portion of the shaft 30 in the plug 20, i.e., the shaft in the housing 22 is no longer coaxially located with the shaft in the plug 20.
The pick is applied to each pair of key pins 26 and moveable elements 28 so that each moveable element 28 resides entirely within the housing 22 while resting on the ledges provided by the plug 20 at the shear line 38. The key pins 26 are then allowed to drop while a rotational force remains applied to the plug 20. If the proper amount of torque is applied, the key pins 26 fall back into the plug 20, while the Moveable elements 28 are caught on the ledge created by the slightly rotated plug 20. If this is accomplished, there are no longer any pins binding the plug 20 to the cylinder housing 22 and the plug can freely rotate as though the correct key had been used, i.e., the lock is unlocked.
Some known locks have been created with additional security features in an attempt to improve the security offered by the conventional lock designs. One such lock design is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,289,709 and 6,718,807. The lock design described therein includes a side bar and rotating pins.
An example is illustrated in FIG. 1. Here, the key pins have a valley 54 cut into the side, and the bottom edges 56 of the key pins (the part that contacts the key) are not horizontal (as in most locks), but are instead beveled to a range of angles. The proper key also has beveled teeth designed to match the beveled edge of the key pin in such a way as to rotate the pins to the proper orientation. This rotation aligns the valleys in the side of the key pins with extensions 58 extending from the side bar 44. When the extensions do not lie in the valleys, the side bar is pushed out slightly, so that it lies between the plug and the cylinder housing. This prevents the plug from rotating, just as the pins do. When the pins are all rotated correctly, the protrusions from the side bar all lie in the valleys in the key pins, and the side bar moves out of the way, allowing the plug to rotate and the lock to open (assuming, of course, that the pins have been raised to the appropriate heights).
Although such designs may improve the security of the lock in view of some traditional lock-picking approaches, these designs may be successfully picked by employing other methods of lock picking. One such method, which has been reported, is the employment of a diamond rake bent at a 15 degree angle, which rakes both the pin heights and the pin rotations at the same time. Another reported method is the use of a bumping device which consists of a key with all its teeth cut to the maximum depth, whose beveling matches that of the correct key. The 'bump key' is then hit with some force to bump the key pins in the same manner as a lock gun, while holding the key pins at the correct rotational alignment. Thus, while these designs may increase the security of a lock, they may still be picked by an individual skilled in the craft of lock picking.
Another known variation in some conventional locks includes "mushroom" moveable elements, which, in one version, have a bottom that is shaped like an upside-down mushroom (other shapes are also possible for the "mushroom" moveable element, as shown at the top of FIG. 2). All these configurations are sometimes referred to, generally as "mushroom drivers." In conventional locks with "mushroom" moveable elements, as shown in FIG. 2, the mushroom-shaped portion 28A of the moveable element 28 may get caught between the housing 22 and the plug 20 if too much torque is applied when picking. While these pins may make the picking process more difficult, they present only a marginal increase in difficulty, especially if one employs mechanical or electrical devices such as pick guns.


A system for configuring a prosthetic limb for use by a living being is provided. The system includes an electronic control unit (ECU) configured to receive a control signal generated in response to a command from the living being and to generate a plurality of virtual bodies on a display including members of a virtual prosthetic limb and at least one virtual object. The ECU is further configured to control movement of at least one member of the virtual limb responsive to the control signal, to determine a contact force between first and second virtual bodies of the plurality of virtual bodies upon engagement between the first and second bodies caused by movement of one of the one member of the virtual limb and the at least one virtual object and to adjust a position of at least one of the first and second bodies responsive to the contact force.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a virtual prosthetic limb system that can be used to design and evaluate new prosthetic limbs, serve as a platform for control algorithm design and sensor/signal selection, and train patients to use a given prosthetic limb.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Many individuals in the United States today are living with upper extremity amputations. These amputations most frequently result from trauma and affect young persons, especially for the soldiers wounded in Afghanistan or Iraq. A robotic arm with a fully functioning hand will significantly improve the quality of life for these amputees. Designing a robotic prosthetic arm with an optimal control mechanism that matches an individual's needs with minimum training time requires a lot of time, effort and money. A virtual prosthetic limb system that can simulate any possible design of prosthetic limb in a realistic way will significantly reduce the time, effort and money in developing a new robotic prosthetic limb, will reduce the actual training time for amputees to use the real prosthetic limbs and provide a platform for experimentation with any of a variety of possible control methods. Some research has been reported on creation of a virtual prosthetic arm system. In one such project, Orsborn, et al, (Orsborn, Amy et al, "Simulation of an Above-Elbow Myoelectric Prosthetic Arm for Development of an Implanted Myoelectric Control System", (http://www.phys.cwru.edu/undergrad/Senior%20Projects/SeniorProjectPosters/AmyOrsbornPOSTER.pdf)), developed a basic prosthetic model and the framework required for a multi-component simulator using myoelectric signals. In another related project reported by J. Burck, M. J. Zeher, R. Armiger and J. D. Beaty, entitled "Developing the World's Most Advanced Prosthetic Arm Using Model-Based Design", and published by The Math Works in News & Notes, in 2009, they developed a Virtual Integration Environment (VIE) that included a limb simulation environment, constructed using MathWorks tools and Model-Based Design. The VIE allowed users to control the virtual prosthetic arm with different control inputs, e.g., switches or joysticks.
To develop a more advanced virtual prosthetic limb system, the present inventors adopted advanced technologies to, among other things (i) simulate the interactions between and among the virtual prosthetic limb and virtual objects; and (ii) to build a more realistic visualization system; and (iii) to "connect" the virtual prosthetic limb and the residual limb of a patient in two directions, namely, to change the position of the virtual prosthetic limb according to the movement of the residual arm of a patient, and to provide feedback to the patient according to the events in the virtual space. The inventive virtual prosthetic limb system can be used for designing and evaluating new prosthetic arms, as a platform for control algorithm design and sensor/signal selection, patient training, and recording limb movements and control signals during clinical investigations for performance analysis. For example, as a design platform it could be used in studying how to connect a robotic prosthetic arm into the nervous system and/or into the brain (see for example the publications "Extraction algorithms for cortical control of arm prosthetics" by Schwartz, A B, Taylor, D M, Tillery, S I, Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 11, 701-707 (2001); "Cortical control of a prosthetic arm for self-feeding" by Velliste M, Perel S, Spalding M C, Whitford A S, Schwartz A B, Nature, Vol 453 19 Jun. 2008 doi:10.1038; and "Using virtual reality to test the feasibility of controlling an upper limb FES system directly from multiunit activity in the motor cortex" by Taylor D M, Schwartz A B, In Proceedings of the 6th Annual IFESS Conference: 2001 Jun. 16-20; Cleveland. 2001:132-134, all of which are incorporated by reference hereinto).
The inventors herein have recognized a need for a virtual prosthetic limb system that will minimize and/or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies.


The invention provides methods and apparatus for automated sample preparation for MALDI-TOF MS using columns in combination with a liquid handling system. The samples are typically biological such as serum or urine. The columns typically include a bed of media positioned within a modified pipette tip. In some embodiments, the invention provides methods for storing the prepared samples.

In many cases cancer can be cured when detected at an early, organ-confined stage. To facilitate early detection, there are considerable efforts do develop new biomarkers that improve current diagnosis and prognosis methods for cancer diseases. The identification and analysis of proteins associated with disease is a major challenge. Although several biomarkers for tumor diseases such as the prostate specific antigen (PSA), the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) or the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) have been identified and introduced successfully into clinical practice, their sensitivity and specificity have been limited. A good example is prostate cancer, the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in men in Western countries. The prostate marker PSA is quite sensitive, however, it does not correctly differentiate benign from malignant prostate disease, and can miss some significant prostate cancers. Therefore, further effort is warranted to search for additional biomarkers in order to improve cancer specificity. It is likely multiple biomarkers will be required to improve early detection, diagnosis and prognosis.
The classical technique for discovering disease-associated proteins is two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) followed by the detection and identification of multiple protein species by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry1 (MALDI-TOF-MS). This technique is unchallenged in its ability to resolve thousands of proteins but it is laborious, requires large quantities of protein, lacks critical reproducibility, lacks standards and it is not easy to convert the results into a routinely used diagnostic test. Therefore more timesaving and robust techniques are needed. One technique is the ProteinChip approach produced by Ciphergen Biosystems Inc. (Fremont, Calif.). This method uses surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) TOF-MS to detect proteins affinity-bound to a protein chip array. There have been many examples of the use of SELDI for the determination of disease biomarkers, with the primary focus being diagnostics for all forms of cancer. Compared to conventional MS-applications, the SELDI-technology is much easier and timesaving regarding sample preparation and analysis. Other well established profiling techniques are based on different functionalized magnetic-particles and MALDI-TOF-MS and on the direct MALDI-TOF analysis of tissue sections. 1MALDI instrumentation and methods are described in references Fenn et al. Science, 246, 64, 1989, Karas et al. Anal. Chem., 60, 2299, 1995, Loo et al. Bioconjugate Chem., 6, 644, 1995, Chaurand et al. J. Am. Soc. Mass. Sectrom. 10, 91, 1999 and Loo et al. Anal. Chem. 65, 425, 1993.
In addition to those MS-based proteomics approaches we recently reported the development and optimization of material enhanced laser desorption ionization (MELDI) by introducing derivatized cellulose, silica beads and other extraction materials for the selective serum-protein profiling with a high-resolution MALDI-TOF MS instrument (Feuerstein et al., J. Proteome Res. 4:2320-2326). For derivatization, glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) was grafted onto 8 μm cellulose beads. In a second step iminodiacetic acid (IDA) was added to the cellulose beads through the epoxide of GMA. The functionalized beads were loaded with copper ions and mixed with serum samples in an Eppendorf tube. After binding of specific proteins (e.g. histidine, tryptophan, or cysteine containing proteins) from a sample, unbound proteins were washed and removed. Next, a small volume (e.g. 1 μl) of the protein-cellulose slurry was directly applied onto a MALDI-target, mixed with sinapinic acid (SA) and directly analyzed with MALDI TOF MS. All of these steps were performed manually.
Here, we describe the automation of the above-described MELDI approach including sample preparation and spotting using small extraction columns and a modified automated liquid handling system such as the MEA Personal Purification System™, commercially available from Phynexus, Inc. (San Jose, Calif.). Using this system, the automated method minimizes the analytical variance introduced by the human handling of samples and increases the robustness of the method.

Method and device for preparing an analyte for analysis by mass spectrometry


A method is described for implementing a multidimensional linear block code on a frame of information symbols to be transmitted through a transmission system, the information symbols being organized in a frame with a number of columns and a number of rows. The method includes the steps of adding to the frame of information symbols a number of columns of redundancy symbols of a length equal to the number of rows of the frame of symbols to be transmitted; and of identifying the horizontal sequences, or rows, of information symbols and redundancy symbols as first code words. The redundancy symbols are constructed in such a way that, by interleaving the frame of information symbols and redundancy symbols, using a permutation of the elements within the columns, the rows of information symbols and redundancy symbols produced from the permuted columns form second code words. Conveniently, such operation may be repeated to obtain multidimensional codes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of the correction of errors that may have been generated during the transmission of a signal. In particular, it concerns a method and an encoder for implementing a Linear Block Code (LBC) characterised by a great length and a correcting capacity higher than that of the known solutions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Linear block codes are known, and their use in the field of telecommunications is also known. In order to implement the code, an encoder is provided at the transmitting end and a decoder (error corrector) at the receiving end.
The encoder receives of a certain number of strings of k information symbols (information to be transmitted) as input and supplies strings of n symbols, with n>k, as an output. The receiver receives the strings of n symbols, which may be more or less corrupted by the transmission channel, and reconstructs the k symbols of the information string.
In other words, the receiver compensates for the errors introduced by the channel on the basis of the n−k redundancy symbols added during transmission. If, for example, the symbols are bits, there are 2k possible strings of information. Each of the 2k strings of code corresponds to each string. The code is therefore these 2k words of n bits, as a whole.
The linearity consists of the fact that the combination (the sum, for example) of two code strings/words is also a code string.
As can be imagined, the correcting capacity of the code depends (as well as on its structure), on the length (n) and on the number of redundant symbols (n−k). Generally speaking, performance rises as (n−k) increases and, the k/n ratio being equal, it rises as the length (n) increases.
To complete the description, a definition of systematic code is also provided. A "systematic code" is defined as a code that allows the (k) information symbols to pass through unaltered and adds the (n−k) parity symbols.
The procedure for calculating the n−k parity symbols starting from the k information symbols is well known, and is a linear operation.
The interleaving of two linear block codes with the aim of achieving a correcting capacity higher than that of conventional linear block codes, as in so-called Product Vector Codes (PVC's), is a known procedure. The main disadvantage of PVC's consists in the limitations of the rectangular interleaver (in which the code words are the rows and the columns of the structure, thus in order to pass from one code to another code the interleaver writes by rows and reads by columns and vice versa).
Block code structures with unprotected dual redundancy are also known. The disadvantage of such code structures is that they provide a lower code correcting capacity. Indeed, while the information symbols are bi-protected, the parity/redundancy symbols are not.
Finally, partially protected block code structures with double redundancy that only partly solve the problem of the lowered correcting capacity of the code are known.

Method and encoder for implementing a fully protected multidimensional linear block code


An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for minimizing NOx in exhaust gasses. The apparatus includes an ionization module configured to at least partially ionize an exhaust gas of an engine. A characterization module is configured to identify NOx ions present in the ionized exhaust gas, and an engine control module is configured to communicate with the characterization module and modify engine parameters in response to identified NOx levels. The system includes an internal combustion engine having an intake manifold configured to deliver an air-fuel mixture to at least one combustion chamber, an exhaust manifold configured to receive exhaust gasses from the combustion chamber, and the apparatus. The method includes controlling an ionization module configured to at least partially ionize an exhaust gas of an engine, identifying NOx ions present in the ionized exhaust gas, and modifying one or more selected engine parameters in response to identified NOx levels.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to minimizing NOx in exhaust gasses produced by internal combustion engines and more particularly relates to determining NOx levels produced by individual combustion chambers and modifying selected engine parameters in response to NOx levels.
2. Description of the Related Art
When combustion occurs in an environment with excess oxygen, peak combustion temperatures increase, leading to the formation of unwanted emissions, such as oxides of Nitrogen (NOx). This problem is often aggravated in the presence of turbocharging, which increases the mass of fresh air flow, thereby increasing the mass of oxygen and nitrogen present in a combustion chamber.
One known technique for reducing unwanted emissions such as NOx involves introducing chemically inert gases into the fresh air stream for subsequent combustion. By reducing the oxygen concentration of the fresh air stream, the fuel burns slower and peak combustion temperatures are reduced, thereby lowering the production of NOx. In an internal combustion engine environment, such chemically inert gases are readily abundant in the form of exhaust gases, and one known method for introducing inert gases is through the use of an Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) system. EGR systems introduce exhaust gas from the exhaust manifold into the fresh air stream flowing to the intake manifold valve. However, lowering combustion temperatures in such a manner may actually increase emissions of particulate matters and unburned hydrocarbons.
Other methods for reducing NOx include catalytic converters, and ignition/injector timing control. Catalytic converters typically use two different types of catalysts, a reduction catalyst and an oxidization catalyst. Both the reduction catalyst and the oxidization catalyst are commonly embedded on the surface of a ceramic honeycomb-like structure in order to achieve a maximum surface area of catalyst in the exhaust stream. In both cases, a metal, such as platinum, rhodium, and/or palladium, serves as the catalyst.
The further component of the catalytic converter is the engine control module (ECM) that monitors the exhaust stream, and controls a fuel injection system in response to detected NOx levels. One method for monitoring the exhaust stream is an oxygen sensor typically installed upstream from the catalytic converter. The oxygen sensor is configured to indicate how much oxygen is in the exhaust. The ECM may subsequently increase or decrease the amount of air being injected into the combustion chamber. Alternatively, the oxygen sensor may be installed downstream from the catalytic converter in order to detect NOx not being converted by the catalytic converter.
Currently, dedicated NOx sensors are mostly solid-state electrochemical sensors. Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) sensors have been used in the exhaust flow to detect NOx at high temperatures. However, poor accuracy and slow response times plague YSZ sensors and thereby limit their usability. Furthermore, since the sensitivity of an YSZ sensor is also affected by changes in gas composition, in particular the oxygen concentration, cross sensitivity is a major interference problem.
However, a major drawback of common NOx sensors is the inability to identify correctly which combustion chamber is producing NOx. NOx sensors are commonly located downstream of the exhaust manifold. As used herein, downstream refers to a direction in which exhaust gas travels away from the engine. FIG. 1 is a perspective side view diagram depicting a portion of an internal combustion engine 100 (hereinafter "engine") having an exhaust manifold in accordance with the prior art. The engine 100 typically includes a cylinder block 102 coupled to a cylinder head 104.
The cylinder head 104 has intake ports (not shown) for the intake of combustive material, such as an air-fuel mixture, and exhaust ports (not shown) for the exhaust of the combustive material. The exhaust ports are generally coupled to an exhaust manifold 106 that collects exhaust gasses from each combustion chamber or cylinder. A turbocharger 108 may be coupled to the exhaust manifold.
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a top view of the cylinder head 104 and the exhaust manifold 106 in accordance with the prior art. Many underlying engine components, which are well known to those skilled in the art, but which may not be relevant to this discussion, have been omitted and will not be discussed in great detail herein. The flow of exhaust gasses flows in a direction as indicated by arrow 202, away from the cylinder head 104 and towards a catalytic converter 204. The catalytic converter 204, as described above, reduces NOx in the exhaust gas flow. An oxygen sensor 206 adapted to detect NOx may be positioned downstream from the catalytic converter 204 in order to detect NOx that passes through the catalytic converter 204.
Feedback from the oxygen sensor 206 is typically transmitted to an engine control module 208. The engine control module 208 may then modify engine parameters in order to reduce NOx production inside the cylinders. Research has indicated that proper control of air/fuel ratio can lower NOx emissions. However, current NOx sensors are unable to detect which cylinder is producing the NOx, and the engine control module 208 must therefore modify timing and or air/fuel ratio of all cylinders. This often results in increased particulate emissions, as described above, and reduced engine performance.
From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need exists for an apparatus, system, and method that detect and correct for NOx in exhaust gasses. Such an apparatus, system, and method would be further beneficial if they were capable of detecting the levels of NOx produced in individual cylinders, and selectively modifying engine parameters in response to the detected NOx levels.

Apparatus, system, and method for minimizing NO


The invention relates to oral pharmaceutical compositions useful as aldosterone receptor blockers comprising the active agent micronized eplerenone in an amount of about 10 mg to about 1000 mg and one or more carrier materials.

The present invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising the compound eplerenone as an active ingredient, and more particularly to pharmaceutical compositions containing micronized eplerenone, methods of treatment comprising administering such pharmaceutical compositions to a subject in need thereof, and the use of such compositions in the manufacture of medicaments.
The compound methyl hydrogen 9.11xcex1-epoxy-17xcex1-hydroxy-3-oxopregn-4-ene-7xcex1,21-dicarboxylate, xcex3-lactone (also referred to herein as eplerenone) was first reported in Grob et al., U.S Pat. No. 4.559,332 that describes and claims a class of 9,11-epoxy steroid compounds and their sales together with processes for the preparation of such compounds. These 9,11-epoxy steroid compounds are described as aldosterone antagonists that can be administered in a therapeutically effective amount to treat pathological conditions associated with hyperaldosteronism such as hypertension, cardiac insufficiency and cirrhosis of the liver. U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,332, which is incorporated by reference herein, contains general references to formulations for the administration of these 9,11-epoxy steroid compounds such as tablets and capsules.
Ng et al., WO 98/25948 later disclosed additional synthetic processes for the preparation of a similar class of 9,11-epoxy steroid compounds and their salts, including eplerenone.
Eplerenone corresponds in structure to Formula I, below:
Spironolactone, another 20-spiroxane-steroid having activity as an aldosterone antagonist, is commercially available for the treatment of hypertension. Spironolactone corresponds in structure to Formula II, below:
Spironolactone, however, exhibits antiandrogenic activity that can result in gynecomastia and impotence in men, and weak progestational activity that produces menstrual irregularities in women. Commercial formulations of spironolactone (sold under the name Aldactone(trademark)) contain 25, 50 or 100 mg doses of spironolactone in a matrix comprising, among other carrier materials, calcium sulfate dihydrate as a diluent, maize starch as a disintegrant, povidone K-30 as a binding agent, magnesium stearate as a lubricant, and flavor, colorant, and coating ingredients that include hydroxypropylmethylcellulose and polyethylene glycol 400.
de Gasparo et al., in Journal of Steroid Biochemistry 32 (1B), 223-227 (1989) report the use of spironolactone and epoxymexrenone in receptor binding studies. Those materials, with spironolactone in a commercial formulation with a particle size of 5 microns and the epoxymexrenone at a particle size of 20 microns in a non-formulated composition, were also used in vivo to study excretion of sodium in urine.
There is a need for the development of additional active aldosterone antagonists such as eplerenone that interact minimally with other steroid receptor systems such as glucocorticoid, progestin and androgen steroid receptor systems and/or that provide for a broader range of treatment. There is also a need for eplerenone compositions that provide a readily soluble form of eplerenone. The discussion that follows discloses eplerenone compositions that help to fulfill that need.
The effective administration of eplerenone to a subject has been complicated by the compound""s low solubility and low compressibility as well as by its other physical and chemical properties. Pharmaceutical compositions comprising micronized eplerenone and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier material, however, have been discovered that can effectively deliver a therapeutically preferred amount of the compound to the subject. In addition, unique combinations of carrier material with the micronized eplerenone have been found that provide still better solubilization characteristics. These combinations of active compound and carrier material have been found to possess improved bioavailability, chemical stability, physical stability, dissolution profiles, disintegration times, safety, as well as other improved pharmacokinetic, chemical and/or physical properties. The present invention comprises these pharmaceutical compositions, unit dosage forms based thereon, and methods for the preparation and use of both.

Eplerenone compositions having improved bioavailability


A novel combination cup for carrying soft drinks and snacks within one cup structure is comprised of: 1) an upper cup body, 2) a lid cover for the upper cup body, 3) an insulating plate 4) a ring, and, 5) a lower cup body jointed together. The upper cup body lid cover may be used as cup holder to prevent the cup from falling over and spilling its contents. The lower cup body may be used to contain liquid drinks while the upper cup body may be used to contain solid snacks. The convenient combination of this invention enables a user to eat and drink using only one hand, and also to enjoy the cool or hot temperature of the drinks longer and safer.

Most combination cups used for carrying drinks and snacks with one hand have a bulky upper cup for snacks and a long, narrow lower cusp for drinks. The overall structure of this combination cup is extremely unstable. It falls over easily even when it is set on an even, flat surface. A further drawback of the combination cup is that the upper cup body is too easily separated from the lower cup body. Yet another shortcoming of the traditional combination cup is that the temperature of the drinks in the lower cup is often quite different from that of the snack in upper cup. However, most of the previous combination cups do not have a means for insulating both of these different temperatures. Therefore, the drink and snack will both reach an undesired room-temperature level.


A touch panel includes a first conductive coating (23), a second conductive coating (24), a first wire (L1), a second wire (L2), a third wire (L3), a first switch element (233), and a second switch element (243). The first and second conductive coatings are opposite to each other. The first wire is electrically connected to a left edge of the first conductive coating. The second wire is electrically connected to a right edge of the first conductive coating via the first switch element, and is connected to a lower edge of the second conductive coating via the second switch element. The third wire is electrically connected to an upper edge of the second conductive coating. A method of driving the touch panel and a display utilizing the touch panel are also provided.

Touch panels are transparent or opaque input devices for computers and other electronic systems. As the name suggests, touch panels are activated by contact from a user's finger, a stylus, or other devices. Transparent touch panels are generally layered over display devices, such as cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors and LCDs, to create display devices. These display devices are increasingly used in commercial applications such as restaurant order entry systems, industrial process control applications, interactive museum exhibits, public information kiosks, pagers, cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), video games, and the like.
The dominant touch panel technologies presently in use are resistive, capacitive, infrared, and acoustic touch panels. FIG. 7 is a cross-section of a conventional display device employing a resistive touch panel. The display device 1 includes a flat panel display (FPD) 16 and a touch panel 10 attached on a display surface 160 of the FPD 16 via an adhesive material 18.
The touch panel 10 is a resistive touch panel, which includes a first substrate 11 and a second substrate 12 opposite thereto. A first conductive coating 13 and a second conductive coating 14 are respectively applied on inner surfaces of the first and the second substrates 11, 12. An adhesive 15 is arranged at peripheral areas of the first and the second conductive coatings 13, 14 adhering them together. A plurality of spacers 17 are applied between the first and second conductive coatings 13, 14, separating the first and second conductive coatings 13, 14, and avoiding electrical contract therebetween unless the touch panel 10 is contacted.
FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the first and second conductive coatings 13, 14. The first conductive coating 13 includes a plurality of first resistance lines 131 arranged along an X-axis of a rectangular Cartesian coordinate system, first and second electrode bars E1, E2 disposed at the left and right ends of the first resistance lines 131, and a pair of wires X1, X2 connected to the first and second electrode bars E1, E2, respectively. The second conductive coating 14 has a structure similar to the first conductive coating 13. However, a plurality of resistance lines 141 are arranged along a Y-axis, third and fourth electrode bars E3, E4 are disposed at the upper and lower ends of the second resistance lines 141, and a pair of wires Y1, Y2 are connected to the third and fourth electrode bars E3, E4, respectively.
In operation, a voltage difference is applied to the pair of wires X1, X2, and voltage gradients are generated on the first resistance lines 131. Using the wire Y1 as a grounding wire, a voltage of a point corresponding to the first resistance lines 131 where a contact occurs can be detected by the wire Y1. Then an X-coordinate of the contact point can be determined by an analyzing circuit (not shown) according to the detected voltage level. In a similar manner, application of a voltage deference to the pair of wires Y1, Y2, and detecting a voltage of the contact point via the wire X1, a Y-coordinate of the contact point can be confirmed.
In the 4-wire resistive touch panel 10, the four wires X1, X2, Y1, Y2 apply voltage signals to the first and second conductive coatings 13, 14, respectively, detecting voltage signals of the contact point. However, such 4-wire resistive touch panel has a relatively complex driving method, and requires that the analyzing circuit has the same number of driving wires corresponding to the four wires X1, X2, Y1, Y2. Thus, the touch panel and corresponding analyzing circuit have complex circuit structures.
Accordingly, what is needed is a touch panel which can overcome the limitations described.

Touch panel, method for driving same, and display device using the same


A changing table includes a wall assembly and a tray assembly. The wall assembly includes a transparent panel, a reflector, and a UV light source disposed in between. The tray assembly is pivotally attached to the wall assembly, forming a changeable angle α in between. The tray assembly includes a front panel and a cushion layer. The cushion layer forms a concaved surface that receives an infant. The concaved surface receives UV light generated by the UV light source.

Diaper changing table is a platform designed to allow a person to change infant's diaper. Changing tables are widely installed at homes, restaurants, stadiums, public transportations, hotels, shopping centers, etc. US federal laws require changing tables be installed in all publicly accessible restrooms of federal buildings.
A diaper changing table normally has a raised surface for receiving an infant, allowing the caretaker to change the diaper. Current diaper changing tables have a surface of hard plastic. Such hard plastic is not comfortable and causes unnecessary anxiety to infants which increases the difficulties in changing the diaper. Embodiments disclosed herein provide soft contact receiving surface that do not cause discomfort to infants.
Current changing tables provide no hook or loop solution that allow a parent to hang personal accessories, e.g., handbags, when both hands of the parent are busy changing the diaper. This is inconvenient for the parent because the handbags or other personal accessories need to be placed on floors while the floors in public restrooms are not likely to be clean. Embodiments disclosed herein provide multifunctional hook and loop solutions that allow handbags or personal accessories to be hung.
Another issue of current changing tables is that, after repeated use, the infant receiving surfaces of the changing tables unavoidably get dirty. Pathogens can grow on the infant receiving surfaces. Embodiments disclosed herein provide mechanisms for self-cleaning.

Diaper changing tables and methods of using thereof


A bracelet for moving sensors along a straight or elbow pipe. The bracelet has a number of side-by-side positionable supports for removably holding the sensors respectively. A flexible attachment is provided for holding the supports in a pliant side-by-side series arrangement. The attachment has opposite ends extending beyond the supports at opposite ends of the series arrangement. The bracelet further has a frame having an inner circular opened surface for installation around the pipe, and a longitudinal circular side receiving surface along which the series arrangement of the supports is mounted. The side receiving surface is provided with fastening members projecting at both ends of the series arrangement of the supports. The ends of the attachment is supported by the fastening members.

The present invention relates to a bracelet for moving sensors along a straight or elbow pipe, as used for measuring the thickness or another physical feature of the pipe with ultrasonic or other types of sensors.
Water pipes used in nuclear reactors are subject to long-term water flow corrosion and erosion problems, also known as xe2x80x9cFlow Assisted Corrosionxe2x80x9d. These problems lead to thinning of the pipes and ultimately to their bursting. Regular preventive inspections must therefore be carried out in order to detect any thinning in the pipes. The bent sections of the pipes are especially vulnerable to this type of corrosion, but are difficult to inspect. Also, pipes in nuclear reactors are hard to reach in cramped locations.
Known devices used to measure thickness of these pipes are ill-equipped to provide accurate readings. Furthermore, these are cumbersome and difficult to operate.
Known in the art, there is the bracelet used by the Specialized Inspection and Maintenance Department xe2x80x9cSIMDxe2x80x9d of Hydro Ontario. The xe2x80x9cSIMDxe2x80x9d bracelet has a mid grasping portion and side pivoting legs attached to the mid grasping portion. The side pivoting legs contain supports housing only a few ultrasonic sensors. An encoder is mounted in the center of the mid grasping part. Small magnets are used to maintain the supports in contact with the surface of a pipe. A curved flexible rod is attached at side edges of the pivoting legs to maintain these in an open biased position.
To use the xe2x80x9cSIMDxe2x80x9d bracelet, a user has to manually force the legs against a pipe to be inspected. The inspection of the pipe is done in three (3) distinct passes, which are spaced-apart by about 30xc2x0 each since the bracelet discontinously covers less than half the pipe""s circumference. The passes are then combined by a software program, which provides an image of the inspected pipe. The xe2x80x9cSIMDxe2x80x9d bracelet requires great dexterity from the operator to ensure that all three (3) passes are perfectly aligned.
Known in the art are U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,155 (SUGIMOTO); U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,165 (DE STERKE); U.S. Pat. No. 3,602,036 (PETERSON); U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,440 (TOTH); U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,565 (GLASCOCK, et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,423 (SCRANTZ); U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,292 (KARBACH et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,377 (WAAG et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,030 (STARK); U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,379 (BURCKHARDT, Jr.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,654 (MURAKAMI et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,897 (HAMSTEAD et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,837 (HAYNES); U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,616 (VASILE); U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,872 (KOBAYASHI et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,437 (KOIKE et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,230 (BRICKER et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,756,898 (DIATSCHENKO et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,288 (KWUN et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,242 (BRAITHWAITE); U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,733 (GUGEL); U.S. Pat. No. 5,770,800 (JENKINS et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,295,092 (OKAMURA); U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,644 (McARDLE et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,818 (WANG); U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,748 (HOPENFELD); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,453 (HOPENFELD), which show various devices for pipe inspection, but are all poorly or simply not adequate for inspecting the thickness of a pipe with elbow sections.
An object of the present invention is to provide a bracelet for moving sensors along a pipe, as used for measuring the thickness or another physical feature of the pipe, and which is adapted to bent or elbow pipes and is easy to use even in cramped spaces and does not suffer from the drawbacks of the prior art.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a bracelet, which allows for a coherent and continuous inspection of a pipe having elbow sections or not.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a bracelet, which can maintain the spacing between the ultrasonic sensors while following the surface to be inspected for good contact between the sensors and the pipe.
According to the present invention, there is provided a bracelet for moving sensors along a pipe, comprising:
a number of side-by-side positionable supports for removably holding the sensors respectively;
a flexible attachment for holding the supports in a pliant side-by-side series arrangement, the attachment having opposite ends extending beyond the supports at opposite ends of the series arrangement; and
a frame having an inner circular opened surface for installation around the pipe, and a longitudinal circular side receiving surface along which the series arrangement of the supports is mounted, the side receiving surface being provided a with fastening members projecting at both ends of the series arrangement of the supports, the ends of the attachment being supported by the fastening members.
Preferably, when the sensors are ultrasonic sensors, each support has a coupling liquid channel with a bottom opening extending under the sensor held by the support.
Preferably, the flexible attachment is fastened to the frame by means of an elastic strap extending over the supports and urging them against the pipe for better contact therewith.
With the above bracelet, pipes with elbow sections can be inspected in a single continous pass, with a minimum of training required from the operator/user, and without dismantling the pipe.

Bracelet for moving ultrasonic sensors along a pipe


A clear, water based, homogeneous insect repellent sunscreen composition, comprising an oil soluble hydrophobic sunscreen component, an amido insect repellent component, an alcohol component, and water.

The present invention relates to a sunscreen and insect repellent composition, and more specifically to a clear, water-based sunscreen and insect repellent composition.
Outdoor daytime activities such as picnicking, hiking, fishing, swimming and exercise can expose people participating in these activities in certain environments to annoying and sometimes disease carrying insects, and to the damaging effects of ultraviolet (UV) exposure from both UVA and UVB radiation from the sun.
Insect repellents can provide a measure of relief from insects, which are not only a nuisance but can also be carriers of disease. Depending on the product, the insect repellent composition can be administered directly to the skin or clothing, or both, typically before anticipated exposure. The insect repellent can be in the form of a gel, lotion, cream, stick, mousse, wipe or spray and should be suitable for application to human skin in an amount sufficient to provide satisfactory insect repellency.
The concentration of insect repellent active contained in the composition will depend on the level of protection desired and can vary depending upon the specific insect repellent active used.
Sunscreen compositions can provide a measure of relief from exposure to the sun based on a scale of increasing protection from 1 to 50. The scale is called the Sun Protection Factor, or "SPF". The SPF value of a sunscreen allows consumers to determine the degree of sunburn protection they are willing to accept for a given period of time during direct exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. Additional information about SPF can be found in 21 CFR Part 352 "Sunscreen Drug Products For Over-The-Counter Human Use".
Most commercially available insect repellents that contain sunscreen components are water-based opaque emulsions in the form of a cream or lotion.
There are other commercially available combination sunscreen and insect repellent formulations that are anhydrous. These anhydrous formulations are usually mixtures of different insect repellent actives and sunscreen oils that are generally in liquid form. These anhydrous formulations can also contain solid sunscreen compounds that solubilize in the oily sunscreen and/or insect repellent compounds.

Water based clear sunscreen and insect repellent composition


In a photoelectric conversion device, in order to suppress alteration of its properties during a long time use, lower the decrease of the S/N ratio due to a dark current output, and shorten image-pickup cycles, MIS type photoelectric conversion elements using an amorphous semiconductor material are connected with an electric power source for applying bias for photoelectric conversion, an electric power for resetting an accumulated electric charge, and a setting point for applying zero bias at the time of non-operation of the element through a switch. Emitted x-rays from an x-ray source, which is a first light source, come into collision against phosphor after being transmitted through an object body to be inspected and then are absorbed in the phosphor to be converted into visible light rays. The visible light rays from the phosphor are radiated to the photoelectric conversion elements. Prior to reading out of the x-ray image, an LED light source is lighted. Switches are used for turning on the x-ray source and the LED light source. In this embodiment, there is a reading-out period and a non-reading-out period; the x-ray source is turned on during the reading-out period, and the LED light source is turned on during the non-reading-out period.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photoelectric conversion device, particularly, a photoelectric conversion device for office appliances such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a scanner, or the like and a photoelectric conversion device to be used for an x-ray camera tube apparatus for medical use to be used for diagnosis or to be used for nondestructive inspection apparatus; an image processing (image information or image data processing) system; and their driving method.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, x-ray direct radiography has been carried out by a so-called film way, which has been a mainstream method carried out by radiating x-rays to a patient and transferring the transmitted x-rays to a photosensitive film through visible light conversion phosphors. The film way has problems that it takes a long time from photographing to developing processes and that it requires to store and search an immense number of photographed films in terms of maintenance and management in a hospital.
By the way, there is another way available using extremely bright phosphors in place of the film which is carried out by storing an x-ray image of a patient in the extremely bright phosphors, scanning the image with a laser beam thereafter, and reading the x-ray image as digital values. If an image is converted to be digital, that makes recording in a variety of media possible, so that image storage, search, and transfer can easily be carried out to improve the efficiency in a hospital in terms of the maintenance and management. Further, obtaining image data as digital values makes highly advanced image processing by a computer possible and is expected to result in improvement of diagnosis.
However, even the way using extremely bright phosphors has, as in the film way, a problem that it takes a long time from photographing to developing.
On the other hand, an x-ray imaging apparatus using a solid imaging (image-pickup) device such as CCD and an amorphous silicon semiconductor has been proposed. As in the film way, it is carried out by directly converting an x-ray image of a patient obtained through visible conversion type phosphors by x-ray radiation to a digital image, approximately in real time, by a large number of imaging (image-pickup) elements arranged in a two-dimensional array and reading the image. Since the digital image can be obtained approximately in real time, as compared with the above described film way and the way using the extremely bright phosphors, it is greatly advantageous. Especially, since amorphous silicon can be formed in a large surface area, in the case of an x-ray imaging apparatus using such amorphous silicon, photographing (image-pickup) of a large portion such as chest photography can be carried out in equal size. Consequently, a high light utilization factor is provided and a high S/N ratio is expected.
However, in an x-ray imaging apparatus for medical use, in order to photograph a chest of a human being in equal size, it is required to make available a solid imaging device with a large surface area as wide as 40 cm×40 cm and a number of pixels as extremely high as 5,000,000 to 10,000,000.
It is not so easy to produce the properties of these immense numbers of pixels all evenly and reliably. For example, in the case of using amorphous silicon for photoelectric conversion elements and switching elements for charge transfer, if continuous operation is carried out for a long duration, dark current of the photoelectric conversion elements will be increased and the properties of the switching elements will be changed. To deal with such cases, a countermeasure employed is that the photoelectric conversion elements and the switching elements are so designed as to be operated only at the time of taking images and so as to be inhibited from operation at the time of taking no image. For example, when no patient is in a photographing chamber, bias wires of the photoelectric conversion elements and gate wires and reading-out wires of the switching elements are biased to be at zero potential, and no electric field is applied to the insides of the amorphous elements to lower the property alteration of the elements in a long time use. However, this case has a complicated handling of operating the photoelectric conversion elements and switching elements after recognizing the presence of a patient near the imaging apparatus and then carrying out an image pickup operation. In other words, operability of the apparatus is deteriorated. A design to automatically recognize the existence of a patient may also be possible; however, it leads to an increase in cost of an apparatus.
On the other hand, in the case where a large number of photoelectric conversion elements with a large surface area is fabricated using an amorphous silicon thin film, there are problems that traces of impurities are mixed in fabrication processes and dangling bonds tend to be increased and that they form as defect levels. They work as trapping levels and become unnecessary dark current in the photoelectric conversion process to decrease the S/N ratio. As a driving method of a photoelectric conversion device in which the dark current is lessened, possible is a method of carrying out photoelectric conversion after the dark current is moderated by waiting for several to several 10 seconds from biasing the photoelectric conversion elements (and switching elements). However, if such a method is employed for an x-ray imaging apparatus, the cycle for taking images of a plurality of patients will become long.
As described above, in the photoelectric conversion device with a large surface area using amorphous silicon, it is made difficult to keep a high S/N ratio owing to the property alteration during a long time use and defect levels in a film and hence, a photoelectric conversion device and its driving method capable of being operated easily while keeping good S/N ratio have been expected to be developed.

Photoelectric conversion device, radiation detection apparatus, image processing system and driving method thereof


A method and apparatus for plesiochronous synchronization of an integer N plurality of subscriber networks to a hub network. Each subscriber network including a sub's clock, and the hub network includes a hub's clock. The method comprises the following steps: (A) broadcasting a plurality of control data from the hub network to each sub network; (B) transmitting back to the hub network a first sub's network ID number (sub_id#1) in a first separate channel (channel#1) and waiting for hub's instructions to burst back; (C) bursting a set of data from the hub network to he first sub network having the sub_id#1; (D) acquiring a hub frequency by the first sub network having the sub_id#1 and locking a sub_id#1 frequency on to the hub frequency; (E) re-adjusting the sub_id#1 frequency so that the sub_id#1 frequency is substantially equal to the hub frequency; and (F) repeating steps (B–E) for each ‘i-th’ sub's network having an ‘i-th’ sub's network ID number (sub_id#i); wherein integer ‘i’ is greater than one and less or equal to N.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of the digital signal processing, and more specifically, to the field of plesiochronous synchronization of at least two independently synchronous networks.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Timekeeping requires not only accurate frequency control but also accurate time transfer from some master source. Therefore, timekeeping involves comparing two or more clocks to ensure that their time difference is kept within predefined limits over a specified interval. Such a system either can provide relative (synchronized) or absolute timekeeping.
In a synchronized system, each clock is in step with every other clock in the system, but there is no requirement that these clocks to be synchronized to some master clock outside the system. The absolute system, on the other hand, keeps each clock in step with every other clock in the system and also with some master clock outside the system. In large telecommunications networks, the absolute system is used and synchronization is kept with an internationally accepted time scale, such as universal coordinated time (UTC). Smaller networks that have no external time reference use a simple synchronized system.
Notwithstanding the desirability of overall network synchronization, timing islands, or isolated networks, exist as a rule. It means that not all digital telecommunication systems are tied to a large network or even the public network, and not all networks are tied together. This latter situation is especially apparent when international networks are taken into account. Indeed, each country wants to control the timing functions of its national network, so that the master-slave relationship do not exist across international boundaries. The inter-working of such networks requires a standardized and tightly controlled approach to inter-network synchronization. National networks are normally internally synchronized, and when connected to other synchronous networks across international boundaries, are plesiochronous.
The term plesiochronous is derived from the Greek plesio, meaning near, and chronos, time, and refers to the fact that plesiochronous systems run in a state where different parts of the system are almost, but not quite perfectly, synchronized. According to ITU-T, that stands for the Telecom Standardization Organization, previously known as CCITT, of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), corresponding signals are plesiochronous if their significant instants occur at nominally the same rate, with any variation in rate being constrained within specified limits. In general, plesiochronous systems behave similarly to synchronous systems, except that they must have some means to cope with "sync slips", which will happen at intervals due to the plesiochronous nature of the system.
The most common example of a plesiochronous system design is the Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy networking standard. The modern tendency in systems engineering is towards using systems that are either fundamentally asynchronous, such as Ethernet, or fundamentally synchronous, such as Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), and layering these where necessary, rather than using a mixture between the two in a single technology.
However, if two or more independently synchronized digital networks are not connected, it is a difficult task to make those digital networks plesiochronous. One way to solve this problem is to use the burst communication signals between those digital networks to make them plesiochronous.
Thus, what is needed is to design a technique that utilizes burst communication signals among independently synchronized digital networks to make them plesiochronous.

Plesiochronous synchronization of remote subscriber's clock to hub's clock


A gas valve having a valve member disposed within a valve cavity, and an elastomeric valve seat extending from a valve cavity wall into the valve cavity. The valve member is movable between an open position in which the valve member does not engage the resilient valve seat thereby permitting gas to flow through the gas valve, and a closed position in which the valve member does engage the resilient valve seat thereby preventing gas to flow through the gas valve. In some embodiments, the elastomeric valve seat extends radially into the valve cavity from a groove formed in the valve cavity wall.

A number of gas-fed appliances are known. A gas-fed appliance typically employs a gas valve to control the flow of gas to a burner in which the gas is burned to produce heat. In many cases, a gas valve either permits gas to flow, or ceases to permit gas to flow in response to a control signal from a control device such as a thermostat or other controller. A need remains for improved gas valves.


In a positive displacement hydraulic pump (68), a system for preventing cavitation includes a regulator valve, a valve spool (74) formed with control lands (76,78) moveable within a bore (72) communicating with control pressure taken at an inlet port (100) and control pressure at a reservoir inlet port (62). The spool opens and closes a connection between the inlet port (96) and outlet port (90) in accordance with changes in differential pressure between the reservoir (atmospheric pressure) and pressure in the inlet port (100). When the differential pressure is low, the valve closes the connection; when the differential pressure is large, the valve opens the connection.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to the field of hydraulic pump controls and more particularly to controls for preventing excessively low pressure and resulting cavitation in the pump.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
An hydraulic pump includes an inlet port, which is supplied with fluid from a reservoir or other source of hydraulic fluid, an outlet port connected to a pressure line, pumping chambers to carry the fluid from the inlet port to the outlet port, and a mechanical drive for activating the pumping chambers. In most hydraulic pumps the pumping chambers increase in size as they rotate toward the inlet, thereby creating a partial vacuum in the chambers. The chambers then decrease in size as they rotate toward and approach the outlet in order to push fluid from the chamber into the system. The vacuum at the inlet is used to create a pressure difference so that fluid will flow from the reservoir into the pumping chambers. However, in many systems the inlet is charged or supercharged, a technique in which a positive pressure, rather than a vacuum, is produced at a pressurized reservoir to create a head of fluid above the inlet. Frequently a low pressure charging pump is used to force fluid into the pumping chambers.
There are many different types of pumps used to pressurize hydraulic systems. Such pumps are generally fixed, constant displacement or variable, adjustable displacement versions. In a fixed displacement pump, the flow rate can be changed only by varying the drive speed. In a variable displacement pump, there is provision for changing the size of the pumping chambers so that the flow rate can be changed by moving the displacement control or changing the drive speed or both of these.
Cavitation is a condition that often occurs in a pump inlet when fluid is supplied at an insufficient rate to supply enough oil to keep the inlet filled. The condition produces in the hydraulic fluid bubbles, which implode as they are exposed to system pressure at the outlet of the pump. In addition to excessive pump speed, other reasons for cavitation include excessive restriction in the inlet line, too low a location of the reservoir level below the inlet, and high viscosity of hydraulic fluid. Ideally there should be no vacuum or even a slight positive pressure at the pump inlet; otherwise, cavitation can result.
Cavitation causes erosion of metal within the pump and increases deterioration of the hydraulic fluid. A badly cavitating pump makes a very distinctive noise as the bubbles implode under pressure.
A positive method to make sure that a pump does not cavitate is to check the inlet with a vacuum guage. Cavitation is prevented by keeping the inlet clean and free of obstructions, by using as large and as short an inlet line as possible with minimum number of bends, and by operating within rated drive speeds.
One way to avoid cavitation in a pump is to pressurize the pump inlet. The easiest way to charge the inlet is by locating the reservoir above the pump inlet. Where this is not possible and acceptable conditions cannot be created otherwise, a pressurized reservoir is often used. An auxiliary pump can be used also to maintain a supply of fluid to the inlet at low pressure. Generally a charging pump is used for this purpose, or a positive displacement pump is used with pressure relief valves set to maintain a desired charging pressure.

System for preventing cavitation in an hydraulic pump


In a process of making gas laid products by entraining particles at least partially coated with a binder in a gaseous stream, passing the stream through a forming chamber and through a permeable collecting surface where the particles build up to form a product like fiber glass insulation, this invention prevents particles from contacting and building up on the walls of the forming chamber and causing wet spots in the finished product by maintaining a high velocity, high pressure layer of gas close to the exposed surface of the walls of the chamber and moving in the general direction of the gaseous stream. This is accomplished by apparatus including a plurality of plenum boxes forming the walls of the forming chamber with the surface exposed to the gaseous stream having gas directing openings therein. Also, an improved method of applying the binder to the particles is disclosed.

In gas, air laid processes for making particulate paper, mat, blanket, board, etc., particles such as fibers are carried in an air stream that is contained and guided by at least a partial enclosure to a permeable collecting surface or screen where the particles are laid down on the collecting surface while the entraining air stream is sucked through the permeable collecting screen. Such a process is used to make fibrous insulation products such as glass fiber insulation bats, blankets, boards, etc. as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,832,723; 4,058,386; 3,901,675; 3,759,680; 3,250,602; 3,030,659 and 2,431,205, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
These processes usually involve spraying water and/or a binder onto the particles while they are airborne in route to collection. This causes the particles to become sticky or tacky, particularly when the entraining air is warm or hot, which is frequently the case. Confining walls containing or guiding the sticky air entrained fibers, the forming chamber, cause a problem because the fibers get blown into contact with the walls and many stick and then catch other particles and build up on the walls. Once these build-ups reach a certain size, portions of each build-up, clumps, break loose due to the air stream rushing past, are picked up by the air stream and carried to the collection screen where they are deposited on the mat, often near one of its edges, but also across the mat. These clumps are often wetter than the rest of the blanket having collected water and binder droplets from the air stream due to their residence time on the walls. The clumps also cause thick areas on the blanket or mat. The thicker areas and the wetter clumps prevent total drying and curing of the binder resin, usually phenolic resin, in the oven later in the process resulting in wet spots in the finished product requiring much otherwise good product to be scrapped.
Also, it is necessary to shut the process down frequently, every six weeks or sooner, and clean the walls and bottom of the forming chamber to reduce the frequency of wet spots. Every shut down is costly.
In the past, things have been done to try to prevent clumps from forming on the forming chamber walls. For example, it has been proposed to use a large conveyor belt for each wall such that each wall is slowly moving. In this way build-ups on the walls are continuously carried out of the forming chamber where, in the return path, the belt, or moving wall, can be continuously cleaned without having to shut the process down. While this system is an improvement, the system is very costly to install and operate and the process material losses are still high because all material that sticks to the walls is carried out, removed in the cleaning step and discarded.
Another way of keeping the sidewalls clean is to continuously wash the walls with a sheet of moving water while the process is operating. This eliminates most of the wet spots from occurring, but the water usage and water cleanup or disposal costs are very high. Further, the process material losses are very high because all particles that contact the moving sheets of water are picked up and carried out of the process with the water.
This problem is becoming more costly and difficult to abide as the regulations on the disposal of wastes becomes more stringent. The need for a process that avoids dirty walls in the forming chamber is thus great. Also, there is a need for improved efficiency in the binder application step since all binder that does not end up on the parties/fibers is removed in the air stream and must be removed by costly filtering, scrubbing and water treatment techniques.

Apparatus for use in confining a gaseous stream containing wet or sticky particles or fibers


A printing device includes an array of printheads, an actuator, and a controller. The actuator is configured to move the printheads between: a first distance from a surface on which an ink image is to be formed that enables the printheads to eject ink and form a portion of the ink image on the surface; and a second distance from the surface that is greater than the first distance. Both the first and second distances are within a print zone of the printing device. The controller is configured to identify at least one printhead that is not used for a portion of a print job, and is further configured to operate the actuator to move the identified printhead to the second distance from the surface.

Imaging devices such as inkjet printers typically operate one or more printheads that are configured to eject ink for marking media. In direct marking printers, the ink is applied directly to the media, rather than to an intermediate printing surface. The media can be, for example, a surface of a continuous web of media material, a series of media sheets, or other surfaces that are desirably marked. A printhead controller typically controls the one or more printheads by generating a firing signal with reference to image data.
Two or more printheads can be mounted linearly, or in other configurations, to a support structure, to form an array of printheads. In array printing devices, printheads are arranged to extend over the print media in a cross-process direction, which is perpendicular to a direction of media movement in the plane of the media movement. A distance between the printheads and the imaging surface is carefully selected to optimize the imaging process. If the gap is too small, burnishing of the printheads can occur when the image receiving surface contacts the face of the printheads. Burnishing not only reduces the life of the printheads, but results in poor image quality, unintentional markings, and increased downtime of the printer during maintenance. If the gap is too large, image quality suffers, particularly in high speed printers, where a large gap can result in decreased accuracy of the ejected drops forming the printed image. A nominal gap distance between printheads and an image receiving surface can be, for example, about 1 mm or less.
In imaging devices for printing images on separate sheets of media, sheets of media are sequentially fed through the imaging device. Each media sheet has a leading edge that may be susceptible to dislocation, curling, wrinkling, or other types of distortion, and printheads in cut sheet imaging devices are at risk to burnishing and damage. While the media in continuous-feed imaging devices do not have leading edges, height distortions, such as seams and wrinkles, can be present in continuous media webs and thus also risk impacting printheads. Systems have been produced for adjusting the gap between printheads and the imaging surface, but involve interrupting the printing process, are not optimized for high-speed printing, or result in a decrease in fidelity or accuracy in the printed image.
An additional risk involves contaminant accumulating on printheads from sources such as ejected ink from other printheads, dust, particulates from the media, or the like. Dust particulates and other contaminations can clog nozzles. When printheads are in close proximity to one another, ejected ink from one printhead may splash or spray onto another. While devices have been produced that can be used to clean or wipe a printhead, such use often interrupts the printing process and involves what can be complex maintenance devices and procedures. Further, wiping mechanisms can potentially exacerbate these risks by pushing particulates into the nozzle openings.
These risks are compounded when, as in many modern imaging devices, a plurality of different printheads are included in a device. Including more printheads in an imaging device increases the chance that media distortion or contamination results in damage to one of the printheads that can negatively impact the lifespan of printheads. Therefore, systems and methods that reduce printhead damage and contamination in imaging devices operating at a high rate of speed without interrupting the printing process or impacting the quality of the printed image would be beneficial.

Control method to reduce printhead damage and contamination


A shining personal adornment includes a hollow body, a shining unit held in the hollow body, a power supplying unit, a first connecting part joined to one end of the hollow body, a second connecting part joined to other end of the hollow body for separable connection with one end of the power supplying unit; the first connecting part has a threaded portion, and holds a conducting element therein, which is connected to the shining unit; the power supplying unit contains batteries therein, and has a threaded portion; the threaded portion of the first connecting part is threadedly engaged with the threaded portion of the power supplying unit; the conducting element will not be connected to the batteries, and the shining unit will not be powered if the threaded portions are loosely connected; the conducting element will be electrically connected to the batteries when both the threaded portions are tightly connected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shining personal adornment, more particularly one, which includes a hollow body, a shining unit held in the hollow body, a power supplying unit having a threaded portion, and a connecting part joined to one end of the hollow body; the first connecting part has a threaded portion, and contains a conducting element for electrical connection with the power supplying unit such that the shining unit will not be powered if both the threaded portions are loosely connected, and such that the shining unit will be powered when the threaded portions are tightly connected.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Referring to FIG. 1, glowing sticks and electronic lighting tubes are often seen in concerts, parties, festivals etc, which are held in hands, and waved for helping create atmosphere in the scenes. However, the conventional glowing sticks and electronic lighting tubes can only be held in hands while the users are dancing or posture.
Furthermore, most of the conventional glowing sticks contain catalytic agent, and a kind of luminous chemical therein such that glow will be produced when the luminous chemical is mixed with the catalytic agent. Because the above-mentioned glowing sticks can only be used once, the chemical therein will cause pollution to the environment after discarded.

Structure of a shining personal adornment


A roof apparatus includes: a movable panel opening and closing an opening of a roof of a vehicle; a mounting member including a mounting wall extending upright in one direction along an edge portion of the opening; and a weather strip having an attaching portion including pinching strips pinching the mounting wall therebetween, a first seal portion connected to the attaching portion and coming into liquid-tight contact with an opening end edge, and a second seal portion connected to the attaching portion and coming into liquid-tight contact with a peripheral edge in a fully closed state. A mounting depression depressed in the inner and outer direction of the vehicle is formed on the mounting wall. The attaching portion includes a lip portion connected to one of the pinching strips facing the mounting depression, and engageably inserted into the mounting depression.

In the related art, various types of the roof apparatus are proposed. For example, a roof apparatus disclosed in JP 2012-62023A (Reference 1) includes a weather strip 95 provided between a flange-shaped opening edge 91a of a roof 91 and a flange-shaped peripheral edge 92a of a movable panel 92 to seal between the opening edge 91a and the peripheral edge 92a as illustrated in FIG. 5. In other words, the weather strip 95 includes an attaching portion 96 having a cored bar 97 embedded therein and being formed into a substantially U-shape in cross section. The weather strip 95 is fixed to the roof 91 by pinching the opening edge 91a with the attaching portion 96. At this time, a plurality of projections 96a, 96b, and 96c, which extend from an inner wall surface of the attaching portion 96, come into resiliently contact with the opening edge 91a, so that the weather strip 95 is retained with respect to the opening edge 91a.
The weather strip 95 includes a first seal portion 98 extending from the attaching portion 96 toward the opening edge 91a and coming into liquid-tight contact therewith, and a second seal portion 99 extending from the attaching portion 96 toward the peripheral edge 92a of the movable panel 92 and coming into liquid-tight contact therewith. From the configuration described above, the weather strip 95 seals between the opening edge 91a of the roof 91 and the peripheral edge 92a of the movable panel 92.
The weather strip 95 disclosed in Reference 1 has a structure in which the plurality of projecting portions 96a to 96c come into resilient contact with the opening edge 91a when pinching the opening edge 91a with the attaching portion 96. Therefore, dimensions of the attaching portion 96 occupying a space between the opening edge 91a and the peripheral edge 92a are increased, and hence a large arrangement space needs to be secured for the attaching portion 96.


A multilayer Paper Analytical Device (PAD) is provided for detection of at least two chemical components indicative of a low quality pharmaceutical or dietary supplement product. A method for detection of at least two chemical components indicative of a low quality pharmaceutical or dietary supplement product is also provided that employs a multilayer PAD. A kit is provided for detection of at least two chemical components indicative of a low quality pharmaceutical or dietary supplement product that includes a multilayer PAD and instructions for using the kit.

User-friendly analytical devices such as Paper Analytical Devices (PADs) are known in the art as convenient and inexpensive means for assaying chemicals. As these devices contain all necessary reagents and do not require power, they are easy to operate in a field setting. U.S. Pat. No. 6,136,549 discloses systems for conducting spectrophotometric analysis which includes a chromatographic medium, such as an assay test strip, that is designed to be contacted with a test solution having activated magnetic particles. U.S. Pat. No. 6,770,487 discloses "dip stick" style paper-based diagnostic test devices, in which identifying information and the test result are machine-readable. U.S. Pat. No. 6,847,451 discloses apparatuses for determining the concentration of an analyte in a physiological sample, which include at least one light source, a detector array, means for determining whether a sufficient amount of sample is present on each of the plurality of different areas, and means for determining the concentration of the analyte based on the reflected light detected from those areas determined to have sufficient sample, U.S. Pat. No. 7,344,081 discloses a method of automatically detecting a test result of a probe zone of a test strip comprising capturing an image of a one-dimensional bar code and an image of at least one test strip from a scanning object, and determining a setting value for the at least one test strip based, at least in part, on said captured image of said bar code. U.S. Pat. No. 7,885,444 discloses a method for determining a response of each probe zone on a test strip by selecting an average pixel value of each section of reference white respectively adjacent to the image of a target line to serve as a reference for determining a color response of the target line. US Publication No. 2008/0012083 discloses an analytical system-on-a-chip that can be used as an analytical imaging device, for example, for detecting the presence of a chemical compound, which may also include software that can detect and analyze the output signals of the device. US Publication No. 2011/0189786 discloses a method of detecting the presence or absence of an analyte in a fluid sample. The method includes applying the sample to an inlet zone of a diagnostic system that includes a hydrophilic cotton loading thread to serve as a capillary to deliver a solute to a reagent testing zone, and detecting color change of reagent analyte interaction. US Publication No. 2011/0111517 discloses a paper-based microfluidic assay device comprising a porous, hydrophilic substrate; a fluid-impermeable barrier defining a boundary of an assay region and a boundary of a main channel region, the main channel region fluidically connected to the assay region; and a strip of conductive material disposed on the porous, hydrophilic substrate for detecting the concentration/flow of analyte. In a commercial embodiment, pSiFlow Technology Inc. provides a mobile testing and process management web infrastructure built around its Calibrated Color Match (CCM) image processing technology that enables digital reading of color-based test strips using any mobile phone with a camera.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that many medications for sale in underdeveloped countries are of low quality, which either contain low concentrations of active ingredients that are not sufficient to treat the underlying condition, or contain substitute active ingredients that may have adverse effects on some patients, or have no active ingredients at all; or even contain toxic ingredients. Although the prevalence of such medications is difficult to measure, both the WHO and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimate that 10-30% of all drugs in the developing world are low quality drugs. A consumer taking a low quality pharmaceutical product may die or experience other adverse medical effects from the underlying condition or from contaminants in the pharmaceutical product. The failure of treatment may be mistaken for resistant strains of the disease requiring much more rigorous treatment that can itself endanger the patient. Also, low quality medications that fail to cure the underlying condition may speed up development of actual resistance in pathogens.
Multiple factors contribute to the prevalence of low quality pharmaceutical products in developing countries. First of all, manufacturing and selling low quality pharmaceutical products are both easy and hugely lucrative, and low quality products can enter the supply chain at many points. Moreover, buyers and consumers cannot assess identity or quality of pharmaceutical products. Furthermore, manufacturing low quality pharmaceutical products is not a serious crime in many countries, and there is a low risk of detection from official agencies and organizations. Finally, the time, expertise, and expense required for testing pharmaceutical products is a particular barrier to effective post-market surveillance of pharmaceuticals in developing countries.
Some medical conditions arise not from a pathogen, but from a deficiency in an essential nutrient. For example, widespread iodine deficiency is a problem in many underdeveloped countries that is associated with developmental impairment in children. Fortification of table salt with potassium iodate or potassium iodide is a common route to address this problem. However, production and distribution methods for iodized table salt in many developing countries yield inadequate or inconsistent levels of iodine. Unfortunately, the time and expense of testing for iodized table salt deters manufacturers, distributors, and end-users from testing iodized table salt to determine iodine concentrations. Thus, a low-cost method of testing iodized table salt at the production facility or in the field is needed to determine whether the salt is adequately fortified with iodine within therapeutic concentrations recommended by the WHO.
Thus, there exist long-felt needs for a low-cost, easy-to-use, reliable, minimalistic chemical means of detecting low quality pharmaceutical products and dietary supplements such as iodized salt. These quality problems are also present for veterinary medications and nutritional supplements for animals. The present invention addresses these needs by providing an inexpensive, user-friendly, consistent analytical device capable of detecting various low quality pharmaceutical products and measuring levels of iodine in iodized salt.

Analytical devices for detection of low-quality pharmaceuticals