An integrally molded display floor for a gravity feed display tray where the floor devoid of integrally molded side walls extending upward therefrom, has front and rear end walls, and a plurality of longitudinal ribs which can receive upward extending partitions which are releasably attachable to the floor and extend longitudinally, thus dividing the display tray into laterally spaced paths. Each display tray has opposite side walls extending downward, and transversely extending beams intersecting the longitudinal ribs. The end walls, side walls, and bottom surfaces of the longitudinal ribs thus establishing a basement where the bottom surfaces of the ribs constitute the ceiling of the basement. This basement is a space suitable for receiving downward extending tabs of the partitions to engage and stabilize such partitions with the display track. The basement also provides suitable space for lateral extending coupling means from one display track to the next for coupling adjacent display tracks to provide a wider transverse area thereof. Furthermore, the basement allows space for further coupling members extending from the rear end of any display track element to the front end of the next for coupling thereto.

The present invention relates to a display track, and more particularly to a depth and width adjustable track unit with removable partitions.
Display shelves are commonly found in stores, supermarkets, and the like for the display of products available for sale. The display shelf may be flat, in which case there is typically a spring-loaded pusher unit to push the displayed products forward as each foremost product is purchased and removed, or inclined, in which case, as each foremost product is removed, the remainder of the products move forwardly under the influence of gravity (such shelves typically being known as "gravity-feed shelves"). Depending upon the type of products to be displayed, the display shelf maybe disposed on a counter or table top (for example, where the products for display are batteries, film, or other dry, canned, boxed or bagged food and consumer products commonly sold at room temperature) or on a supporting tray in a refrigeration unit (for example, where the products are bottles or cans of beer, soda, milk or other products commonly sold chilled). The display shelf may consist of a single track or channel but more commonly consists of a plurality of such tracks disposed side-by-side in either a fixed or releasable relationship.
From the point of view of the retailer, the display shelf should be of sufficient depth (that is, the length from the front thereof to the back thereof) that the entire depth of the support surface (i.e., the counter, table top or refrigeration tray) is occupied by the shelf-that is, so that there is no wasted space. If the display shelf does not occupy the full depth, objects placed on the support surface in front of the display shelf will conceal the products intended to be displayed on the display shelf, while objects placed on the support surface behind the display shelf will be at least partially hidden from customer view and not readily accessible to a potential customer. This problem has been addressed in the past by providing a "standard depth" shelf which has breakaway rear portions enabling the depth of the display shelf to be shortened to meet the available space. An obvious disadvantage of this solution to the problem is that some counters, tabletops or refrigeration trays will be deeper than the "standard depth" display shelves.
Another solution to this problem is to provide the retailer with a "standard depth" display shelf and add-on sections. The add-on sections may be "added on" to the back of the display shelf (assuming that the display shelf does not have a back wall which would interfere with the passage of products from the add-on sections to the main display shelf). Alternatively, where the front and back sections of the display shelf may be separated (e.g., broken-away), the add-on sections may be inserted between the separated front and back sections of the display shelf.
The "add-on sections" solution is not favored, however, either by the retailer or the display shelf manufacturer. Typically additional members—e.g., fasteners or connecters—must be used to connect the add-on sections either to the back section of the display shelf or to the front of the back section and the back of the front section of the display shelf. Such connecters are typically relatively small and easy to lose during the assembly process. From the point of view of the manufacturer of the display shelf, the add-on sections solution is particularly onerous because the manufacturer must not only purchase, maintain and operate the usual molds for the production of the standard depth display shelf, but also a special mold for the production of the add-on sections. The add-on sections solution further entails logistical problems in that a separate inventory of the add-on sections must be maintained by the manufacturer, made available for purchase, and delivered to purchasers. In brief, the manufacturer must manufacture, sell and deliver two products—that is, the standard depth display shelf and the add-on sections—rather than merely one product (that is, the standard depth display shelf).
As a practical matter, the dilemma of the producer is even greater since the customer may desire add-on sections of different depths so that the customer can make full use of the available depths of a variety of different-depth support surfaces. Each of these add-on sections of differing depth then becomes yet another product line to be manufactured, sold and delivered by the manufacturer.
For the various racks, whether enlarged or reduced in the length and width dimensions, it is typical to utilize a plurality longitudinally extending partition which may be installed in selected locations to accommodate products of various widths. It is important to provide removable partitions extending lengthwise on the display tracks which partitions need to be easily installed and easily removed and easily changed in length to match the shape and space in the gondola display case.
Further problems with partitions are that products divided by the partitions nevertheless tend to topple off the front of the display track or in display cabinets with front doors, to slide too far and lie against the front door and then fall out when the door is open. Also these partitions become dislodged because customers pull on products or pull on the partitions themselves when products become wedged between them.
A further factor is economy of space. Space is at a premium and it is desirable to have the absolute maximum amount of lateral and depth space and also height. Therefore, the partitions need to be coupled to the tracks while utilizing a minimum of depth of the track.
Typical prior art partitions have included numerous structural and functional features which inhibit their usefulness. This usually occurs when achieving one objective necessitates sacrifice or compromises another. For example, ease of installation and removal often results in partitions that are easily dislodged or are unstable against topping forces. Conversely, highly secure and stable partitions are often quite cumbersome to install and remove. Efforts to solve these problems have been hindered by various factors inherent in the industry, including the need to maximize display space, and to incorporate maximum flexibility to enlarge or reduce display rack dimensions, and to render these products so user friendly that minimum training is required for installation and adjustment.
It is an objective for these partitions to be easily installable and removable, and to be resistant to dislodgment or tipping, and to be adjustable in length to correspond to the length selected for the display rack.
It is a further objective to have the new improvements applicable to various known display track structures, and particularly to the display track as disclosed in the parent application of the present continuation-in-part application.
It is still further objective to design partitions which are readily installed, are highly resistant to tipping, shifting or otherwise being dislodged while installed and are readily removable without special skills or equipment.
Another object is to provide releasably locking or safety coupling means so that these partitions cannot be accidentally dislodged by customers when they take displayed products or by store operators when they install or adjust these display locks.
A further object is to provide a front lip onto the display track to prevent forward toppling of products.
A still further object is to utilize existing structure of adjacent longitudinal support bars of triangular cross-sections to cooperate with partitions to result in easy releasable connectability and stability.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a depth-extendable display track unit enabling a customer to form a depth-extended display track.
Another object is to provide such a unit which in one preferred embodiment consists of at least two essentially identical standard depth display tracks.
A further object is to provide such a unit which in one preferred embodiment does not require the manufacturer to manufacture, sell or deliver add-on sections to enable formation of the depth-extended display track.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a unit wherein in one preferred embodiment depth extension is achievable without the use of additional components such as fasteners.
It is a further object to provide such a unit which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and use.

Depth and width adjustable display track unit with removable partitions


According to the present invention, an apparatus and method for improving reads from and writes to shared memory locations is disclosed. By giving writes priority over reads, the current invention can decrease the time associated with certain sequences of reads from and writes to shared memory locations. In particular, load-invalidate-load sequences are changed to loadxe2x80x94load sequences with the current invention. Furthermore, contention for a shared memory location will be reduced in particular situations when using the current invention.

1. Technical Field
This invention generally relates to computer system memory and more specifically relates to memory systems that support shared memory locations.
2. Background Art
Today, our society is heavily dependent upon computers for everyday activity. Computers are found in homes, in business offices, and in most production and manufacturing environments. Most computer systems are controlled by a central processing unit (CPU) and have various levels of memory which can be used by the CPU to perform the various functions for which it has been programmed. Typically, computer programs are loaded into the computer system""s memory storage areas and executed by the CPU. The programs and data are stored in different areas of the computer system""s memory depending on what type of function the CPU is performing. Traditionally, the computer system""s memory has been classified as either main memory (primary or main storage) or secondary memory (secondary storage). Programs and data need to be in main memory in order to be executed or referenced by a running program, while programs or data not needed immediately may be kept in secondary memory until needed and then brought into main storage for execution or reference.
In the 1960""s, it became clear that the traditional memory storage hierarchy could be extended by one more level with dramatic improvements in performance and utilization. This additional level, the xe2x80x9ccache,xe2x80x9d is a high-speed memory that is much faster than the main memory. Cache storage is relatively expensive when compared with main memory and therefore, in a typical computer system, only relatively small amounts of cache memory are used. In addition, limiting the size of cache storage enhances the speed of the cache.
Cache memory generally operates faster than main memory, typically by a factor of five to ten times and may, under certain circumstances, approach the operational speed of the CPU itself. By keeping the most frequently accessed instructions and/or data in high speed cache memory, average overall memory access time for the system will approach the access time of the cache. There is a certain amount of overhead involved in shuttling information between various memory locations. This overhead is kept as small as possible so that it does not cancel out the performance increase achieved by utilizing cache storage. In addition, if the specific program instruction to be executed or data to be used has been pre-loaded into the cache, the CPU may execute the program instruction or use the data without returning to either main memory or secondary memory, thereby significantly increasing the operational speed of the system.
While adding caches to computer systems has been beneficial, there are additional costs associated with caches, particularly in today""s multiprocessing computers. When a cache has a copy of information that also resides in memory, there is the potential that the copy of the information in the cache may not match the copy of the information in the memory. This is most apparent in multiprocessing systems, where there are multiple processors, caches, and either shared or exclusive memories. In these complex systems, a copy of information in one cache may not match copies of this information in other caches or memories.
To prevent potential problems due to these mismatches, engineers have designed coherency protocols. One of the more popular coherency protocols is called MESI, which stands for Modified, Exclusive, Shared, and Invalid. Each acronym letter of MESI stands for one potential state of a cache memory location (usually called a xe2x80x9clinexe2x80x9d). A cache line in the Modified state means that the cache line has been updated and any copies are currently invalid. A cache line in the Exclusive state means that the cache line has the only copy of the data, but the copy in main memory is valid. When a cache line is in a Shared state, more than one cache may be holding a copy of the line, but the copy in main memory is valid. Cache lines that are in the Invalid state essentially have invalid data.
To support the MESI protocol, processors have a xe2x80x9csnoopingxe2x80x9d mechanism that monitors (xe2x80x9csnoopsxe2x80x9d) the system bus. If one processor writes to a line in a cache, the bus controller (which contains the snooping mechanism) for other processors will invalidate their copies of this cache line. Alternatively, the bus controller for the processor that is performing the write could broadcast an invalidate transaction on the system bus to inform other caches that this line has been changed. Regardless of how the other caches learn of the invalidation, the caches that have copies of this line then know that they have old copies and that their processors must request new copies, either from main memory or from the cache that has the new copy of the line. Additionally, snooping mechanisms allow processors and caches to order retries for situations when a recently updated cache line has not yet been written to main memory, but when another processor wishes to read main memory for information contained in the recently updated cache line.
Thus, snooping and MESI work together to ensure cache coherency. Even with coherency protocols, however, there are times when reads from and writes to shared memory locations are not as efficient as they could be.
According to the present invention, an apparatus and method for improving reads from and writes to shared memory locations is disclosed. By giving writes priority over reads, the current invention can decrease the time associated with certain sequences of reads from and writes to shared memory locations. In particular, load-invalidate-load sequences are changed to loadxe2x80x94load sequences with the current invention. Furthermore, contention for a shared memory location will be reduced in particular situations when using the current invention.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Apparatus and method to improve performance of reads from and writes to shared memory locations

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention relates to a B cell-based vaccine loaded with the ligand of natural killer T cell and antigen for the prevention and treatment of disease, more precisely, an immunotherapeutic and prophylactic vaccine mediated by B cells loaded with α-galactosylceramide, a kind of glycolipid which can stimulate natural killer T cells. A vaccine composition of the present invention can be effectively used as an antitumor immunotherapeutic agent. B cells therein, which are easily obtainable compared with dendritic cells, not only induce a similar level of cytotoxic T lymphocyte response to that of the conventional dendritic cell-based vaccine but also have a prophylactic and therapeutic effect on solid tumor and metastatic tumor.

In general, tumor antigens cannot be efficiently presented by an antigen presenting cell, that is, immune response is not effectively induced. An antitumor vaccine is a novel therapeutic vaccine which is characterized by activating tumor specific immune system (for example, introducing tumor antigens to antigen presenting cells) to induce a strong immune response to destroy cancer cells.
Of the available vaccine approaches, cellular vaccines using antigen presenting cells (APC) such as dendritic cells (DC) are known to be reliable at generating effective T cell immunity (Rosenberg, S. A. et al., Nat. Med., 10, 909-915, 2004). Because DC-based vaccines in particular have been shown to efficiently induce Ag-specific effector and memory T cells, they are being considered for antitumor immunotherapy in a number of clinical trials (Rosenberg, S. A. et al., Nat. Med., 10, 909-915, 2004). Dendritic cells are ideal antigen-presenting cells (APC) for immunotherapy because they can capture Ag and then migrate into lymphoid organs, where they present the Ag to the relevant T cell. More importantly, they provide strong co-stimulation to the T cells (Figdor, C. G. et al., Nat. Med., 10, 475-480, 2004; and Banchereau, J. et al., Cell, 106, 271-274, 2001). The DC-vaccine approach is well-established for both experimental and clinical studies. However, DCs are relatively sparse in blood and lymphoid tissues and it is difficult to increase their numbers ex vivo from blood monocytes, both of which present major drawbacks to their widespread use in vaccines (Schultze, J. L. et al., Trends Immunol., 25, 659-664, 2004).
B cells offer an attractive alternate source for cellular vaccines in that they are abundant in lymphoid tissues and blood, and easily expanded ex vivo (Schultze, J. L. et al., Trends Immunol., 25, 659-664, 2004; von Bergwelt-Baildon, M. S. et al., Blood, 99, 3319-3325, 2002; and Schultze, J. L. et al., J. Clin. Invest., 100, 2757-2757, 1997), and home to lymphoid organs after parenteral administration.
Despite these advantages, B cells have been ignored as a source of the cellular vaccine since they are poorly immunogenic. In fact, accumulating evidence shows that they induce immune tolerance in both CD4 and CD8 T cells directly, probably due to the lack of co-stimulation (Bennett, S. R. et al., J. Exp. Med., 188, 1977-1983, 1998; and Eynon, E. E. et al., J. Exp. Med., 175, 131-138, 1992). However, 'activated'. B cells can prime both CD4 and CD8 T cells (von Bergwelt-Baildon, M. S. et al., Blood, 99, 3319-3325, 2002; Schultze, J. L. et al., J. Clin. Invest., 100, 2757-2765, 1997; Lapointe, R. et al., Cancer Res., 63, 2836-2843, 2003; and Heit, A. et al., J. Immunol., 172, 1501-1507, 2004), suggesting that, when activated by the appropriate stimuli, B cells can act as immunogenic APC capable of inducing Ag-specific T cell immunity.
It is well established that iNKT cells play a crucial role in a variety of immune responses and in immunopathology as a whole. Although they represent less than 1% of lymphocytes in mice, iNKT cells govern the response to self- and exogenous-Ag and determine whether tolerance or immunity is induced (Kronenberg, M., Annu. Rev. Immunol., 23, 877-900, 2005; and Park, S. H. & Bendelac, A., Nature, 406, 788-792, 2000). They act as suppressors of immunity in tumor, diabetes and at immune-privileged site (Sonoda, K. H., et al., J. Exp. Med., 190, 1215-1226, 1999).
In contrast, ligand-mediated activation of iNKT cells lead to the activation of T, B, and NK cells as well as DC. Injection of αGalCer, an iNKT ligand, generates antitumor immunity via the mediation of NK and T cells (Moodycliffe, A. M., et al., Nat. Immunol., 1, 521-525, 2000).
Alpha-galactosylceramide (αGalCer) is a kind of glycolipid extracted from marine sponge, which is the ligand of natural killer T cell having Vα14+ T cell receptor (TCR) and presented by CD1d on an antigen presenting cell (APC) (Kawano et al., Science, 278: 1626, 1997). The activation of the natural killer T cells leads to the mass-production of IFN-γ and IL-4, by which immune responses against either infectious disease or cancer can be controlled (Chen et al., J. Immunol., 159: 2240, 1997; Wilson et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 100: 10913, 2003).
Mice to which protein Ag and αGalCer have been coadministered develop humoral and cell-mediated immunity including cytotoxic T cell responses (Hermans, I. F., et al., J. Immunol, 171, 5140-5147, 2003; and Stober, D. et al., J. Immunol., 170, 2540-2548, 2003). Furthermore, a recent study has demonstrated that αGalCer-loaded DC generate longer-lasting iNKT cell responses than does free-form of αGalCer, suggesting that the adjuvancity of iNKT-ligands could be enhanced by targeting it to professional APC.
The present inventors confirmed that presentation of the iNKT-ligand on B cells could convert them from tolerogenic to immunogenic, thereby generating strong immunity against Ag displayed on MHC molecules of the B cells. To verify the confirmation and thereby to complete this invention, the present inventors further confirmed the efficiency of αGalCer-loaded, peptide-pulsed B cells and αGalCer-loaded, adenovirus-transduced B cells in generating antigen specific immunity and anti-tumor activity.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Seoul National University Industry Foundation


A heat dissipating device includes a heat dissipating fin unit, a heat dissipating fan unit, a heat exchanger, and a pump. The pump draws working fluid from the heat exchanger via a delivery pipe, and supplies the working fluid back to the heat exchanger via a supply pipe. The supply pipe is mounted on the heat dissipating fin unit such that the working fluid is cooled while passing through the supply pipe.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a heat dissipating device, more particularly to a heat dissipating device which can ensure circulation of a working fluid to thereby increase the efficiency of the heat dissipating device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional heat dissipating device 10 for use in computer systems is shown to include a cooling device 11 which is adapted to be mounted on a heat generating component, a heat dissipating fan 12, and a heat dissipating fin 13. The cooling device 11 contains a working fluid and has a delivery pipe 111 for delivering the working fluid to the fin 13. The heat dissipating fan 12 has a top side formed with an air inlet 121, and a lateral side formed with an air outlet 122. The fin 13 is disposed adjacent to the air outlet 122 and is formed with a channel 131 for extension of the delivery pipe 111. Therefore, when the working fluid in the cooling device 11 absorbs heat from the heat generating component, the working fluid is cooled by simply delivering the working fluid through the delivery pipe 11 which is connected to the heat dissipating fin 13. At the same time, the heat dissipating fan 12 continuously blows air through the air outlet 122 to the heat dissipating fin 13 in order to assist in the cooling of the working fluid. However, the conventional heat dissipating device 10 has several drawbacks. First of all, since the cooling device 11 is not associated with any circulation device, the movement of the working fluid is very slow. As such, the temperature reduction of the working fluid is limited to where the delivery pipe 111 is in contact with the heat dissipating fin 13. Therefore, it is usually quite difficult to reduce the temperature to the desired range which dramatically decreases the efficiency of the heat dissipating device 10. Secondly, since only a small section of the delivery pipe 111 is in contact with the heat dissipating fin 13, the effect of heat exchanging can only occur around the peripheral surfaces of the section of the delivery pipe 111 which is in contact with the heat dissipating fin 13. Since the contacting surface is rather small, the heat dissipation is obviously not effective.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a heat dissipating device which allows the working fluid to circulate and which prolongs the time for heat exchanging and increases the surface area for heat dissipation so as to increase the efficiency of the heat dissipating device.
According to this invention, a heat dissipating device comprises a heat dissipating fin unit made of a heat-conductive material, and a heat dissipating fan unit mounted on the fin unit and operable so as to generate cooling air for cooling the fin unit. The heat dissipating device further comprises a heat exchanger including a hollow contact body that is made of a heat-conductive material, that is disposed adjacent to the fin unit, and that contains an amount of working fluid therein. The contact body is adapted to be disposed in contact with a heat generating component. The heat exchanger further includes a delivery pipe that is connected to the contact body to permit exit of the working fluid from the contact body, and a supply pipe that is connected to the contact body to permit entry of the working fluid into the contact body. The supply pipe is mounted to the heat dissipating fin unit to permit cooling of the working fluid in the supply pipe. A pump is connected to the delivery pipe and the supply pipe, and is operable so as to draw the working fluid from the contact body via the delivery pipe and to supply the working fluid into the contact body via the supply pipe. The working fluid is cooled by the fin unit while passing through the supply pipe.


An apparatus for forming double-side polished sheet of thermoplastic resin has a first cooling roll for forming a sheet of thermoplastic synthetic resin thereon along a contact angle .THETA..sub.1, a second cooling roll having a smaller diameter than the first cooling roll and mounted adjacent the first cooling roll for engaging the outer surface of the sheet formed on the first cooling roll and nipping the sheet between the cooling rolls for receiving the sheet from the first cooling roll onto a part of the surface thereof along a contact angle .THETA..sub.2, the second cooling roll being movable along the outer circumference of the first cooling roll for varying the contact angles while continuing to nip the sheet between the cooling rolls, a water tank having at least one guide roller therein and positioned for receiving the sheet directly from the second cooling roll and guiding the sheet from the second cooling roll directly into the water tank, and a water level control in the water tank for varying the water level in accordance with the contact angles for making the distance from the point at which the sheet leaves the second cooling roll to the water level such that the surface temperature of the sheet is below the melting point of the resin when the sheet reaches the water.

The present invention relates to a sheet forming apparatus which is applicable to a biaxially stretching film manufacturing system, a sheet manufacturing system, etc.
One example of the sheet forming apparatus of the prior art is illustrated in a cross-section side view in FIG. 1, and temperature distributions on or in the sheet being processed in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 are illustrated in FIG. 2. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 designates an extrusion die which extrudes thermoplastic resin in a sheet shape, and an extruded wheet 3 is cooled by blowing pressurized air from an air knife 2 onto the sheet 3. Reference numeral 4 designates a first cooling roll, which is rotatably supported on a shaft extending from side plates (not shown) and which serves to uniformly cool the sheet 3 by feeding a water coolant to its interior.
Reference numeral 5 designates a second cooling roll having a similar structure to the first cooling roll 4, and the first cooling roll 4 and the second cooling roll 5 jointly nip the sheet 3 at a point a to effect double-side polishing of the sheet 3, and subsequently, the sheet 3 is successively cooled while passing around a third cooling roll 6 and a cooling drum 8 within a water tank 7. It is to be noted that the second cooling roll 5 and the third cooling roll 6 are movable in directions b and in directions c, respectively.
In addition, reference numeral 9 designates a dewatering device, which is constructured of air nozzles for blowing away moisture from a wet sheet 3 coming out of the water tank 7, and the like. Reference numeral 10 designates a drawing roll, which draws up the sheet 3 by nipping it between a nip roll 11 and the drawing roll 10 to feed the sheet 3 to an apparatus in a subsequent step such as, for example, a width expanding machine. Also, the nip roll 11 is movable in directions d.
However, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, if the yield, that is, the conveying speed of the sheet 3 extruded from the die 1, is varied or the thickness of the sheet 3 is varied, then because the temperature of the sheet 3 at the point a which is the nip point between the first cooling roll 4 and the second cooling roll 5 will also differ correspondingly, it is necessary to regulate the cooling capacities of the first cooling roll 4 and the second cooling roll 5 in accordance with the difference in the sheet temperature. However, in some cases the regulation of the cooling capacities of the first cooling roll 4 and the second cooling roll 5 cannot be carried out sufficiently to maintain a sheet temperature at which double-side polishing can be achieved.
According to our measurement of the temperature distributions along one principal surface A, the opposite principal surface B and a center C of the thickness of the sheet 3, as shown in FIG. 2 the surface A is at first quickly cooled by the first cooling roll 4 (time interval I), but as the sheet 3 is transferred onto the second cooling roll 5 the surface A abruptly rises in temperature and remelts (time interval II), and sometimes glaze formed on the surface A by the first cooling roll 4 may disappear and creases may be generated on the surface A.
Thereafter, the surface A is successively cooled while being subjected to lowering of its temperature by the third cooling roll 6 (time interval III), raising of the temperature during the period before making contact with the cooling drum 8 (time interval IV) and lower of the temperature within the water tank 7 (time interval V).
Also with regard to the surface B, a remelting phenomenon similar to that occurring on the surface A will appear when the sheet 3 moves from the second cooling roll 5 to the third cooling roll 6, that is, in the time interval III. Therefore, the prior art apparatus has the shortcomings that not only is the time required before the temperatures on the surfaces A and B and at the center C become approximately equal to each other, but also the cost is high because the third cooling roll 6 is provided besides the first cooling roll 4 and the second cooling roll 5.


A tricyclic compound represented by the following formula (I): ##STR1## exhibits antagonism to angiotensin II receptors.

The present invention relates to tricyclic compounds exhibiting antagonism against angiotensin II (hereinafter referred to as AII) receptors and which are useful for the treatment of hypertension, congestive heart failure, renal failure and glaucoma.
Various peptide analogs are known as competitive inhibitors against AII receptors which are hypertensive peptide hormones. Further, as non-peptide inhibitors, there are known compounds wherein a fused heteroring such as benzimidazole and a biphenylmethane derivative are bonded [J. Med. Chem., 34, 2919 (1991); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,128,356] and compounds wherein an amino acid derivative and a biphenylmethane derivative are bonded (EP-A-443983). However, no compound in which a fused heteroring or an amino acid derivative is bonded to a tricyclic compound related to the present invention in place of a biphenylmethane derivative is known.
A need exists for novel and useful AII receptor antagonists, which are expected to exhibit a preventive or therapeutic effect against a wide variety of diseases. An object of the present invention is to provide novel tricyclic compounds which inhibit the physiological activities of AII by means of their AII receptor antagonistic action.

Tricyclic compounds on angiotensin II receptor antagonists


Dry powder inhalers include: (a) a first generally planar spiral travel path in an inhaler body, wherein the first spiral travel path has a plurality of adjacent curvilinear channels forming lanes with upstanding sidewalls, including an inner lane and an outer lane; and (b) a plurality of discrete sealed microcartridges with substantially rigid bodies disposed in the first travel path, each comprising a pre-metered (typically dose) amount of dry powder, the microcartridges being configured to slidably advance along the first travel path toward an inhalation chamber that merges into an inhalation output port. In operation, at least one microcartridge is held in the inhalation chamber to release the dry powder therein during inhalation.

Dry powder inhalers (DPIs) represent a promising alternative to pressurized pMDI (pressurized metered dose inhaler) devices for delivering drug aerosols without using CFC propellants. See generally, Crowder et al., 2001: an Odyssey in Inhaler Formulation and Design, Pharmaceutical Technology, pp. 99-113, July 2001; and Peart et al., New Developments in Dry Powder Inhaler Technology, American Pharmaceutical Review, Vol. 4, n. 3, pp. 37-45 (2001). Typically, the DPIs are configured to deliver a powdered drug or drug mixture that includes an excipient and/or other ingredients.
Generally described, known single and multiple dose dry powder DPI devices use: (a) individual pre-measured doses in blisters containing the drug, which can be inserted into the device prior to dispensing; or (b) bulk powder reservoirs which are configured to administer successive quantities of the drug to the patient via a dispensing chamber which dispenses the proper dose. See generally Prime et al., Review of Dry Powder Inhalers, 26 Adv. Drug Delivery Rev., pp. 51-58 (1997); and Hickey et al., A new millennium for inhaler technology, 21 Pharm. Tech., n. 6, pp. 116-125 (1997).
In operation, DPI devices strive to administer a uniform aerosol dispersion amount in a desired physical form of the dry powder (such as a particulate size) into a patient's airway and direct it to a desired deposit site(s).
A number of obstacles can undesirably impact the performance of the DPI. For example, the small size of the inhalable particles in the dry powder drug mixture can subject them to forces of agglomeration and/or cohesion (certain types of dry powders are susceptible to agglomeration, which is typically caused by particles of the drug adhering together), which can result in poor flow and non-uniform dispersion. In addition, as noted above, many dry powder formulations employ larger excipient particles to promote flow properties of the drug. However, separation of the drug from the excipient, as well as the presence of agglomeration, can require additional inspiratory effort, which, again, can impact the stable dispersion of the powder within the air stream of the patient. Unstable dispersions may inhibit the drug from reaching its preferred deposit/destination site and can prematurely deposit undue amounts of the drug elsewhere.
Further, some dry powder inhalers can retain a significant amount of the drug within the device, which can be especially problematic over time.
Some inhalation devices have attempted to resolve problems attendant with conventional passive inhalers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,523 proposes a dry powder inhalation device which has a deagglomeration/aerosolization plunger rod or biased hammer and solenoid, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,264 proposes the use of a battery-powered solenoid buzzer to vibrate the capsule to effectuate the release of the powder contained therein. These devices propose to facilitate the release of the dry powder by the use of energy input independent of patient respiratory effort. U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,663 to Eisele et al. proposes a dry powder inhaler delivery system with a rotatable carrier disk having a blister shell sealed by a shear layer that uses an actuator that tears away the shear layer to release the powder drug contents. U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,502 to Piper proposes a powder inhaler using patient inspiratory efforts for generating a respirable aerosol and also includes a rotatable cartridge holding the depressed wells or blisters defining the medicament-holding receptacles. A spring-loaded carriage compresses the blister against conduits with sharp edges that puncture the blister to release the medication that is then entrained in air drawn in from the air inlet conduit so that aerosolized medication is emitted from the aerosol outlet conduit. U.S. Pat. No. 6,971,383 to Hickey et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,889,690 to Crowder et al. describe using custom signals matched to a particular dry powder to facilitate fluidic delivery. The contents of all of these patents are hereby incorporated by reference as if stated in full herein.
Notwithstanding the above, there remains a need for alternative inhalers and/or drug containment devices that can be used to deliver dry powder medicaments.

Dry powder inhalers having spiral travel paths, unit dose microcartridges with dry powder, related devices and methods


Applicators are described suitable for the application of liquid to patient's skin. An applicator pad (3) is supported on a support flange (23) of an applicator housing (2), which receives a liquid cartridge (5). To moderate the rush of liquid on to the back of the applicator pad a flow distributor plate (6) is positioned on the rear position of the pad (3), restricting flow onto the pad to an annular slit opening around the plate (6). The front surface of the plate (6), opposing the pad (3), may have one or more grooves so that liquid can flow from the edge towards the center. Also disclosed, as an alternative, is the use of a projecting cantilevered tongue structure to distribute liquid across the rear surface of the sponge pad. The pad may have a hooked lobe shape for a front end of the applicator pad.

This invention has to do with applicators useful for applying surgical prep liquids to the skin.
The conventional preparation of a patient's skin for surgery includes an extended period of cleaning using soap or the like, followed by the application of an antiseptic or disinfectant. The nature, duration and difficulty of this task depend heavily on the kind of surgical procedure to be followed, and on the size, shape and orientation of the body parts involved.
The oldest—and still widespread—method of applying the disinfectant is by dipping a swab, sponge or pad, held in forceps, into a dish of liquid and wiping it over the skin. Spent swabs/pads are continually discarded and fresh ones taken. The disinfectant is usually alcohol-based and may contain ingredients (such as iodine) that can irritate or burn the skin. It is important that the rate of application of solution be controlled, so that excess does not flow away to unintended areas, or form pools underneath the body or in hollows of the body where it may burn or irritate the patient, or indeed be a fire hazard if a cauterisation procedure is used. It is generally desirable to avoid mess or spillage whether on the patient's body or elsewhere. Another reason for keeping the applied liquid under control is to avoid liquid which has contacted one region of the patient's skin flowing away (or being carried on the applicator) so that it then contacts another region.
Conversely, and despite all the above factors indicating careful application, surgical prep is often done under severe time pressure and subject to safety and effectiveness there is every interest in doing it as quickly as possible.
Over the years many proposals have been made for hand-held applicator devices for applying surgical prep solution, incorporating an applicator head with a pad, sponge or other soft or deformable permeable element to be wiped across the skin, and a reservoir of the surgical prep solution—often contained in a handle of the device—communicating with the applicator pad to feed solution. This can make the application more efficient by obviating the repeated dipping of swabs and the discarding and replacement of spent swabs. By providing the solution in a sealed sterile reservoir or cartridge, which can be opened by engaging it appropriately with an applicator head (e.g. by a spike built into the applicator head rupturing a membrane or film closure on the front of the cartridge) operation of these devices is made easy. Nevertheless these are devices which, although used under time pressure and needing to be reliable, must be of simple and economical construction since they may be used only once. With these constraints, it has been quite difficult to produce a cost-effective device with which the application of prep solution to the skin is really controllable and convenient while being adaptable to different preferences of surgeons and their assistants. There is much room for improvements to be made.
In the present disclosure, we address issues of distributing liquid flow to a permeable, deformable applicator member such as a sponge element, and of controlling the flow between a liquid supply reservoir and the permeable applicator element.
As regards distribution of flow, WO2006/041801 describes an applicator having a flat permeable applicator pad on the front face of a distributor element which provides sub-divided chambers behind the pad, each chamber receiving prep solution from the reservoir.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,415,288 has an applicator sponge block exposed on both oppositely-directed major faces, receiving liquid from the handle reservoir along a conduit with an enlarged perforated end chamber embedded in the centre of the sponge block. An alternative has a flat paddle-shaped projection into the sponge interior, with a liquid feed to each face of the paddle from a hole adjacent its root.
WO01/74436 discloses a flat rectangular sponge pad with a back face fixed to a flat rectangular spreader plate the same size as the pad. Solution enters through a central hole of the spreader plate, which has a pattern of radiating channels on its front face to assist flow towards the edges of the back of the foam pad. A small film pad may be positioned in front of the central opening, to encourage outward flow along the channels.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,327 suggests inserting a porous layer over the rear surface of the applicator pad.


An apparatus for use in conjunction with a multi-dose inhaler which includes a novel valving mechanism and an expansion chamber which permits medication to be delivered to the patient without the need for precise timing of canister actuation. The apparatus also includes a filter unit for filtering the patient's exhaled breath and a unique baffling arrangement which functions to decrease average aerosol particle size for better targeting of the desired lung area. In one form of the invention a preset, breath-activated control mechanism is provided which aids in the prevention of both over and under dosing of patient.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to aerosol medication delivery systems. More particularly, the invention concerns an improved aerosol inhalation apparatus that is very useful for dispensing pharmaceuticals in the treatment of respiratory or pulmonary diseases and for systemic delivery of drugs via aerosolization.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Therapeutic aerosols are commonly administered to patients suffering from numerous types of pulmonary diseases. Specific medications, include beta.sub.2 agonists, anticholinergies, cromolyn sodium, and steroids. More recently the aerosol method of delivery has been used to administer Pentamidine to patients afflicted with AIDS, and is presently under consideration as a delivery means for insulin in the treatment for diabetes. Experience has shown that the use of aerosols to treat lung disease is highly advantageous in that it produces optimal therapy with minimum side effects. Both physical and clinical factors affect aerosol deposition in the lungs. Physical factors include inertial impaction, sedimentation, and diffusion. Clinical factors include particle size, ventilatory pattern and lung function. Aerosols larger than 5 micron aerodynamic diameter (AD) poorly penetrate the upper respiratory tract. Those in the 0.2 to 2 micron range tend to have their maximum disposition in the lung parenchyma.
In general the devices used for producing medical aerosols fall into three categories; the small volume nebulizer (SVN), the metered dose inhaler (MDI), and the powder dose inhaler (PDI). Although the small volume nebulizer (SVN) has traditionally been the apparatus of choice for delivery of therapeutic aerosols, many institutions are now switching to the MDI. The small volume nebulizer (SVN) apparatus typically consists of disposable or reusable nebulizer, a mouthpiece or facemask, and a pressurized gas source usually oxygen or air. The metered dose inhaler (MDI), on the other hand, typically contains the active drug, a metering valve, and chlorofluorcarbon (CFC) propellants. The drug containing canister of the device is generally fitted to a mouthpiece actuator, and activation by compression of the canister into the mouthpiece results in the release of a unit dose of medication.
There is extensive literature indicating the successes of aerosol therapies, as well as the difficulties of using the aerosols properly. See, for example, Respiratory Infection: Diagnosis and Management. J. E. Pennington ed. Raven Press, New York chest 1981, 80:911-915: Arch, Int. Med. 1973, 131:88-91. Notwithstanding the very considerable development of aerosols and methods of using the same, there is still room for improvement in the administration of pharmaceutical aerosols.
A major problem of aerosol therapy is to deposit the aerosol on the walls of small bronchi and bronchioles, where the action of the medication is most often required. Less than 10% of the medication delivered by standard multi-dose inhalers reaches the typical patient's lungs. Most of the 90% of the medication which does not penetrate the target area is deposited in the mouth, throat, and trachea, and is eventually ingested. A small fraction of the aerosol is exhaled.
For effective utilization, the aerosol should consist of small particles, less than 5 microns AD, since larger particles cannot negotiate the sharp turns to the lung and are deposited in the orophapynx due to inertial effects. In order to minimize mouth deposition further it has been shown that the volumetric flow rate of the inhaled aerosol should be below 30 liters per minute. Meter dose inhalers deliver aerosol at a high initial velocity directly into the patient's mouth. This high initial velocity of the aerosol is a major factor in the ineffectiveness of many inhaler systems.
Another serious problem inherent in MDI aerosol medication is patient timing coordination. If patient inhalation does not occur on a timely basis with MDI canister actuation, a large percentage of the medication is lost.
Several pharmaceutical manufacturers have included, or sold separately with their MDI aerosol products, what are referred to variously as "spacers" "oral adapters" "space-inhalers" and "spray inhalers" to be used in conjunction with their products. These offer only a partial solution to the problems which typically occur in MDI aerosol delivery.
The apparatus of the present invention provides a very substantial improvement over all prior art MDI-type devices in that it addresses: (1) volumetric flow rate of medication, (2) elimination of patient coordination problems, (3) particle size and (4) environmental protection considerations.


An apparatus (180) comprising: a first conductive layer (30) defining a first slot (46) having an open end and a closed end, the first slot (46) being configured to receive an inductive coupler (64) therein; and a capacitive member configured to tune the first conductive layer (30) to resonate in an operational frequency band.

Apparatus, such as portable electronic devices, usually include one or more antennas for enabling the apparatus to couple wirelessly with another device. For example, the apparatus may include a near field antenna such as a radio frequency identification (RFID) or Near Field Communication (NFC) antenna. Antennas require space within the apparatus and may cause the volume of the apparatus to be greater than desired.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an alternative apparatus.

Apparatus and methods for wireless coupling


The present invention relates to the novel use of phenyl ureas in the treatment of disease states mediated by the chemokine, Interleukin-8 (I-8).

Many different names have been applied to Interleukin-8 (IL-8), such as neutrophil attractant/activation protein-1 (NAP-1), monocyte derived neutrophil chemotactic factor (MDNCF). neutrophil activating factor (NAF), and T-cell lymphocyte chemotactic factor. Interleukin-8 is a chemoattractant for neutrophils, basophils, and a subset of T-cells. It is produced by a majority of nucleated cells including macrophages, fibroblasts, endothelial and epithelial cells exposed to TNF, IL-1a, IL-1b or LPS, and by neutrophils themselves when exposed to LPS or chemotactic factors such as FMLP. M. Baggiolini et al, J. Clin. Invest. 84, 1045 (1989); J. Schroder et al, J. Immunol. 139, 3474 (1987) and J. Immunol. 144, 2223 (1990); Strieter, et al, Science 243, 1467 (1989) and J. Biol. Chem. 264, 10621 (1989); Cassatella et al. J. Immunol. 148, 3216 (1992).
GRO.alpha., GRO.beta., GRO.gamma., and NAP-2 also belong to the chemokine .alpha. family. Like IL-8 these chemokines have also been referred to by different names. For instance GRO.alpha., .beta., .gamma. have been referred to as MGSA.alpha., .beta. and .gamma. respectively (Melanoma Growth Stimulating Activity), see Richmond et al, J. Cell Physiology 129, 375 (1986) and Chang et al, J. Immunol 148, 451 (1992). All of the chemokines of the a-family which possess the ELR motif directly preceding the CXC motif bind to the IL-8 B receptor.
IL-8, GRO.alpha., GRO.beta., GRO.gamma., and NAP-2 stimulate a number of functions in vitro. They have all been shown to have chemoattractant properties for neutrophils, while IL-8 and GROa have demonstrated T-lymphocytes, and basophiles chemotactic activity. In addition IL-8 can induce histamine release from basophils from both normal and atopic individuals GRO-.alpha. and IL-8 can in addition, induce lysozomal enzyme release and respiratory burst from neutrophils. IL-8 has also been shown to increase the surface expression of Mac-1 (CD11b/CD18) on neutrophils without de novo protein synthesis. This may contribute to increased adhesion of the neutrophils to vascular endothelial cells. Many known diseases are characterized by massive neutrophil infiltration. As IL-8. GRO.alpha., GRO.beta., GRO.gamma. and NAP-2 promote the accumulation and activation of neutrophils, these chemokines have been implicated in a wide range of acute and chronic inflammatory disorders including psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis, Baggiolini et al, FEBS Lett. 307, 97 (1992); Miller et al, Crit. Rev. Immunol. 12, 17 (1992); Oppenheim et al, Annu. Rev. Immunol. 9, 617 (1991); Seitz et al., J. Clin. Invest. 87,463 (1991); Miller et al., Am. Rev. Respir. Dis. 146,427 (1992); Donnely et al., Lancet 341, 643 (1993). In addition the ELR chemokines (those containing the amino acids ELR motif just prior to the CXC motif) have also been implicated in angiostasis. Strieter et al. Science 258, 1798 (1992).
In vitro, IL-8, GRO.alpha., GRO.beta., GRO.gamma. and NAP-2 induce neutrophil shape change, chemotaxis, granule release, and respiratory burst, by binding to and activating receptors of the seven-transmembrane, G-protein-linked family, in particular by binding to IL-8 receptors, most notably the B-receptor. Thomas et al., J. Biol. Chem. 266, 14839 (1991); and Holmes et al., Science 253, 1278 (1991). The development of non-peptide small molecule antagonists for members of this receptor family has precedent. For a review see R. Freidinger in: Progress in Drug Research, Vol. 40, pp. 33-98, Birkhauser Verlag, Basel 1993. Hence, the IL-8 receptor represents a promising target for the development of novel anti-inflammatory agents.
Two high affinity human IL-8 receptors (77% homology) have been characterized; IL-8Ra, which binds only IL-8 with high affinity, and IL-8Rb, which has high affinity for IL-8 as well as for GRO.alpha., GRO.beta., GRO.gamma. and NAP-2. See Holmes et al., supra; Murphy et al., Science 253, 1280 (1991); Lee et al., J. Biol. Chem. 267, 16283 (1992); LaRosa et al., J. Biol. Chem. 267, 25402 (1992); and Gayle et al., J. Biol. Chem. 268, 7283 (1993).
There remains a need for treatment, in this field, for compounds which are capable of binding to the IL-8 a or b receptor. Therefore, conditions associated with an increase in IL-8 production (which is responsible for chemotaxis of neutrophil and T-cells subsets into the inflammatory site) would benefit by compounds which are inhibitors of IL-8 receptor binding.


A device is disclosed for detecting the presence and direction of air flow through a passageway having a first opening and a second opening for air to flow therethrough in either a first direction or a second direction. The device comprises a piezoelectric sensor located within the passageway. A flow director is provided within the passageway for directing air flow through the passageway for impingement upon the sensor. The sensor generates a first electrical signal when air flows through the passageway in the first direction and a second electrical signal when air flows through the passageway in the second direction. A discriminator is electrically connected to the sensor for receiving the first and second electrical signals and for discriminating between the two signals to identify the direction of air flow through the passageway.

The present invention relates generally to a device for detecting air flow through a passageway and, more particularly, to such a device which detects the presence of air flow, as well as the direction and magnitude of air flow through such a passageway.
The present invention, in one embodiment, is suitable for use in an inhalation device for the delivery of fluid or medication to a user. Small hand-held inhalation devices are widely used for dispensing or administering prescribed dosages of aerosol-type medication, particularly for persons having breathing disorders, such as asthma or the like. Such dispensing devices generally comprise a plastic, generally tubular housing which is generally L-shaped in cross section. One end of the housing is adapted for receiving an aerosol container or module which contains the medication, as well as some form of propellant. The other end of the housing includes a mouthpiece which is adapted to be inserted into the mouth of the user. The housing also includes some type of actuating device which causes the medication to be released from the aerosol module for inhalation by the user. Typically, release of the medication requires that the module be moved inwardly with respect to the housing for release of the medication.
As previously indicated, inhalation devices of the type described above are widely used for the delivery of such medication. However, many persons are unable to successfully utilize such devices. Devices of this type generally require that the aerosol module be moved with respect to the housing to release the medication into the housing essentially simultaneously with or immediately followed by inhalation to obtain the full benefit of the medication. Many patients, because of infirmities, age or the like are unable to successfully perform such a two-step process, either simultaneously or in rapid succession. Consequently, such persons either cannot utilize such inhalation devices at all or, in some cases, obtain only a partial benefit from the medication.
The present invention is employed as part of an automatic inhalation device which requires only a single action on the part of the user: inhalation. Means are provided for detecting inhalation by the user and for automatically actuating the aerosol module for release of a predetermined quantity or dose of the medication without any further action by the user.
In another embodiment, the present invention may be employed for monitoring the breathing of a user. For example, the present invention may be employed with a trachea tube or a mouth- or nose-inserted breathing tube for monitoring the breathing of the user. The present invention permits monitoring of the respiration rate and the depth of breath, as well as changes in the respiration rate.

Device for detecting air flow through a passageway


A tamper-evident multiple layer induction foil liner for sealing the opening of a container comprises a "sandwich" having a first layer in the form of a fusion-bond heat seal polymer. This heat seal polymer is fusion bonded to the lip of the container opening to secure the liner to the opening. The next layer is a low-cohesive strength layer which, in turn, is bonded to an aluminum foil layer strengthed with tear-resistant backing. A pull-tab is provided to facilitate removal of the liner after the cap is removed from the container. When the pull-tab is lifted, the low-cohesive strength layer splits or shears through the application of a relatively small amount of force. Thus, the aluminum foil and tear-resistant backing readily may be removed from the container opening. It is then a simple matter to puncture the thin and mechanically weak polymer layer to uncover the container opening. A residue of the fusion bonded polymer, with a surface covering of a portion of the sheared low-cohesive strength layer, provides a readily observable tamper-evident residue on the lip of the container opening after the liner has been removed.

Tamper-evident induction foil lining systems have been used in the container closure industry for more than twenty years. Usage of such lining systems has increased significantly within the past decade, because of tampering with the contents of over-the-counter drugs and other products.
When conventional induction foil disks are used to seal the closure opening, removal of the disks is frequently frustrating and difficult. When the disk is fused to the container opening, removal or opening of the foil inner seal usually requires the use of a sharp object or fingernail to break, with considerable force, the foil; so that it can be torn away from the opening. The benefits of providing a tamper-evident seal across the container opening are offset by the considerable difficulty in removing the seal from the opening, and the resulting consumer dissatisfaction.
Recently, some induction foil disk systems have been provided with an integral pull-tab to facilitate removal of the foil disk from the container opening. The tab is intended to be gripped by the consumer, and pulled upward and across the container opening to peel a foil polymer disk off the container lip. This approach has utilized a "peelable bond" induction foil material to seal the container opening. When a pull-tab is used with such a "peelable bond" material, the liner theoretically is removed with a clean peel off the container opening. The amount of force to achieve this, theoretically at least, is less than that required to break the aluminum foil layer when the liner is fused to the lip of the container.
Several problems exist in conjunction with peelable bond systems, however. First of all, for materials presently used in such systems, it is difficult for the packager to achieve a hermetic seal at all points on the container lip (particularly beneath the folded tab, which can shield the area beneath it from the induction sealing energy field), while also maintaining a "peelable" bond strength at which the tab can function. The processing window for producing peelable bond sealing of the foil liner to the container opening is relatively narrow (that is, a narrow range of processing heat and pressure will provide the desired "peelable" bond strength). In contrast, the processing window to create a "fusion bond" seal is relatively wide. The result is that many packagers who want to use a pull-tab system cannot, due to the narrow processing window for peelable bond systems, and limited process control capabilities. These limited capabilities result from poor application torque control, unskilled work force, equipment limitations, short-run productions, and others.
Even if all of the processing limitations can be met to provide a good "peelable bond" induction foil seal, a lower degree of tamper evidency results. This is because the inherent nature of a "peelable" bond is to leave a clean bottle lip surface when the liner is removed from the container opening. This lessened tamper evidency is considered objectionable by much of the vitamin, over-the-counter drug and pharmaceutical industry, and has limited interest of many packagers who require readily visible tamper evidency when the liner is removed. Fusion bonded materials provide such a high level of tamper evidency because a polymer or foil residue remains on the container lip after the liner rupture or removal has taken place.
Another problem with peelable bond pull-tab systems is that the proper operation of a peelable bond integral pull-tab liner is totally dependent upon the relative strength of the liner/bottle-opening bond strength versus the tensile strength or tear resistance of the tab itself. Unfortunately, the bond strength of the liner to the container opening varies considerably with processing conditions. Consequently, it has been a common occurrence for induction sealing process variations to produce bonds which are too strong for the tab to handle. If the bond strength is too high, the tab snaps or tears without removing the liner disk from the container opening. This leaves the consumer frustrated with the performance of the tab system.
Consequently, it is desirable to provide a pull-tab tamper-evident induction foil lining system which overcomes the disadvantages noted above for the prior art systems.

Tamper-evident fusion bonded pull-tab induction foil lining system for container closures


A medical imaging device is disclosed herein. The medical imaging device includes a user interface device for displaying information relevant to an imaging process to a user and/or receiving user input relevant to an imaging process and at least one component controllable according to a user command entered using the user interface device, wherein the user interface device includes at least one pair of mixed reality smart glasses.

Current medical imaging devices offer a great number of functions and accordingly a great number of complex operating elements. For example, concrete embodiments of imaging processes and thus the imaging parameters vary greatly depending on the area imaged and the diagnostic goal. While imaging processes are sometimes hard to operate, this problem grows more severe if the medical imaging device is used in sterile environments, (e.g., during a surgical intervention). For example, medical imaging devices having a c-arm and a mobile carrier for the c-arm may be used as interventional modalities. In such an environment, an operating device has to be provided which on the one hand allows ergonomic use of the complex functions, on the other hand fulfils the requirements for a sterile operation.
In this context, it has been proposed to cover operating elements of user interface devices, which may be sterilely operated, with a sterile, transparent foil, sheet or drape. This measure is required because the provided operating elements may not suitable for sterilization, (e.g., steam sterilization), as they contain electronic components, (e.g., displays). Therefore, they do not fulfil the requirements regarding hygiene and sterility. A disadvantage of using sterile covers is the reduction of operating ergonomics and required additional, time-consuming steps while preparing the surgery or imaging process, because a covering foil which is complicated to handle has to be wrapped around the relevant operating elements.
It should be noted that operating elements of user interface devices in known medical imaging devices may be provided at multiple different locations on the device. For example, an x-ray imaging device may include buttons at the housing of the x-ray detector and touchscreens for controlling additional functions, which are located on a separate display unit or display trolley. An additional disadvantage of the current state of the art is thus that a user working at a certain location relative to the medical imaging device may not have access to all functions and operating options. Regarding a medical imaging device having a c-arm, it is possible that a user position close to the c-arm does not allow access to all functions related to the c-arm without moving. Additionally, a user, who may be required to work in a sterile environment, may have to leave the sterile area to operate these functions. A further problem is that some displays may not be adequately positioned such that the user may see all information relevant to the current state of the imaging process.
A major problem of today's medical imaging devices is, in summary, that requirements for sterility reduce ergonomics, operating elements of user interface devices are spread over components of the medical imaging device and information is not always accessible when required.

Medical imaging device having a pair of smart glasses and method for supporting a person using a medical imaging device having a pair of smart glasses


A light-weight and impact-resistant composite material formed from a three-dimensional textile structure preform comprising at least three systems of yarns that define a plurality of interstices within the textile structure. A cellular matrix material impregnates the textile structure so as to fill the interstices of the three-dimensional textile structure and to coat at least a portion of the surface area thereof.

The present invention relates to cellular foamed materials, and more particularly to a three-dimensionally reinforced cellular matrix composite material characterized by lightweight and high impact resistance properties.
The use of high-performance composite fiber materials is becoming increasingly common in applications such as aerospace and aircraft structural components. As is known to those familiar with the art, fiber reinforced composites consist of a reinforcing fiber such as carbon or KEVLAR(copyright) and a surrounding matrix of epoxy resin, PEEK or the like. Most of the well-known composite materials are formed by laminating several layers of textile fabric, by filament winding or by cross laying of tapes of continuous filament fibers. However, all of the laminated structures tend to suffer from a tendency toward delamination. Thus, efforts have been made to develop three-dimensional braided, woven and knitted preforms as a solution to the delamination problems inherent in laminated composite structures. Representative three-dimensional textile preforms are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,760 issued to Mohamed et al. on Nov. 14, 1995 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,252 issued to Mohamed et al. on Feb. 4,1992.
Also, it is well-known to make conventional foamed materials, such as foamed polymer plastic materials, that have microcellular voids distributed throughout the material. Standard techniques for this purpose normally use chemical or physical blowing agents. For example, chemical blowing agents are low molecular weight organic compounds which decompose at a critical temperature and release a gas or gases such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide, or carbon monoxide. Methods using physical agents include the introduction of a gas as a component of a polymer charge or the introduction of gases under pressure into molten polymer. These well-known and standard foaming processes produce voids or cells within the plastic materials which are relatively large (for example, on the order of 100 microns or greater), as well as relatively wide ranges of void fraction percentages, for example from 20% to 90% of the parent material. The number of voids per unit volume is relatively low and often there is a generally non-uniform distribution of the cells throughout the foam material such that the materials tend to have relatively low mechanical strengths and toughness. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,779 issued to Greenberg on Mar. 12, 1976.
It is also well-known in the foamed materials art that in order to improve the mechanical properties of conventional cellular foam materials, a microcellular process was developed for manufacturing foam plastics having greater cell densities and smaller cell sizes. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,665 issued on Sep. 25,1984 to J. E. Martini-Vredrensky et al. The improved technique provides for pre-saturating the plastic material to be processed with a uniform concentration of a gas under pressure and the provision of a sudden induction of thermo-dynamic instability in order to nucleate a large number of cells. For example, the material can be pre-saturated with the gas and maintained under pressure at its glass transition temperature, and the material then suddenly exposed to a low pressure to nucleate cells and promote cell growth to a desired size, depending on the desired final density, and thereby producing a foamed material having microcellular voids or cells therein. The material is then quickly further cooled, or quenched, to maintain the microcellular structure.
Additional work in producing microcellular foam plastic material is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,256 issued on Aug. 2, 1988 to Hardenbrook et al. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,356 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,986 both issued to Baldwin et al. disclose apparatus and process for forming a supermicrocellular foamed material having cells distributed throughout the material with average cell sizes being at least less than 2.0 microns and preferably in a range from about 0.1 micron to about 1.0 micron.
Although all of the above is well-known to those skilled in the textile arts and microcellular foamed material arts, applicants have recognized the need for an improved three-dimensional composite material which does not tend to delaminate and that possesses lightweight and very high impact resistance. Toward that end, applicants have developed a new three-dimensionally reinforced cellular matrix composite and the method for making the product that allows for the formation of three-dimensional reinforced composites with a cellular matrix that contains intentionally induced voids. The voids render the composite material extremely light in weight while simultaneously providing enhanced impact resistance and enhanced specific bending stiffness. Applicants believe that this novel composite material is new in the composite art and meets a long-felt need for such a product and a method for making the product.
Summarily, applicants have discovered a novel three-dimensionally reinforced cellular matrix composite and a method for making the same that combines cellular technology with three-dimensional textile preform technology in order to provide a novel lightweight composite material with superior structural integrity.
In accordance with the present invention, applicants provide a lightweight and impact resistant composite material comprising a three-dimensional textile structure preform formed of at least three systems of yarns that define a plurality of interstices within the textile structure. A cellular matrix material fills the interstices of the three-dimensional textile structures and coats at least a portion of the surface area of the three-dimensional textile structure.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, applicants provide a method of producing a three-dimensionally reinforced cellular matrix composite including providing a three-dimensional textile structure preform formed of at least three systems of yarns that define a plurality of interstices within the textile structure. Next, a foamable polymer material is introduced to the three-dimensional textile structure preform so as to fill the interstices and impregnate the three-dimensional textile structure preform and to coat at least a portion of the surface area of the structure. The foamable polymer material is then foamed to produce a microcellular foamed polymer material containing a plurality of voids or cells distributed substantially throughout the foamable polymer material.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensionally reinforced cellular matrix composite that is lightweight and impact resistant.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensionally reinforced cellular matrix composite that incorporates a three-dimensional textile structure preform in order to provide enhanced structural integrity.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensionally reinforced cellular matrix composite that incorporates a three-dimensional textile structure preform to provide enhanced performance characteristics including enhanced resistance to delamination.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensionally reinforced cellular matrix composite that incorporates a three-dimensional textile structure preform and that provides enhanced resistance to delamination, enhanced impact resistance, enhanced fatigue life, enhanced strength-to-weight ratio, and enhanced stiffness-to-weight ratio.
Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will become apparent with reference to the drawings described hereinbelow.

Three-dimensionally reinforced cellular matrix composite and method of making same


A method of priority based connection arbitration in a SAS topology is disclosed introducing a PRIORITY field to an SAS open Address Frame (OAF). As the expander arbitrates the multiple OAFs in competition for an Expander Link, it compares the PRIORITY fields of the arbitrating OAFs. The OAF with highest value of PRIORITY is awarded the destination connection path. In case of equal PRIORITY, the next arbitration is based on the value of Arbitration Wait Time (AWT). This priority based arbitration ensures high availability of SAS connection links to the SAS targets with high priority OAFs which in turn will lead to better quality of service for those SAS targets. PRIORITY field in the OAF is set by the SAS targets based on the current OAF priority and also set by directly attached SAS storage expanders through a modification of the OAF during transit through the expander.

Increasing demand for common access to a data destination requires efficient management of the access. Where two (or more) SAS open Address Frames (OAF) generated by discrete sources (initiators/targets) are attempting to access a common destination (targets/initiators), limited pathways to the destination require one of the OAFs to wait until the other is complete. Traditionally, Arbitration Wait Time (AWT) is the only factor in an arbitration decision leaving an OAF with increased demand waiting for those connected OAFs having a lesser demand.
Thus, there remains a need for a system and method for dynamic management access to available pathways to storage resources to enable a preferred OAF access while the non-preferred OAF remains in a queue for pathway access.

Priority based connection arbitration in a SAS topology to facilitate quality of service (QoS) in SAS transport


A telephone call is made by a calling party. The telephone call is routed through a telephone network to a piece of terminal equipment. The terminal equipment analyzes call information associated with the telephone call. The call information is divided into separate call attributes, such as calling telephone number and called telephone number. One or more number lists, stored in the terminal equipment, are then searched to see if they contain an entry that matches the call attributes. If a match is not found, the call is rejected. If one or more matches is found, the call is routed as specified by the number list entry having the most optimal match. The number lists can be easily user-modified.

The telecommunications industry has seen significant technological advancements in the last few years. Long gone are the days of yesteryear where the telephone was praised as a simple, handy, and relatively private device used to communicate primarily with friends, loved ones, and local merchants.
Today, the owner of a telephone is as likely to curse the telephone as to praise it. He is often greeted upon his arrival home after a long day of work with a barrage of unsolicited phone calls originating from parties unknown, all trying to sell him their particular goods or services. Screening of incoming calls via use of an answering machine is a partial answer, but tends to annoy family, friends, and others known by the owner of the telephone to have a less sinister reason to call, since all calls must go through the answering machine to be screened. In addition, many "friendly" callers have a condition known as "answering machine phobia" and will hang up after a short number of rings so as not to get the answering machine.
Some of the regional telephone companies in the United States now offer their customers a service called "Caller ID". Caller ID displays the telephone number of the incoming call to the telephone owner as the telephone rings. The owner can look at the number and decide whether he should answer the call or not. Although Caller ID has several advantages over answering machines, it has its limitations. Often, the owner cannot remember if the telephone number being displayed is one he recognizes as being "friendly" or not, and often errs in answering the phone when he didn't want to and vice versa.
The technological "advancements" of the telephone have caused other problems for the owner of the phone as well. When the owner wants to initiate a call to a business to inquire about goods or services, the friendly local merchant of yesteryear often no longer answers the phone. Instead, the owner's call is received by a complex telemarketing facility located somewhere in the world. The owner must then often endure delay and frustration as his call is bounced around inside the telemarketing facility in a search for a telemarketer possessing the skills necessary to respond to this specific inquiry. The owner may also be required to respond to a complex series of prompts emanating from a recorded, robot-like voice by pressing a series of numbers or other characters on the telephone keypad. These crude methods of call routing are unsatisfactory to the telemarketing facilities as well, since their telemarketers are being used inefficiently. More importantly, their customers are unhappy and agitated, and may decide to take their business elsewhere.

Method and apparatus for flexible and optimal telephone call acceptance and routing

International Business Machines Corporation


Disclosed is a method for the direct determination of the free fraction of analytes present in biological fluids in a free form and in a form bound to one or more endogenous ligands (said free and bound forms being in equilibrium with one another). This method provides for a (preferably substantially simultaneous) use:a first ligand L1 capable of sequestering an analyte quantity proportionate to the free-analyte concentration present in a biological fluid and to subsequently release it, after removal from the biological fluid of the specific endogenous ligand, as a result of the addition of an appropriate selective dissociating agent; a second ligand capable of binding both the previously released analyte and a labelled version of the analyte, even in the presence of the dissociating agent; a selective dissociating agent; and a quantity of labelled analyte. The measured level of the labelled analyte which binds to the second exogenous ligand (or which remains unbound) is used to determine the concentration of the free analyte in the fluid.

Some physiologically active substances which are present in biological fluids (e.g. in blood) are balanced between a free form and a form bound to endogenous ligands present in the same fluids. For these substances, the free-portion level is generally known to be clinically more significant than the total-substance level. Only the free form is in fact responsible for biological activity. Observations made on both normal and pathologically afflicted humans confirmed that the variations observed in free-form concentrations more closely correlate to the patients' clinical condition than are those of the entire substance. This is particularly true of thyroid and steroid hormones (Robbins J. and Rall J. E., Recent Progr. Hormone Res., 13:161 (1957); Robbins J. and Rall J. E., Physiol. Rev., 40:415 (1960)).
Methods intended to measure the free portions of these hormones have long been known.
In the specific case of thyroxine (T4), early attempts to measure the free portion involved determining its total concentration, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,659,104, and then determining triiodothyronine (T3) uptake (U.S. Pat. No. 3,710,117), or effecting a complete T4 dissociation in the presence of labelled T4, followed by adsorption of the latter upon a resin and subsequent elution from the resin using a portion of the test serum (U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,564).
However, these methods can only provide a rough and often incorrect assessment of the free portion.
A need thus arose to find other methods in which the measured level is directly correlated to the free-analyte concentration or to its distribution between free and bound portions.
In principle, this objective can be achieved by introducing a new exogenous component and having it take part in the existing equilibrium between the free analyte form and the bound analyte form, which component should have the following characteristics:
a. be incapable of affecting substantially the free analyte fraction present in a sample of biological fluid; PA1 b. be capable of sequestering an analyte quantity directly correlated to the free portion; PA1 c. be easily separated from the other components which take part in the equilibrium. PA1 (2) "two step" methods which use the same exogenous ligand both to sequester and to measure an analyte do not have the required sensitivity; PA1 (3) "two step" methods (which use different PA1 (a) a first exogenous ligand (L1) capable of sequestering an analyte quantity correlated to the free portion present in a biological fluid; PA1 (b) a dissociating agent (D) capable of dissociasing the sequestered analyte from the first exogenous ligand; PA1 (c) a labelled form (M) of the analyte to be determined; PA1 (d) a second exogenous ligand (L2) capable of proportionally binding both the dissociated analyte and the labelled analyte (M) even in the presence of the dissociating agent (D); PA1 (e) a set of standard solutions (SS) made up of sera containing known quantities (e.g., serial dilutions) of total analyte (free+bound) for which the free analyte concentrations are known. PA1 A--an analyte to be determined; PA1 L1--a first specific exogenous ligand, preferably bound to the surface of a stationary or dispersed solid phase; PA1 L2--a second specific exogenous ligand, preferably bound to the surface of a stationary or dispersed solid phase; PA1 M--a predetermined quantity of labelled analyte; PA1 D--an agent capable of dissociating the analyte A from the first exogenous ligand L1, without affecting the ability of the second exogenous ligand L2 to bind to said analyte and to the labelled analyte M; PA1 SS--a set of standards comprising, e.g., solutions or sera with known free-analyte concentrations or a set of standard concentration values (e.g., in table or graph form). PA1 12.times.75 mm "MAXYSORP" polystyrene test tubes (NUNC, Roskilde, Denmark] PA1 human thyroxine binding globulin (TBG) (Boehringer, Mannheim, Germany) PA1 monosodium phosphate, disodium phosphate, sodium azide, sodium chloride, TRIS (tris-(hydroxymethyl) aminomethane), potassium chloride, calcium chloride, magnesium sulphate, pure, analytical grade (Merck, Darmstad, Germany) PA1 Streptavidin from Streptomyces avidinii, N-succinimide ester of biotinyl-E-aminocaproic acid (SPA, Milan, Italy) PA1 ANSA (magnesium salt of 8-anilino-1-napththalenesulphonic acid), gelatin for microbiology, HEPES (4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazinyl) ethanesulphonic acid), HEPES sodium salt, thyroxine (T4), 3,3', 5-triiodothyronine (T3) (SIGMA, St Louis, Missouri).
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,225,574 describes an assay method for the determination of free analytes in biological fluids which is based on these principles.
Said method calls for a sample to be subjected to a chromatographic adsorption process using Sephadex LH-20 columns. As soon as the free analyte present in the sample is adsorbed upon the resin, its concentration in the sample is promptly restored by dissociation of the analyte from the bound portion. This adsorption and dissociation process continues until a balanced state between adsorbed analyte and free analyte in solution is reached. The quantity of adsorbed analyte is proportionate to the free-analyte concentration, and it is therefore possible to find the latter by determining the adsorbed quantity by radioimmunoassay and dividing it by the proportionality constant. This method is difficult to perform for the same reasons as all "two-step" methods (see below).
A variation, which is described in Belgian Patent BE 878687, uses an analyte-specific antibody as a sequestering agent in place of a resin. When said antibody is introduced into a fluid, in a quantity incapable of substantially upsetting the free-analyte/bound-analyte equilibrium present in the sample, the number of antibody-binding sites which are occupied by the analyte is proportionate to the free-analyte concentration present. The number of free sites is measured after removing endogenous carrier proteins by washing and then adding a labelled analyte which enables the free-analyte concentration to be determined.
The main drawback of the Belgian patent technique is the necessity to use an antibody with a very high affinity constant for the analyte. The sensitivity of this type of assay does not change in relation to the quantity of antibody used, but depends exclusively on its affinity constant. For instance:to obtain a satisfactory sensitivity when measuring free T4 an antibody with an affinity constant higher than 5.times.10.sup.10 L/mol is required. On the other hand, if one wants to determine with acceptable sensitivity the concentration of free T3, which is present in blood in a lower concentration than T4, antibodies with an even higher affinity constant will be required.
The last two methods described are based essentially on a two-step sequential incubation: sequestration and then measurement.
The European Patent Application EP 26103 describes a method for assay of free analytes which tries to avoid this two-step sequential incubation by adding an appropriately labelled analyte derivative called "analogue" to the test sample at the same time as the analyte sequestering agent (analyte-specific antibody). If a particular analogue can be selected which is capable of binding to the sequestering agent but incapable of binding to the natural ligands present in biological fluids and is, therefore, only capable of competing with the available free-analyte moiety in binding to the antibody, the level of the antibody-bound signal will change only in proportion to the free-analyte concentration in the biological fluid.
In the method described in the European Patent Application EP 89806, which is similar to the preceding one, the specific ligand is labelled, instead of the analyte derivative. The analyte and its derivative compete for binding to the labelled specific ligand and the measured level of specific ligand bound to the analyte derivative is used to determine the free analyte concentration.
The methods, such as the one above, which use an analyte derivative (so called "one-step" methods) are extremely easy to carry out, which makes them more usable for laboratory routine than the methods in which the sequestering step is separate from the measuring step (so called "two-step" methods).
However, a serious drawback in the "one step" methods which use the "analogue" technique is the fact that it is not easy to select such a particular reagent, as it tends to bind to the natural ligands which are constantly present in biological fluids. When this occurs, the measured level is affected by the concentration of said ligands present in the sample.
Thus far it has not been possible to obtain a derivative which was thoroughly free from this drawback, the results obtained by these methods did not prove sufficiently reliable. The largest discrepancies occur in the cases where the quantity and quality (e.g., as a result of genetic alteration) of the natural ligands are far from normal (Refetoff, S. Endocr. Rev. 10:275, 1989; Waltz, M. R., J. Endocrinol. Invest. 13:343, 1990) or when substances are co-present that may affect the equilibria (between free and bound analyte) present in the biological fluids, such as for instance: nonesterified fatty acids, drugs used by patients under treatment and all the substances which bind in particular to albumin (Stockigt J. R. et al., Clin. Endocrinol., 15:313 (1981); Bayer M. F., Clin. Chim. Acta, 130:391, (1983); Beck-Peccoz P. et al., "Free T4 and free T3 measurement in patients with antiiodothyronine autoantibodies" in: Albertini A., Ekins R., Eds. "Free Hormone in Blood", 231: (1982), Amsterdam: Elsevier/North Holland).
In an attempt to avoid the above drawbacks, European Patent Application EP 155104 describes a method for free-analyte measurement in biological fluids, which uses, in addition to an analyte analogue, differential blocking agents which are intended to prevent or dissociate the bond between the analogue and natural ligands, in particular albumin. However, the addition of said differential blocking agents to the sample to be measured substantially affects the free-analyte/bound-analyte equilibrium in the sample itself, which distorts the measured levels.
Based on what has been previously described, in the present state of the art:
(1) "two step" methods are more reliable than "one step" methods owing to the difficulty of finding an appropriate analogue for "one-step" methods;
techniques for the sequestering step than for the measuring step of a free analyte) entail difficult sample manipulations and are not practical for use in routine laboratory analyses. Examples are dialysis or adsorption or ultrafiltration for sequestering and immunoassay for measuring.

Method for the quantitative determination of a free form of substances present in biological fluids


A waste catching device includes an elongated rod having a first end and a second end. A handle is coupled to the first end the elongated rod. The handle includes a lever. A head is coupled to the second end of the elongated rod 18. The head includes a claw having a first pivoting arm and a second pivoting arm. A spring biases distal ends of the first pivoting arm and the second pivoting arm together. Bands couple the lever to proximal ends of the first pivoting arm and the second pivoting arm. The claw includes an open position and a closed position. The open position includes the lever actuated to pull the first pivoting arm and the second pivoting arm away from one another, and a closed position includes the lever released.

The present invention relates to feces removal and, more particularly, to a waste catching device for pets.
During dog walks, one must squat down and collect their pet's feces using either a bag or old newspaper. For those that have knee and back issues, this process can be painful. Additionally, it is currently difficult to collect and dispose of the animal feces in a clean manner without coming in contact with the feces.
Current devices used to collect feces allow the feces to hit the ground. This forces the user to bend over to pick it up and leaves residual feces on the ground. Other devices require a user to touch the bag to remove the bag from the device once feces are in it, which allows for the possibility of touching feces with bare hands.
As can be seen, there is a need for an improved waste catching device for pets.


Touch screen based interaction with traffic data is disclosed. A virtual broadcast presentation may be generated based on dynamic information such as traffic information, weather information, or other information that may be featured on a virtual broadcast presentation. A signal generated by a touch screen may be received. The generated signal may be processed and the virtual broadcast presentation may be updated in response to the processed signal.

Existing broadcast presentations generally include a variety of maps, images, and animations that display current or forecasted conditions for reference by a presenter (i.e., news reporter) during a broadcast presentation such as a traffic or weather report. The broadcast presentation is often produced prior to a scheduled broadcast for presentation by a traffic or weather reporter in a fixed arrangement (much like a slide show) with a prerehearsed script. Although the presenter has the ability to control the speed and manner in which the broadcast presentation is presented to a viewing audience, the content in the maps and images remains fixed. That is, the content presented during the broadcast presentation is not in real-time and is outdated. The reporting of outdated information (e.g., traffic or weather information) may have a drastic effect on a viewing audience who may rely on the reported information to make decisions about such things as travel or logistics.
Another shortcoming of existing broadcast technology is the lack of interaction with the content of the virtual broadcast presentation. Since the presentation contains pre-determined content, a presenter is unable to directly interact with or manipulate the maps and images of the presentation. The presenter cannot, for example, retrieve real-time conditions or other information associated with the maps or images of the presentation.
As such, there is a need in the art for touch screen based interaction with traffic data and other related data.


Lead, bismuth and tellurium and/or sulfur are added to steel, to increase the machinability of the steel, in an addition alloy consisting essentially of 5-40 parts lead, 5-40 parts bismuth, up to 6 parts tellurium and up to 25 parts sulfur. The alloy contains at least one of the group tellurium and sulfur, and the alloy has a melting point of at least about 400.degree. C. (752.degree. F.).

The present invention relates generally to methods and alloys for adding to steel machinability increasing ingredients and more particularly to a method or alloy for adding lead and bismuth to steel.
Lead and bismuth enhance the machinability of steel. It is desirable to add lead and bismuth to steel together, e.g. as a lead-bismuth alloy, because this improves the uniformity with which the lead and bismuth are distributed in the steel.
Both lead and bismuth have relatively low melting points, lead having a melting point of 327.degree. C. (621.degree. F.) and bismuth having a melting point of 271.degree. C. (520.degree. F.). When lead and bismuth are combined together in an alloy of the two, the resulting alloy has a melting point even lower than that of its constituents. For example, a lead bismuth eutectic (55.5% bismuth and the balance lead) has a melting point of about 125.degree. C. (257.degree. F.). Because a lead-bismuth alloy has such a low melting point, problems will arise when this alloy has been introduced into steel. For example, because of the low melting point, the lead-bismuth alloy may separate to the bottom of an ingot mold into which molten steel containing the lead-bismuth alloy has been poured for casting into an ingot. Moreover, during hot rolling of the steel, the lead bismuth alloy may be squeezed out of the steel shape undergoing hot rolling.

Method and alloy for introducing machinability increasing ingredients to steel