A method for adjusting a filtering bandwidth of an optical device includes: acquiring a modulation bandwidth of a first optical signal and s modulation bandwidth of a second optical signal, where the first optical signal is an optical signal input into a first wavelength channel of an optical device, the second optical signal is an optical signal input into a second wavelength channel of the optical device, and the second wavelength channel is adjacent to the first wavelength channel; comparing the modulation bandwidth of the first optical signal with the modulation bandwidth of the second optical signal; and according to a result of comparing the modulation bandwidth of the first optical signal with the modulation bandwidth of the second optical signal, adjusting a filtering bandwidth of at least one wavelength channel of the first wavelength channel and the second wavelength channel.

In a wavelength division multiplexing (Wavelength Division Multiplexing, WDM) optical network, a large number of optical devices, that is, WDM optical devices, for merging, decomposing, and cross-connecting a plurality of wavelength channels in various manners need to be used, for example, a wavelength selective switch (Wavelength Selective Switch, WSS), an optical cross-connect (Optical Cross-Connect, OXC), a wavelength multiplexer (Multiplexer, MUX), a wavelength demultiplexer (Demultiplexer, DEMUX), an optical add-drop multiplexer (OADM, Optical Add-Drop Multiplexer), a reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM, Reconfigurable Optical Add-Drop Multiplexer). However, channel intervals of each of the optical devices with a plurality of wavelength channels are all the same, and filtering bandwidth of each wavelength channel of the optical device is fixed.
The prior art has the following defects:
With the development of the technology, each wavelength channel of the WDM optical devices needs to transmit optical signals with different rates (such as 10 Gb/s, 40 Gb/s, and 100 Gb/s) and different modulation formats (for example, binary on-off keying (On-Off Keying, OOK), optical duo-binary (Optical Duo-Binary, ODB), differential phase shift keying (Differential Phase Shift Keying, DPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying, QPSK), polarization division multiplexing (Polarization Division Multiplexing, PDM)-quadrature phase shift keying (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying, QPSK), and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM, Quadrature Amplitude Modulation)). The optical signals with different rates and different modulation formats have different modulation bandwidth. However, in the prior art, the filtering bandwidth of the WDM optical device cannot be dynamically adjusted based on modulation bandwidth of input signals.

Method and device for adjusting filtering bandwidth of an optical device


An audio output circuit includes an on-chip left channel amplifier module, an on-chip center channel amplifier module, and an on-chip right channel amplifier module. A left channel IC pin is operably coupled to an output of the on-chip left channel amplifier module. A right channel IC pin is operably coupled to an output of the on-chip right channel amplifier module. A center channel IC pin is operably coupled to an output of the on-chip center channel amplifier module. A center channel feedback IC pin is operably coupled to an input of the on-chip center channel amplifier module to provide a feedback loop. A left jack connection is operably coupled to the left channel IC pin. A right jack connection is operably coupled to the right channel IC pin. A jack return connection coupled to the center feedback IC pin. An inductor has a first node coupled to the jack return connection and a second node coupled to the center channel IC pin.

As is known, integrated circuits are used in a wide variety of electronic equipment, including portable, or handheld, devices. Such handheld devices include personal digital assistants ("PDA"), CD players, MP3 players, DVD players, AM/FM radio, pagers, cellular telephones, computer memory extensions (commonly referred to as a thumb drive), et cetera. Each of these handheld devices includes one or more integrated circuits to provide the functionality of the device. For example, a thumb drive may include an integrated circuit for interfacing with a computer (for example, a personal computer, a laptop, a server, a workstation, et cetera) via one of the ports of the computer (for example, Universal Serial Bus ("USB"), parallel port, et cetera) and at least one other memory integrated circuit (for example, flash memory). As such, when the thumb drive is coupled to a computer, data can be read from and written to the memory of the thumb drive. Accordingly, a user may store personalized information (for example, presentations, Internet access account information, et cetera) on their thumb drive and use any computer to access the information.
As another example, an MP3 player may include multiple integrated circuits to support the storage and playback of digitally-formatted audio (that is, formatted in accordance with the MP3 specification). One integrated circuit may be used for interfacing with a computer, another integrated circuit for generating a power supply voltage, another for processing the storage and/or playback of the digitally formatted audio data, and still another for rendering the playback of the digitally formatted audio data audible.
Integrated circuits have enabled the creation of a plethora of handheld devices; however, to be "wired" in today's electronic world, a person deploys multiple handheld devices. For example, one may own a cellular telephone for cellular telephone service, a PDA for scheduling and another for an address book, one or more thumb drives for extended memory functionality, an MP3 player for storage and/or playback of digitally recorded music, a radio, et cetera. Thus, even though a single handheld device may be relatively small, carrying multiple handheld devices on one's person can become quite burdensome.
Many of these devices also use headphones or other forms of speaker output for audio signal playback. A problem for highly-integrated circuits is that high-frequency noise from the integrated circuit carries through to the headphone or speaker leads. Filtering devices external to an integrated circuit have been used to mitigate the noise; however, these filtering devices can degrade the quality of the audio signal received at the speaker. The signal degradation can result in higher distortion, lower inter-channel isolation, and altered frequency response.
Therefore, a need exists for an audio output driver of an integrated circuit that provides improved audio channel performance and electromagnetic interference noise reduction.

Audio output driver for reducing electromagnetic interference and improving audio channel performance


The invention relates to a method for reeling of a web, in which the web is reeled around a reel spool. In the invention, the reel spool rests and/or it is supported substantially during the entire “nip closed” reeling process of the reeling device, substantially in its position with respect to the same supporting surface.

There are known reel-ups of a paper machine or the like in which the web to be reeled is guided over a reeling cylinder, through a nip formed by the reeling cylinder and the reel being formed, and onto the reel that is being formed. Typically the reel that is being formed is completed around a so-called reel spool which is supported at its ends by means of bearings on so-called reeling rails along which the reel spool and the roll thereon are capable of rolling by means of bearing housings.
Reel-ups of web-like materials are used to reel a material passed in a continuous web into a tight reel, so that it can be moved to further processing. In reel-ups of a paper web, a continuous paper web passed from a paper machine, coating machine or corresponding paper processing apparatus is reeled around a reeling axle, i.e. reel spool, to form a reel. For example, in a so-called Pope-reeler, or in a center-drive assisted Pope-reeler, the finished paper is reeled around the reeling axle after the calender. The web is passed to the reel via a rotatably arranged reeling cylinder, against which the reeling axle is loaded by means of a loading device located in connection with the reeling axle.
The web is passed to the reeling axle so that it is pressed against the preceding layers of the reel and the mantle surface of the reeling cylinder. At this point where the web enters in contact with the preceding layers on the reel, the web is, due to the aforementioned loading device, subjected to a certain nip load, linear load. In present-day reel-up types, the reeling axle is also centre-driven, and by means of the torque of the reeling axle it is also possible to affect the peripheral force of the reel to be reeled. The reeling nip between the reeling cylinder and the reel primarily prevents the access of air to the reel. By controlling the load directed to the web, it is, however, also possible to control the tightness of the reel that is being formed, and in addition, the aim is to change the loading during the reeling process so that the tightness of the reel would comply with the quality requirements set by the paper grade and the after-treatment in different sections in the radius of the reel. The reeling process is controlled indirectly by adjusting the reeling parameters (linear load, web tension, peripheral force and reeling force). The adjustment is typically made with a special program. The main aim of the reeling is to reel a continuous paper web to form a reel which fulfills the requirements set by the reeling process and further processing with respect to processibility and thereby the structure of the reel as well as the paper quality. At present, the speeds of paper machines are typically 20 m/s or higher, and naturally, the aim is to attain speeds which are even higher. The reeling apparatus must operate without interruptions and receive the continuous paper web passed from the preceding sections of the paper machine.
When the old reel has become full, the web has to be cut and the winding of the web following the cut-off point around a new reeling axle has to be started. In practice, this takes place in such a way that when the paper roll formed around the reeling axle has accumulated into its full size, a new empty reel is transferred, typically simultaneously and from above the reeling cylinder, onto the surface of the reeling cylinder, while the paper web is left therebetween. The full paper reel is transferred away from the reeling cylinder, and thereafter the paper web is cut with a suitable way and the end of the web following the cut-off point is guided onto the perimeter of an empty reeling axle, onto which the new web begins to accumulate to form a reel. Thereafter the new reeling axle is transferred to a reeling carriage, travelling on separate linear guides, or on top of horizontal reeling rails. The reel that has become full is transferred e.g. by means of a transfer device along the reeling rails to an unloading station, and at the same time a new reeling axle is brought onto the reeling rails. During the initial reeling process the loading is controlled by means of force devices of the initial reeling device, and when the reeling axle has been transferred e.g. to the reeling carriage, the loading is controlled by means of force devices coupled to the reeling carriage, typically by means of pressurized medium operated cylinders.
For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,068 discloses a reeling apparatus in which an empty roll is lowered in contact with the reeling cylinder. Furthermore, a separate mention is to be given to the force devices of the initial reeling device in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,068, i.e. a separate loading cylinder and a relief cylinder, and when the reeling axle is on top of the reeling rails, to a loading cylinder which presses the axle against the reeling cylinder. The used hydraulic cylinder is coupled e.g. to swinging arms articulated turnable in the frame of the reel-up.
The properties of the web affect the quality of the reel. For example, the most common reeling problem caused by a bad web tension is the wrinkling of the slack parts of the web, typically the edges, in the reeling nip or nips, because the web is longer by the slack section than by the tight section. The slackness of the edges also causes a poor edge zone in the reel and thereby edge reels of poor quality which are difficult to be reeled by means of slitter winders, and whose problems occur when the rolls are used, for example in printing machines. If the web tension profile varies a great deal or is e.g. uneven, it may lead to the use of high web tension just in case, which stresses the tight sections in the web more and increases the number of web breaks.
In a control circuit of a reel-up which is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,979, the loading takes place in the frame of the reel-up by means of a carriage moving along linear guides in the frame of the reel-up, to which carriage the loading force device is coupled. In the publication, the reeling axle is arranged in a swinging arm articulated turnable in the carriage, which swinging arm, however, is stationary during the loading and is only used when the reel that has become full is removed by turning the swinging arms to the direction of removal by means of special unloading cylinders. The aforementioned force device is used to supply the desired loading force or to transfer the reeling axle further away from the reeling cylinder as the size of the roll grows. In the initial reeling device this can also take place by means of separate relief cylinders, as is presented in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,068. By means of relief cylinders it is possible to compensate the effect of gravity on the reeling cylinder, and thus they are used for so-called profiling. It is also common that in the initial reeling device the loading, relieving and adjustment of the position of the reeling axle with respect to the reeling cylinder are effected by means of one double-acting pressurized medium operated cylinder.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,979 also describes the use of a hydraulic cylinder separately in a situation where the reeling cylinder and the growing reel are kept within a distance from each other, wherein a photocell is used to produce the signal effecting the transfer. The actual loading force is affected by several factors, such as friction caused by the motion of the force device as well as kinetic friction of the structure supporting the reeling axle when it is moved. It should also be noted that the current regulator means is a servo valve which controls the cylinder functioning as a force device, whereas the cylinder controls only one of the two carriages.
There are also known reel-ups such as the one presented in EP patent 604558 and in the related U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,008. The patent discloses carriages arranged movable linearly in guides parallel to the reeling rails, the position of the carriages being determined on the basis of hydraulic cylinders coupled between the frame of the reel-up and the carriages. Thus, by means of these hydraulic cylinders, the location of the reeling axle is at the same time also adjusted with respect to the reeling cylinder. The carriages are provided with separate pressing devices which press the bearing housings located at the ends of the reeling axle and resting on the reeling rails with an adjustable force towards the reeling cylinder to produce the necessary nip pressure. On the other side of the bearing housing, the carriages are also provided with positioning devices by means of which the location of the reeling axle in the carriage can be adjusted more accurately.
In the above-described cases to control e.g. the reeling carriage, the initial reeling device and the loading device, hydraulic cylinders are typically used in pairs to control the different ends of the reeling axle. Thus, the control of the ends is arranged for example by means of an integrated carriage or a carriage arranged in connection with each end to move independently. Furthermore, it is thus possible to arrange the linear load between the machine reel and the reeling cylinder to vary also in the transverse direction of the paper web. On the basis of the above-described facts it is obvious that for the sake of reliable function, the control of the force devices must also be reliable and simple.
There are, however, considerable problems and drawbacks related to the prior art. Thus, such reel-ups entail factors which disturb the reeling process. The rolling surfaces of the reel spools which thus function as surfaces transmitting e.g. supporting force in the support of the reel during the reeling, are subjected to considerable stress when the reel spools are manipulated and driven. These surfaces can also be damaged with time, which impairs the situation even more. Even though the surfaces remained in a relatively good shape, friction is always produced in the rolling which friction is also affected by the mass of the constantly growing reel. This friction also affects the control of the reeling process, such as the adjustment of the linear load.
Thus, in the reeling of a web, particularly as the reel is accumulated, the most significant disturbance factors in the linear load and its control include the changes in the frictions produced as a result of the transfer of the machine reel, i.e. the reel spool.
The essential steps of the reeling process include the change of the reel and the act of stopping the rotary movement of the reel. Thus, as the reel-up in question is a continuous reel-up, the reel has to be removed from the nip contact i.e. from the reeling cylinder constituting the actual reeling nip, at least when stopping the reel. Thus, it is advantageous to form a separate nip by means of a pressing device to bind the surface layers of the reel and to prevent the access of air between the layers of the reel. A pressing device of this kind, such as a roll is, however, impractical with respect to the movement of the operating personnel, because it is typically placed slightly above the machine level. Such a pressing device can be placed and supported by means of an apparatus, such as a slide structure or guides, which is movable separately, wherein it can be driven to the front, i.e. in the vicinity of the reeling cylinder. Such a solution is, however, complicated, and it increases the sequence times.


A bushing assembly for a reciprocating device is provided. The bushing assembly includes a hollow bushing housing, a collet guide member, and an adjuster mechanism. The hollow bushing housing has a substantially cylindrical shape and an angled inner sidewall. The collet guide member is disposed radially inward from and contacts the angled inner sidewall of the hollow bushing housing. The adjuster mechanism contacts a lower surface of the collet guide member and urges the collet guide member along the angled inner sidewall of the hollow bushing housing.

Hydraulic hammers are used on work sites to break up large hard objects before such objects can be moved away. Hydraulic hammers may be mounted to back hoes or excavators or other machines. Typically, the hammer assembly is powered by either a hydraulic or pneumatic pressure source or a combination of both. The hydraulic pressure, pneumatic pressure, or combination thereof is used to drive a movable piston downward within a housing. During the power stroke, the downward moving piston strikes a work tool, which, in turn, is driven in the downward direction. During its downward movement, the work tool strikes the object to be broken up. To assist in alignment between the moving piston and the work tool, hammer bushings are provided within the housing. During operation of the hydraulic hammer, the bushings can wear down causing increased clearance between the bushings and the work tool. The increased clearance can cause improper alignment and damage to the work tool and piston.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,152,692 to HURSKAINEN is directed to a hydraulic hammer having a sealing bushing. The sealing bushing includes a percussion piston that delivers strokes to a tool. A lower part of the percussion piston is sealed with respect to a frame by the sealing bushing. The sealing bushing includes one or more lower seals. The sealing bushing does not contribute to the bearing of the percussion piston and it is arranged in place through the lower end of the hydraulic hammer. However, no mechanism for adjusting clearance is provided.
The present disclosure is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems discovered by the inventors or that is known in the art.


A method determines an optical property (S, C) of a patient eye with an intraocular lens. The patient eye and the intraocular lens define a system. In the method, a measured value of the optical property of the system is determined at a measurement time (tM) after injecting the intraocular lens into the patient eye. The measured value and the associated measurement time (tM) are compared to a known time profile of the values of the optical property for the lens. The known time profile since unfolding the intraocular lens was determined experimentally before the lens is injected and is made available in the form of measurement series or data derived therefrom. A value for the optical property of the system is determined at a different time than the measurement time (tM), according to the known time profile of the values of the optical property for the lens.

Intraocular lenses are usually injected into the aphakic eye in a folded state and there they unfold within a matter of seconds. In some cases, anterior chamber intraocular lenses are also injected into the phakic eye. The optical properties of the patient eye are usually measured before and after the surgical procedure. Thus, the medical practitioner obtains no information during the operation with respect to whether the inserted lens can also in actual fact enable the desired visual performance of the patient eye.
Hence, it would be desirable to determine the optical properties of the patient eye with the intraocular lens during surgery. However, such a measurement proves impossible using conventional methods because a number of interfering factors occur during surgery, and these falsify the measurement result. One source of error during the measurement lies in the fact that the optical properties of the intraocular lens change over a period of time of at least fifteen minutes after the injection into the patient eye, during which the intraocular lens completely unfolds. An intraoperative measurement performed within a few minutes after the injection would be falsified as a result of this. Since conventional cataract surgery only takes approximately five to ten minutes, it however proves not to be possible to wait in the case of the intraoperative measurement of an implanted intraocular lens until the optical properties have reached their final value.
DE 10 2007 017 599 A9 describes a method for measuring geometric parameters of an eye in order to determine a fitting intraocular lens, for example also for an eye which, as a result of preceding refractive corneal surgery, has modified relationships between the front side of the cornea and the back side of the cornea.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,476,248 and U.S. patent application publication 2009/0079935 describe a method for predicting changes in the patient eye caused by the operation. Here, changes of the eye, for example, a deformation of the cornea as a result of the incisions performed during the operation, are used in the calculation of the optical properties of the intraocular lens.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,437,008 and 7,982,881 describe a device for measuring a sample, more particularly an eye, by interferometry.
U.S. patent application publication 2009/0069794 describes an instrument for laser eye surgery, wherein the surgical laser beam is focused as accurately as possible onto the target tissue.

Method for determining at least one optical property of a patient eye with an intraocular lens


Methods, systems and arrangements are provided for obtaining electroencephalograph (“EEG”) EEG signals from a patient e.g., during a concurrent EEG/MRI examination of the patient. The methods, systems and arrangements include a cap made of conductive inks with sensor positions for attaching a plurality of sensors to the patient's head. The sensors can include electrodes as well as motion sensors for improving EEG signal quality and MRI image quality in the presence of motion noise and other artifacts within the MRI environment. The electrodes may be composed of conductive inks, and can be used in high magnetic fields due to a weak interaction with the RF fields generated by the MRI scanner. The exemplary methods, systems and arrangements can achieve lower SAR and lower temperature increase, as compared to conventional electrodes.

Advances in brain imaging technologies have made it possible for medical personnel to observe, extract, record, and graphically display electrophysiological signals that reflect brain activity in specific brain regions. These signals may be analyzed to detect many brain-related conditions, including spinal cord injuries, stroke, epilepsy, sleep disorders, brain death, and a variety of brain dysfunctions related to the psychology of a patient ranging from substance abuse to psychosis.
Electrophysiological brain signals are typically recorded by an electroencephalogram ("EEG") system. The EEG system may be a device that measures the electrical activity in the brain via a multitude of electrodes attached to a patient's scalp by way of a cap or a special glue or paste and connected to the EEG system through wires, called leads. The electrodes detect the electrophysiological signals, and the EEG system amplifies and records them onto paper or computer for analysis by medical personnel.
Recording the EEG signals allows medical personnel to view information (e.g., a graph) reflecting the activity of thousands of neurons in the brain. The pattern of activity in the recorded EEG signals or brain waves changes with the level of the patient's arousal—if the patient is relaxed, the graph shows many slow, low frequency brain waves; if the patient is excited, the graph shows many fast, high frequency brain waves.
While the brain waves provide useful temporal information regarding the electrical activity of the brain, they do not provide the spatial resolution used for determining the exact location of the recorded activity in the brain. High spatial resolution is often important for the diagnosis and treatment of many brain-related conditions such as localized brain tumors and aneurisms.
Higher spatial resolution may be obtained with the use of other brain imaging technologies, including magnetic resonance imaging ("MRI") and functional MRI ("fMRI"). MRI is a technique that utilizes magnetic and radio frequency ("RF") fields to provide high quality image slices of the brain along with detailed metabolic and anatomical information. Radio waves 10,000-30,000 times stronger than the magnetic field of the earth are transmitted through the patient's body. This affects the patient's hydrogen atoms, forcing the nuclei into a different position. As the nuclei move back into place they send out radio waves of their own. An MRI scanner picks up those radio waves, and a computer converts them into images, based on the location and strength of the incoming waves.
fMRI is a technique for determining which parts of the brain are activated by different types of physical sensation or activity, such as sight, sound or the movement of a patient's fingers. This is achieved by arranging an advanced MRI scanner in a particular way so that the increased blood flow to the activated areas of the brain shows up on the detailed image slices of the brain.
In order to take advantage of the high temporal resolution of EEGs and the high spatial resolution of MRIs and fMRIs, medical personnel have been increasingly performing simultaneous recordings of EEG and MRI or fMRI data for both medical diagnosis and clinical research. Such simultaneous recording provides the high spatio-temporal resolution needed to study brain activity during different tasks, such as visual, auditory, or motor tasks. Currently, there is no single brain imaging technology that can provide the resolution needed to study this brain activity. The combination of EEGs and MRIs/fMRIs provides the needed resolution, while improving the accuracy of diagnosis of many brain-related conditions.
The combination of these two conventional technologies, however, may provide several safety problems. One such problem involves the integrity of the measurements, as the changing magnetic and RF fields of an MRI/fMRI recording can introduce undesirable artifacts into the EEG recordings. When EEG leads are placed inside an MRI scanner, the rapidly changing RF fields may introduce voltages that obscure the EEG signals. Further, the presence of magnetic materials within the EEG electrodes placed inside the MRI scanner and the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the EEG machine can disturb the homogeneity of the magnetic field, and possibly compromise the quality of the MRI image scans.
The introduction of the EEG equipment into the pulsed RF fields created by the MRI scanner can also present a safety hazard, especially at high static B0 fields because of Specific Absorption Rate ("SAR") considerations. EEG leads may act as antennas, increasing the patient's exposure to the RF fields. The use of metallic electrodes and leads may cause an undesirable increase in local and whole-head SAR values, reflected in the heating of patient's tissue. Such heating may possibly result in bodily injury to the patient, including burns, electric shock, etc.
Noise can also be introduced into the EEG signals during EEG recording within an MRI scanner. Specifically, noise may be introduced by motion within the MRI environment during the recording of the EEG signals. This motion noise may be associated with a ballistocardiogram motion, e.g., a cardiac pulsation, within the patient, a movement of the patient during the EEG recording, etc. The amplitude of the noise may be approximately of the same magnitude of the EEG signals. Because these motion noises may be present as a direct result of an electromagnetic induction in the magnetic field, the voltage differential between the amplitude of the noise and the amplitude of the EEG signals can increase as the strength of the magnetic field increases.
Several measures have been previously used to alleviate the problems associated with the concurrent use of an EEG machine and the MRI scanner. One such possibility is to replace conventional electrodes with electrodes composed of non-ferromagnetic materials, such as carbon fiber. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,051, entitled "FMRI Compatible Electrode and Electrode Placement Techniques," issued on Mar. 16, 2004, an apparatus for simultaneous EEG/MRI recordings is described as having electrodes and leads that are composed of non-ferromagnetic materials. As described in this U.S. Patent, the electrodes and leads are attached to a stretchable elastic cap fitting the patient's head. It is indicated in this publication that the electrodes and leads provided in the cap may be made of carbon, carbonized plastic or other conductive plastic.
The non-metallic nature of the electrodes and leads makes them less susceptible to induced currents present in the MRI scanner, as well as other artifacts caused by movement of the body within the MRI scanner. However, carbon fibers have a high and fixed conductivity that may not be easily reduced in a cost-effective and commercially feasible manner. The conductivity of the carbon fibers may affect the measurement of the EEG signals. Thus, it is desirable for other materials with lower conductivity to be used as electrodes at least in such arrangement.
Another possibility is to rearrange the EEG equipment leads, so as to connect the electrodes to the EEG recording machine. The placement and alignment of the EEG equipment leads within the MRI scanner can have a substantial impact on the resultant image quality. This is because the EEG leads can interfere with the RF fields within the MRI scanner by de-tuning the coils used in the MRI scanner, thereby resulting in a global attenuation of the received RF signal. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,162, entitled "Apparatus and Method for Recording an Electroencephalogram During Magnetic Resonance Imaging," issued on Aug. 29, 1995, describes a system which relocates the EEG machine to a remote and isolated location that is external to the MRI scanner room so as to minimize the interference between the two systems.
Similarly, International Publication No. WO 03/073929, entitled "Electroencephalograph Sensor for Use with Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Methods Using Such Arrangements," and published on Sep. 12, 2003, describes an EEG recording system which includes an EEG machine which is external to the MRI environment, and that receives the electrical signals via optical fiber between a transmitter located inside the MRI room and a receiver external to the MRI room.
Yet another possibility to address the problems associated with the concurrent use of EEG and MRI machines, and in particular, the motion and other artifact noise that affect the quality of EEG recordings, is to use a filtering system coupled to motion sensors attached to the patient's scalp. Such a system is described in International Publication No. WO 2004/047632, entitled "Apparatus and Method for Ascertaining and Recording Electrophysiological Signals," and published on Jun. 10, 2004.
While these exemplary measures have assisted in improving the quality of both the EEG and MRI test results, certain problems still exist with such conventional approaches. In particular, there are no methods, systems or arrangements that enable a concurrent recording of that EEG signals and MRI scans, which can simultaneously take into consideration the metallic nature of the electrodes and leads that results in high SAR and RF interferences, the motion and artifact noise within the MRI environment, and the patient safety in general.
Thus, there is a need for methods, systems and arrangements for the delivery and recording of electrophysiological brain signals during MRI that use non-metallic and non-ferromagnetic electrodes and leads.
There is a further need for methods, systems and arrangements to enable delivery and recording of electrophysiological brain signals during MRI that reduce the SAR exposure, while increasing the signal quality and improving patient safety.
There is also a need for methods, systems and arrangements that enable the delivery and recording of electrophysiological brain signals during MRI that reduce the motion and artifact noise within the MRI environment.

Apparatuses and methods for electrophysiological signal delivery and recording during MRI


An earthquake gas valve that uses a battery powered actuation mechanism to automatically close a gas valve when the movement caused by an earthquake is perceived. A gear motor is activated by a plurality of shake switches which in turn cause a motor driven radial rack to rotate. The rack terminates in a closure plug which obstructs the gas outlet opening and prevents gas from entering the house or office when an earthquake occurs. A timing circuit delays the activation of the closure plug to make sure that the motion has been caused by an earthquake and not by an accidental brief jarring action.

Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to the field of gas valves and more specifically to gas valve that automatically shuts off when an earthquake occurs.
Background Information
Earthquakes can occur in any land mass that is close to a tectonic plate located under the surface of the earth. Earthquakes can do extensive damage due to the sometimes-violent shaking motion that is precipitated by the slippage of one tectonic plate over another tectonic plate. Many homes and offices are heated by natural gas. Some homes and offices also have stove tops that also use natural gas to cook food. If a gas line is ruptured during an earthquake, there is a possibility that an explosion can occur which could do serious damage to a structure such as a home or office.
In an effort to automatically shut off gas when an earthquake occurs, a mechanical earthquake valve has been developed and marketed. The basic operating premise of the valve is that a sphere, or other physical object is caused to fall off a pedestal within a valve body. The sphere rolls down via gravity to then obstruct the gas inlet port of the valve, thereby preventing gas from entering a house or office and preventing the possible explosion that might occur when a gas line ruptures due to the violent shaking of an earthquake. This type of valve can save lives and has even been mandated by some state legislatures.
However, there are deficiencies in the prior technology. Mechanical type earthquake valves can be accidentally activated if the valve body is bumped into, or if a large truck rumbles down the street and causes enough shaking to dislodge the ball sitting on its pedestal, causing it to roll down and shut off the gas. Generally, it requires calling the local utility company to have someone come to the residence or office location to re-set the valve to the open position. Additionally, mechanical earthquake valves cannot be shut off or on remotely. Also, a mechanical valve cannot be activated by other adverse conditions such as extreme heat from a fire.


A head-mounted display (HMD) device includes a plurality of deformation sensors attached to a liner formed around a periphery of a HMD, adopted for direct or indirect contact a user's face. The deformation sensors measure deformations of the liner caused by movement of an upper portion of a user's face when the user is wearing the HMD. The deformation sensors are strain gauges embedded in or otherwise coupled to the liner of the HMD. The sensors translate muscle movements of the upper face of the user to changes in the bending strain and radius of curvature on the surface of the strain gauges. The HMD includes a module that reconstructs and projects a facial animation model of the user based on signals from the deformation sensors while the HMD is in use by the user.

The present invention generally relates to the field of capturing facial expressions of users wearing a head-mounted display (HMD).
The recent introduction of consumer-level HMDs has led to a revival in virtual reality and is drawing wide interest from consumers for gaming and online virtual worlds. With the help of existing motion capture and hand tracking technologies, users can navigate and perform actions in fully immersive virtual environments. But users lack a technological solution for face-to-face communication that conveys compelling facial expressions and emotions in virtual environments.
Facial animation has been mostly dominated by optical capture systems that use cameras or depth sensors. Methods for facial representations, tracking, mapping, and animation have been developed, greatly impacting film and game production. However, because a typical face is more than 60% occluded by a HMD, established optical sensing methods that achieve the desired facial tracking quality fail to capture nearly the entire upper face.

Headset with strain gauge expression recognition system


Methods, systems, and computer readable media for providing cloud visibility are disclosed. According to one method, the method includes obtaining at least one correlation profile for indicating effects of workload configurations on hardware and/or software measurements of a reference server, wherein the reference server includes components for measuring hardware and/or software performance. The method also includes configuring the reference server, wherein the reference server is one of a plurality of servers in a cloud-based environment for executing a workload, wherein each of the plurality of servers executes at least a portion of the workload. The method further includes receiving, from the reference server, measurements associated with executing at least the portion of the workload. The method also includes generating information regarding the cloud-based environment using the measurements from the reference server and the at least one correlation profile.

Cloud-based environments typically involve compute, storage, and network resources located in one or more locations (e.g., data centers). For example, a cloud service provider may provide access to a pool of compute, storage, and network resources for one or more tenants (e.g., customers). In this example, each tenant may use these resources in a networked or distributed computing system, also referred to as a cloud, to execute workloads and perform or provide various services and/or functions.
Cloud visibility systems attempt to provide visibility into various aspects of cloud-based environments. For example, a cloud visibility system may attempt to provide insight into the behavior of a cloud's infrastructure, including power usage, workload efficiency, machine efficiency, and related security. However, issues arise when such systems attempt to provide deeper insight into cloud-based environments because of the myriad of heterogeneous software layers, multiple component and network configurations, and a general lack of centralized, granular (e.g., lower level) monitoring tools.


An illumination device for a color sorter includes an LED substrate placed on a longitudinal chassis for heat radiation and a light source in which many LED elements are linearly aligned in the longitudinal direction on the LED substrate, and the light source is an integration of at least two light sources provided together, one of the light sources illuminating a side on which items-to-be-sorted flow down and the other one of the light sources illuminating a side of a background arranged to face a camera.

Conventionally, as a device for causing particle matters, which become items-to-be-sorted, to flow down and irradiating the flowing-down particle matters with light, detecting color difference or brightness difference by sensors to detect unacceptable items, which are discolored to colors different from colors of acceptable items, or foreign matters, and distinguishing the unacceptable items or foreign matters from the flow of acceptable items to eliminate thereof, a color sorter has been known (for example, refer to Patent Literature 1).
This kind of color sorter is based on a principle that the items-to-be-sorted are irradiated with light from a light source, color difference, brightness difference or the like of reflected light from the items-to-be-sorted or light transmitted through the items-to-be-sorted is detected by a sensor, and based on the color difference or brightness difference, unacceptable items or foreign matters admixed to the items-to-be-sorted are immediately eliminated by an ejector. As a sensor to be adopted, to increase sorting yield, a line sensor configured with a line CCD, which is linear and capable of simultaneous detecting, is used in many cases; as a light source for a sensor like this, in a conventional color sorter, a fluorescent lamp of a straight tube or an array of many halogen bulbs or LED elements has been used (for example, refer to Patent Literature 2, FIG. 9).
Then, the sorter is configured to set plural straight tube fluorescent lamps or linear LED elements with different wavelengths in accordance with the items-to-be-sorted or foreign matters to be the target in the optical detection part, to thereby illuminate each of a side on which the items-to-be-sorted, such as grains, flow down and a proximity of a background, such as a reflective plate; therefore, conventionally, there has been a need for installing plural illumination means in the optical detection part (refer to Patent Literature 2, paragraph 0043, FIG. 4).
Moreover, this kind of color sorter is based on a principle that the items-to-be-sorted are irradiated with light from a light source, color difference, brightness difference or the like of reflected light from the items-to-be-sorted or transmitted light through the items-to-be-sorted is detected by a sensor, and based on the color difference or brightness difference, unacceptable items or foreign matters admixed to the items-to-be-sorted are immediately eliminated by an ejector. As a sensor to be adopted, to increase sorting yield, a line sensor configured with a line CCD, which is linear and capable of simultaneous detecting, is used in many cases; as a light source for a sensor like this, in a conventional color sorter, a fluorescent lamp of a straight tube or an array of many halogen bulbs or LED elements has been used (for example, refer to Patent Literature 3, FIG. 9).


An LED light device has removable self-powered LED units that can operate independently when removed from the light device and as part of the LED light device when assembled to the light device.

The current invention is an LED light device which has one or more LED units that not only can work with the device power system but also have their own self-power construction so that they can be removed from the device and carried to illuminate a desired location where the device cannot be used.
The marketplace offers many different LED light devices for people to use at different locations with desired functions and light performance. Some LED lights work on 120 Volt AC power and some LED lights work on DC power. However, one of the existing LED light devices is able to employ more than one type of power source. In contrast, the current LED units can work with more than one power source, one of which is from a device system and one is self-powered. This allows the LED units to be removed from the device and carried anywhere for illumination, the LED units having their own switch or sensor means to enable the LED units be turned on and off to achieve a pre-determined function, brightness, color, timing, duty cycle, and/or duration. The LED units may also include circuit means with a power saving IC or cost saving circuit such as the ones disclosed in copending application Ser. Nos. 12/624,000 and 12/624,621 that have more than one power source or interchangeable power sources and cost saving designs, as well as contact means to supply an electric signal from the device system that enables the device system to cause the LED unit to turn on and off to achieve a pre-determined function, brightness, color, timing, duty cycle, or duration.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the removable LED unit may include a charging circuit to allow recharging of an energy storage means to provide power to the LED unit for self-power operation, non-rechargeable batteries, or obtain energy from an adaptor, transformer, solar cells, wind power, generator, chemical power source etc. The LED unit power source, as well as the device system power source, may thus be selected from a 120 Volt AC source, a DC source, a transformer source, an adaptor source, a solar power related source, a wind power related source, a chemical related source, an energy storage means, or any other power source available from the marketplace. In addition, the device system may incorporate multiple functions, for example as a light fixture, power fail light, motion sensor, photo sensor, emergency light, or flash light to offer illumination under all kinds of conditions, such as during an earthquake, power failure, flood, fire, or any other incidents or unexpected hazards caused by people or the environment that require portable or emergency lighting.
In addition to the above improvements, the preferred system may include any of the following features:    A. The LED light device may use the more than one optics means described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/806,284, in which LED elements are incorporated with optics media to cause the LEDs to provide an area light illumination effect to act as a night light.    B. The LED light device may also use the multiple light sources described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/255,981, in which multiple LED elements are arranged in a matrix shape to face in one or multiple directions, and/or to have different positions, orientations, or locations to be seen by viewers, some of the LEDs serving as a night light and some as an emergency light.    C. The LED light device may also, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/255,981, include first and second LED elements each having a plurality of LEDs that face in more than one direction, or that are at different locations, positions, or orientations, to illuminate multiple areas.    D. The LED light device may include one of mechanical or electric switches having at least one function selected from on, off, auto, timer, time delay, flashing, partial on, partial off, partial flashing, partial chasing, partial random, partial fade-in and fade-out, on/off blinking function duration, power saving selection, blinking function selection, persistence of vision effects, on/off percentage of each blinking cycle, power saving setting or selection, LED group reset selection, or any LED light functions for a plurality of LEDs that is available from the marketplace.    E. The LED light device may also, as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/806,285, include LEDs of any type or LED specification with single color or multiple colors, the color and number of illuminated LEDs being changeable to provide different light functions under control of a switch or sensor means.    F. The LED light device may also, as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/806,285, incorporate other functions selected from an outlet, air freshener, motion sensor, beacon light, warning light, chasing lights, flashlight, bug repelling device, mosquito repelling device, mouse repelling device, sonic pest repelling device, projection device, or persistence of vision device.    G. Still further, the LED light device may, as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/255,981, include an LED or LEDs for indicating the battery status, including low battery capacity, full capacity, or half capacity, with preferred colors indicating the status of the batteries or the duty status of the batteries.    H. The LED light device may also use the special effects described in the patent application entitled "LED Device Has Special Effects" filed on Feb. 25, 2010, in which the LED is caused to flash faster than the human eye response time of 1/24 to 1/16 second to cause the illumination to appear to be steady due to the persistence of vision effect and let the people see a continuous light beam while reducing power consumption of the batteries.    I. The LED light device may, according to the above-described persistence of vision effect, have an on time of 1/48 second, achieved by flashing at a frequency of 48 Hz, or by having an appropriate on/off duty cycle percentage, selectable by a power saving setting or selection, or by an LED group reset selection.    J. In addition, the battery of the LED light device may be arranged to have a voltage higher than the LED trigger voltage, or a voltage that is lower than the LED trigger voltage with the voltage being increased by an electric circuit that raises or boosts the battery voltage up to the LED trigger voltage.    K. For example, a preferred LED light device with power saving features may include:
at least one LED to provide a light source;
at least one housing having space to install any of the following: circuit means, conductive means, electric components parts and accessories, switch means, sensor means, an integrated circuit (IC), and a micro controller to connect with a power source to cause the LED to turn on and off to achieve a predetermined function, effects, on/off duration, duty cycle, color, and/or brightness; and with power saving features being achieved by using control means to control the LED's turn-on and turn-off duration time for a certain percentage of each cycle, at a rate that takes advantage of the persistence of vision effect of the human eye, which has a response time of within 1/24 to 1/16 second.    L. An LED light device of the type described in part K may also include cost saving features achieved by using batteries which have a total voltage that is less than the LED's trigger voltage and voltage increasing electric components, parts, and accessories to raise the batteries' voltage to over the LED or LEDs trigger voltage.    M: Finally, the LED light device may include an interchangeable power source which can switch from a 120 Volt AC power source to a battery power source as described in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 12/232,505, 12/292,153, 12/318,473, 12/318,470. 12/318,471 and 12/622,000.

LED light has removable self-power LED unit(s)


A series of methodologies and mathematical formulas that deconstructs any input digital information data stream whereby the deconstructed output data stream, in all cases, uses less digital storage or transmission space than the original data stream. The methodologies and formulas can be used recursively to further reduce the digital output stream size as many times as necessary to achieve a desired digital output stream size, limited only by the requirement there is a small set of deconstruction output stream values remaining to enable reconstruction. The output stream may be stored, transmitted or added to additional output streams for further reduction. The deconstruction output stream may be modified during or after deconstruction completion to render the deconstructed output stream incomprehensible as desired by the deconstructed output stream owner or creator.

In 1948, Claude Shannon published a mathematically based theorem, "A Mathematical Theory of Communication." which became the basis for determining compressibility limits in digital compression and encryption systems design. The theorem quantified the mathematical determination of data entropy. Data entropy occurs when information is manipulated to shorten its transmission or storage needs which does not reproduce the original information exactly, in original form, when received or retrieved. State of the art compression and encryption technologies still use Shannon's data entropy theory and mathematical proof as the guide for lossless compression and encryption implementation. Shannon's theorem is correct, only if it is assumed; the original information must be contained in the data stream during transmission/reception, storage or retrieval.
Current state of the art compression technologies tokenize random digital data streams (digital information arrays whereby the information content may include any combination, in any order, of binary 1s and 0s) statistically creating a tokenization table(s) or dictionaries whereby the most frequently occurring parts of a data stream are cross referenced and given a smaller definition, thereby reducing transmission and/or storage size. Encryption systems jumble the original information through mathematical formulas and simple methodologies. Both lossless compression and encryption data streams carry the original data in some manner, transformed in such a way as to render compression and/or encryption. The standard for lossless compression ratios is approximately 3:1 whereby the transmitted or stored information stream size is one third (⅓) of the original data stream size, at best. Encryption technologies appear to always render a larger output data stream than the original data stream by design.
The 3:1 ratio for random data streams (all possible combinations of unordered digital information) cannot be overcome if the original data is carried in the compressed or encrypted information data stream.
This new invention may make reference to a previous patent filed and accepted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, created by the inventor of this new technology:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,838,964
Date of patent: Nov. 17, 1998
Title: Dynamic Numeric Compression Methods
Inventor: David R. Gubser
Appl. No. 494,779
The disclosure of this new invention should be viewed and processed by a United States Citizen familiar with the U.S. laws regarding Category XIII of the United States Munitions List, as it may fall under the lawful guidelines negating export or disclosure outside the United States or to a non-citizen of the United States of America. This invention may also covered by the S.A.F.E ACT of 1999 (Security and Freedom through Encryption) or its' intended function.
The discovery by this inventor of new methodologies/formulas and means of implementation create a unique invention as depicted in the following disclosure.

Lossless recursive deconstruction and reconstruction of digital information data streams


A generator for producing a negative bias voltage on a semiconductor device employs an on-chip oscillator driving two charge pump circuits. The oscillator produces a frequency inversely related to the negative bias, using a feedback circuit, thus reducing standby current. Each of the charge pumps include a CMOS inverter for controlling the transistor that functions as a diode connection to the ground terminal, producing an efficient charge transfer and speeding up generation of the bias voltage. Both charge pumps are used during power-up so the bias is rapidly increased to the operating level, then one is turned off to reduce current drain. A shunt circuit prevents CMOS latch-up during power-UP by coupling the substrate node to ground, preventing forward bias of N+ source/drain regions with respect to P substrate.

This invention relates to semiconductor devices, and more particularly to substrate bias generator circuits for dynamic read/write memory devices or the like.
Substrate bias generator circuits for MOS LSI devices have been costructed as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,115,710, issued to Perry W. Lou, U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,223, issued Jan. 15, 1985 to G. R. M. Rao and C. N. Reddy, or Ser. No. 512,078, filed July 8, 1983 by Hashimoto & Reddy, assigned to Texas Instruments. The very high density dynamic RAMs now being designed have more stringent requirements, however. The power dissipation during both operating and standby modes is more critical, and since CMOS structures are used latch-up becomes a problem at power-on.
It is the principal object of this invention to provide an improved substrate bias generator circuit for a semiconductor device such as a dynamic RAM. Another object is to provide a charge pump circuit that is more efficient and operates faster. Another objet is to provide a substrate bias generator that reduces operating and standby power dissipation.


Three-layer, highly oriented polyester films having an A-B-C layer construction, preferably made of polyethylene terephthalate, which, in addition to a base layer B have a smooth surface layer A which contains no external particles and a rough surface layer C which contains external particles such as antiblocking agents or pigments, preferably SiO2, in defined amounts and particle sizes, and the surface layer A is additionally provided with an acrylate-containing layer D feature in particular good producibility and processibility, high gloss of the film surface A and low opacity. The very smooth surface A or D is suitable in particular for coating with materials, for example SiOx, by means of plasma polymerization of hexamethyldisiloxane by the CVD or PECVD method, which provides the film with a high oxygen barrier and is suitable in particular as packaging for light- and air-sensitive foods or other consumable items.

The invention relates to a transparent, preferably three-layer, biaxially oriented polyester film having a smooth surface A which has substantially no external particles, and a rough surface C which contains antiblocking particles in a certain size. In addition, the film has at least one acrylate-containing layer D which is applied to the smooth surface A as an aqueous dispersion. To attain a very high surface smoothness of the surface A, the film is highly oriented. The film is suitable in particular for barrier coatings which are applied by the CVD (chemical vapor deposition) or by the PECVD (plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition) method. The invention further relates to a process for producing the film and to its use.
Films having a smooth surface A are disclosed by the prior art.
For instance, films in accordance with examples 4 and 6 of EP-A-0 903 222 contain no external pigments in the surface layer A. The film accordingly has a smooth surface A. According to experiments carried out there, the film has good barrier values, in particular after metallization or coating with ceramic materials. For barrier coating by the CVD or the PECVD method, the smoothness of the surface A to be coated is in need of improvement. Also in need of improvement is the processing performance of the film, in particular on high-speed machines. The film according to the aforementioned examples 4 and 6 is not adequately pigmented on the surface layer C on the opposite side to the surface layer A. In the case of coating in high-vacuum units, for example in units which work by the CVD or by the PECVD method, the unit is evacuated before the coating. This also allows air present in the film roll to escape, resulting in the individual film plies lying in close contact. Inadequate pigmentation may result in poor running performance of the film in the machine (pulling on the bias, blocking). The winding quality of the coated film is unsuitable for the further processing of the film (lamination, printing). Such a film also has a very strong tendency to electrostatic charging.
DE-A-16 94 404 describes a film composed of layers of an oriented crystallizable thermoplastic film, in which at least one of the outer layers contains an additive. The additives are customary inert inorganic or organic particles which, in the case of inert particles such as SiO2 are added to the outer layers in a concentration of from 1 to 25% by weight. The particle size is from 2 to 20 μm. These laminates can be used, for example, for decorative purposes metalized with aluminum or for magnetic tapes. There is no information whatsoever in the document as to how the topography of such a film can be adjusted for the improvement of the oxygen barrier.
DE-A-22 30 970 describes a magnetic recording medium which consists of a biaxially oriented polyester film and a thin magnetic metallic layer on the surface A of the polyester film. The film has                a) a coated surface A which is free of particles and                    i) is at least 4 μm thick or            ii) is at least 50% of the thickness of the overall film ply; and                        b) a particle-containing second layer having a comparatively rough surface which contains                    i) at least 1% of individual particles of a certain polymer A and            ii) at least 1% of individual particles of a certain polymer B.
There is again no information whatsoever in the document as to how the topography of such a film for the improvement of an oxygen barrier can be attained.
EP-B-0 088 635 describes a coextruded, biaxially oriented polyester film having at least two layers of which one layer A consists of thermoplastic resin and one layer B which comprises thermoplastic resin and fine particles. The film has a surface roughness Ra of the outer surface of layer A of less than 5 nm and the outer surface of layer B has either                a surface having a surface roughness Ra of from 5 to 40 nm and a plurality of depressions and a plurality of protrusions which are arranged in a certain arrangement, or        a surface having protrusions formed on a flat plane and whose surface is covered with a layer C composed of a lubricant and having a surface roughness Ra of from 5 to 40 nm.
EP-A-0 514 129 describes a transparent multilayer film which comprises a primary layer substrate of polymer material which, on at least one of its surfaces, has a secondary layer of polymer material which has glass beads and silicon dioxide particles in certain concentrations and in certain size distributions. The secondary layer may be disposed on one or on both sides of the primary layer substrate. The film improves the opacity and the processing properties, but the document does not provide any teaching on the improvement of the gloss and of the barrier properties of the film. There is also no information whatsoever in the document as to how the topography of such a film for the simultaneous improvements of gloss and oxygen barrier is to be attained.
EP-A-0 604 057 describes a transparent multilayer film which comprises a primary layer substrate of polymer material which is substantially free of fillers and, on at least one of its surfaces, has a secondary layer of polymer material which contains silicone resin as a filler in a concentration of from 100 to 1000 ppm and an average particle diameter of from 1.5 to 12.5 μm. A disadvantage of the silicone particles is that they are comparatively expensive and do not constitute an acceptable solution for the packaging market. In addition, films which are equipped with such pigments have a more marked tendency to telescope on winding. There is likewise no information whatsoever in this document as to how the topography of such a film for the simultaneous improvement of gloss and oxygen barrier is to be attained.
As a consequence of the lacking smoothness of the surface A to be coated, the films described in the prior art are unsuitable for barrier coating by the CVD or by the PECVD method, or are at least in need of improvement. Likewise in need of improvement is the processing performance of these films on these high-vacuum units.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Multilayer, biaxially oriented polyester film, process for its production and its use


Radiotherapy apparatus including a first probe insertable into a first body cavity, a second probe insertable into a second body cavity, and an external frame attached to the first and the second probes, such that the first and the second probes are in a fixed, known spatial relationship with respect to the external frame.

The use of radiotherapy to render tissue necrotic is well established, especially in treatment of tumors. A target volume in the tissue is irradiated at a multiplicity of orientations with finely collimated beams. A particular form of radiotherapy, called stereotactic radiotherapy, requires precise localization and fixation of the target tissue. It is essential to rigidly fix the target volume in space in order to ensure that the radiation beams are correctly directed to the target. However, it is difficult, impractical and sometimes impossible to rigidly fix some limbs in the human body sufficiently for precise stereotactic radiotherapy. The head is basically the only human organ wherein the bone is so close to the skin and accessible so as to permit rigorously spatially fixing the cranium to a stereotactic frame.
It is readily understood that it is quite desirable to rigidly fix other organs, such as the prostate, to permit stereotactic radiotherapy. However, the prior art does not have any method or apparatus for spatially fixing the prostate.


A lithium titanate composite material includes lithium titanate particles and an AlPO4/C composite layer disposed on a surface of the lithium titanate particles. The AlPO4/C composite layer includes aluminum phosphate and carbon. The lithium titanate composite material, as an anode active material, can be applied to a lithium ion battery to increase its electrochemical stability.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a lithium titanate based electrode active material having a composite layer, a method for making the same, and a lithium ion battery having the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Spinel typed lithium titanate (e.g., Li4Ti5O12), as a "zero strain" material used in the anode electrode of lithium ion battery, exhibits a high diffusion rate of lithium ions. Furthermore, there is no formation of solid electrolyte interface films during first charge-discharge process.
Lithium titanate is a semiconductor material having poor electric conductivity. A lithium ion battery having lithium titanate as its anode active material has a relatively high discharge voltage plateau. When the lithium ion battery is discharged to a low voltage, electrolytes of the lithium ion battery can easily decompose at the anode. The decomposition of the electrolytes results in a decrease of electrochemical stability of the lithium ion battery.
What is needed, therefore, is to provide a lithium titanate composite material used as an anode active material having good electric conductivity and electrochemical stability, a method for making the same, and a lithium ion battery using the same.

Lithium titanate composite material, method for making the same, and lithium ion battery using the same


A new variety of hybrid lily plant bearing large upright-facing flowers of excellent form and long persistence. The new hybrid is particularly characterized by its short stature and its lightly spotted golden flowers with deeper gold-orange midribs. This combination is competely new in the Asiatic hybrid divisions of lilies suited to forcing and to mass commercial cultivation. The variety is highly resistant to fusarium disease and shows tolerance of virus. The bulbs may be precooled and forced into flower under glass out of season. The clone is vigorous and is a good grower and propagator.

My new variety of lily plant originated as a seedling, which first flowered in't Zand, Netherlands in 1986. The breeding efforts had as their objective the production of truly short Asiatic hybrid lilies with upfacing, vibrant yellow and gold flowers, suited to forcing into flower out of season for use as pot plants, heretofore unknown in the lily breeding art.
I achieved the desired objective by intercrossing Lilium `Charisma` (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,180) with Lilium `Sunray.` `Sunray,` one of the early Stone and Payne hybrids from Connecticut, has been grown in the Netherlands and in the United States as a commercial cut-flower and pot-plant; it is too tall for an ideal pot-plant, however, and its more outfacing yellow flowers are not large. The flowers of my new lily are characterized by brilliant gold color with a deeper golden-orange margin, light spotting in the center only, and large size. The clone possesses unusually short, strong, stout stems. In addition, it possesses to a high degree desirable characteristics of hybrid vigor. The clone is a good grower and propagator, as observed at't Zand, Netherlands.
My new variety of lily plant has been asexually reproduced by me and under my direction at't Zand, Netherlands. Successive generations produced by natural propagation from bulblets, by bulb scale propagation, and by tissue culturing from bulb scale explants have demonstrated that the novel and distinctive characteristics of my new variety are fixed and hold true under asexual propagation from generation to generation.


Disclosed is a polyalkylene terephthalate type flame retardant resin composition comprising:. (A) 100 parts by weight of a polyalkylene terephthalate resin, PA0 (B) 30 to 250 parts by weight of a filler, PA0 (C) 5 to 50 parts by weight of an organic halogen compound having a glycidyl group, and PA0 (D) 5 to 50 parts by weight of sodium antimonate,. wherein heat resistance is improved and change in molding stability is small even when it is exposed to high temperatures during molding.

This invention relates to a polyalkylene terephthalate resin composition in which moldability is stabilized and also flame retardant properties are imparted.
Polyalkylene terephthalates represented by polyethylene terephthalate and polybutylene terephthalate have been widely used as electric and electronic equipments and components and automobile parts because of their excellent characteristics such as flex resistance, chemical resistance and electrical insulating property. Particularly, in the field of electric and electronic equipments and components, for the purpose of ensuring safety to fire, parts to which flame retardant properties are imparted have been employed in many cases.
For imparting flame retardant properties to a polyalkylene terephthalate type resin composition, an organic halogen compound and antimony trioxide are generally used in combination. However, this combination involves many problems that thermal stability is poor and fluidity of a resin is changed due to high temperatures during molding so that a resin may be flown out from a gap of a mold to be solidified, and a mold cannot be filled up with a resin in an injection cycle. In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 172050/1987, there has been proposed a technique in which flame retardant properties are imparted by using an organic halogen compound and sodium antimonate. However, even in this technique, fluid stability of a resin during molding cannot be maintained sufficiently.


A decision making system is described whereby a method of performing a detailed level evaluation of one or more products or articles based on a decision makers response to one or more questions relating to the decision makers requirements is described. The method includes the decision maker responding to the question relating to the decision makers functional requirement or requirements talking into account a predefined result type. The response is compared with a product result where the product result reflects a particular functional capability of the article or product in relation to the particular question. This produces an evaluation ratio or series of evaluation ratios which are statistically analysed to determine how well the product or article meets the decision makers requirements. The method is particularly suitable for analysis of software packages such as accounting packages and the like and provides a way by which a user may determine, at a highly detailed level, the suitability of various packages to the users requirements.

Formal decision making processes and strategies are well known at varying levels of complexity and utility. Early frameworks imposed on decision making processes have revolved around statistical techniques and the mathematical analysis of decision making processes with hierarchies imposed upon them. However, the detailed analysis of a decision makers requirements have been traditionally based upon taking averages of numerical indications of preferences or suitability.
Such decision making techniques generally rely on positive/negative responses from a decision maker whereby the statistical level of satisfaction is based on a relatively coarse level of querying and results in an averaged figure which allows the ranking of the available options.
Other techniques known in the art are those where a decision maker result and a product result are, for each question, multiplied together to produce a weighted value that is added to the weighted values from the other questions. This produces an overall score for the product. The higher the overall score, the better the product. This approach can mask or obscure underlying information and represents a "smoothing" of the query process and thus the interpretative value of the results are reduced.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a decision making process and application which allows for a more detailed analysis of the decision makers query process and associated levels of satisfaction than the prior art, as well as providing a method and software application which overcomes or at least mitigates the abovementioned disadvantages or at least provides the public with a useful choice.
Further objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description.


A horizontally opposed compressor having a crankshaft and an even number of diametrically opposed cylinders, each opposed cylinder having a piston and a single connecting rod cooperatively associated therewith, one of the connecting rods having a crankshaft bearing portion on one end and a wrist pin bearing portion on the other end, the other connecting rod having two spaced apart legs, each leg having a crankshaft bearing portion on one end, the other end of the legs coming together to form a wrist pin bearing portion and a wishbone shaped connecting rod, the spacing between the legs being sufficient to allow the crankshaft portion of the one connecting rod and the associated portion of the crankshaft to rotate between the legs so that the reciprocating mass forces associated with the opposed cylinders are generally equal and opposite and cancel each other to produce a smooth running compressor.

Horizontally opposed compressors are conventionally designed with the opposed cylinders offset. In 2 and 4 throw cylinder compressors an unbalanced dynamic couple force is inherent due to the offset of the opposed reciprocating mass. In 6 throw cylinder compressors the unbalanced dynamic couple forces can be substantially balanced out with proper phasing of the cylinders. U.S. Pat. No. 3,474,768 describes a diametrically opposed 4 cylinder engine with two concentric shafts that only rotate 180.degree., the 180.degree. rotation is converted to 360.degree. rotation by a connecting rod transferring the 180.degree. rotation of each of the concentric shafts to a crankshaft.

Connecting rod for horizontally opposed compressor


A method and apparatus are disclosed for determining the presence of an out-of-service telephone in a building. The method comprises the steps of electrically isolating the building interior and exterior loops, determining if the electrical resistance of the interior loop is within a selected range, determining if the electrical capacitance of the interior loop exceeds a selected capacitance level, and generating a telephone present signal should either the determined resistance be within the selected resistance range or the determined capacitance exceed the selected capacitance level.

Heretofore devices and techniques have been developed for determining the number of telephone sets, if any, connected at any one time to a subscriber telephone line or "loop" as the electrical circuit is termed in the telecommunications industry. Since each telephone set normally has an audible signaling device or "ringer" to alert subscribers to incoming calls, which ringers have significant amount of capacitance, these prior art methods have generally involved a measurement of subscriber loop capacitance as a means for identifying the number of telephone sets. In other words, where two telephone sets are connected to a subscriber loop their ringers will provide twice the capacitance on the loop that would otherwise be provided by one ringer where only one telephone set were to be connected to the loop.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,837 exemplifies one such prior art system and method wherein first and second frequency signals are applied to a subscriber loop with the first frequency being lower than the ringing device resonant frequency and the second frequency being higher than the ringing device resonant frequency. The current resulting from the coupled first and second signals is obtained from a current sensing device in series with the loop. The first frequency current is a measure of the capacitance of the loop and the capacitance of the ringers connected thereto since the admittance of the ringers is capacitive below resonance. The second frequency current is a measure of the loop capacitance only since the ringer admittance well above resonance is small compared to the loop admittance.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,990 describes another technique which, through relatively complex circuitry, seeks to eliminate certain interference and line capacitance not attributable to ringers on the subscriber loop in order to provide a more accurate reading. This is accomplished here through the use of a test capacitor to which is transferred any charge induced into the unknown ringer capacitor on the subscriber loop. By measuring the transferred charge the unknown capacitance can be determined.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,054,760 provides yet another system which also seeks to eliminate or reduce the presence of capacitance in a subscriber's loop not attributable to telephone set ringers themselves. This system employs a reversible switch located between the central office and subscriber's location. Testing is accomplished by locating the reversing switch at a place remote from the central office but relatively close to the subscriber's station. By metering changes in current level on the subscriber's loop while reversing the switch a more accurate measure may be obtained of that capacitance on the subscriber loop attributable to the telephone set ringers.
The just described procedures have been used to ascertain the signaling load on the subscriber loop or to detect the existence of unauthorized in-service telephone sets. This testing has been accomplished at the central office itself. Once service has been discontinued, however, there may still remain the need to ascertain whether or not one or more telephone sets are connected to the loop. Due to a conventional division of telephone company organizational responsibilities it typically is delegated to a group of telephone field workers to recover telephone sets that are no longer in use on subscriber loops. It often happens, however, that when a telephone company representative arrives at the subscriber's location he cannot readily gain access to the interior of the building in which the subscriber is located to retrieve the telephone sets. This is a common predicament due to the fact that a discontinuance of service typically accompanies a relocation of the subscriber from one building or house to some other. When this occurs the telephone field representative must return at a later time to the building after having acquired entry authorization, door keys and the like to make his inspection. Still then however he often will find no telephone set located within the building on the subscriber's out-of-service loop. This, of course, makes the return trip unproductive other than to have ascertained the absence of any set within the subscriber's building or home. Furthermore, even once he has gained entry he cannot, upon finding one telephone set, assume that that is the only set in the building. Rather, he must inspect each individual room in the building.
Though it is possible, as previously described, for the central office to conduct a test to determine the presence of ringers and thus telephone sets within a subscriber's building, this can be an inefficient procedure due to the fact that testers at central offices are themselves not charged with the responsibility of recovering out-of-service phones. Thus, in using this procedure the field unit charged with that responsibility must contact a central office tester who has to have service temporarily reestablished to the subscriber loop in order to conduct the test. At the conclusion of the test the field unit, which has either been standing idly by or since moved to another location and job, is advised.
It thus is seen that there remains a need for apparatuses and methods for determining the presence of out-of-service telephone sets within a building which could be readily used by field representatives of the telephone company without having to contact the central office and temporarily reestablish subscriber service. It is to this task to which the present invention is primarily directed.

Method and apparatus for locating telephones


Provided is directed to the field of immunotherapy. Specifically, provided are compositions and methods for improved T cell modulation ex vivo and in vivo and for the treatment of cancer and other pathologies. More specifically, embodiments of the subject matter are directed to the use of soluble NTB-A polypeptides or agonists thereof for the treatment of cancer patients, for preventing and treating cytopenia in susceptible patients, and for the ex vivo preparation of improved cell compositions.

NK-T-B antigen (NTB-A), also known as signaling lymphocyte activation molecule family member 6 (SLAMF6), CD352, Ly-108, SF2000 and KALI, is a type I transmembrane protein belonging to the SLAM family of immune cell receptors. SLAM family proteins are members of the CD2 subgroup of the Ig superfamily NTB-A is expressed on natural killer (NK), T and B cells and exhibits homotypic interactions, mediated by recruitment of SLAM associated protein (SAP) and additional adapter proteins to the receptor complex.
NTB-A contains two extracellular immunoglobulin (Ig)-like domains and three cytoplasmic tyrosine-based signaling motifs, one of which is included in a classical immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif. Engagement of NTB-A on human T cells can substitute the CD28 co-stimulatory pathway and induces polarization toward a Th1 phenotype. However, CD4-positive T cells from NTB-A (Ly-108) knockout mice show impairment in IL-4 production, suggesting a role of NTB-A in Th2 polarization. The reason for this discrepancy is not fully elucidated. Activation of NTB-A on human NK cells stimulates cytotoxicity and proliferation, as well as IFN-γ and TNF-α production.
Valdez et al, 2004 teach that NTB-A activates T cells by homotypic interactions, and specifically enhances Th1 properties. An NTB-A-Fc fusion protein, produced by fusing the first 226 amino acids of NTB-A to the Fc portion of murine IgG1, was found to inhibit B cell isotype switching, commonly induced by Th1-type cytokines, and inhibited a Th1-dependent autoimmune disease (EAE model). Thus, the reported NTB-A fusion protein was found to act as an NTB-A antagonist in the experimental systems reported by Valdez et al.
US 2009/017014 to Valdez et al is directed to the PRO20080 polypeptide (having an amino acid sequence corresponding to that of NTB-A), the extracellular portion thereof, homologs, agonists and antagonists thereof, which are suggested as putative modulators of immune diseases. The '014 publication suggests the use of certain immunostimulating compounds disclosed therein in immunoadjuvant therapy for the treatment of cancer.
Uzana et al., 2012 disclose that NTB-A blockade on antigen presenting cells (APC) by specific antibodies inhibited cytokine secretion from CD8+ lymphocytes. While the publication suggests this molecule as a potential target for improving anti-cancer immunotherapy, experimental exploration of the relevance of this approach is said to be warranted, since similar approaches, targeting other co-stimulatory receptors such as CD28 with agonistic antibodies, ended up in a fatal outcome in clinical trials.
Since NTB-A is expressed on certain hematopoietic tumors, vaccination using peptide epitopes derived from this molecule has been proposed, to induce an anti-tumor immune response against tumors aberrantly expressing this antigen. For example, PCT Pub. No. WO 2006/037421 discloses 338 peptide sequences derived from HLA class II molecules of human tumor cell lines, which can be used in vaccine compositions for eliciting anti-tumor immune responses. Among these sequences is a 16 amino acid peptide corresponding to positions 103-118 of SLAMF6. In addition, targeting these epitopes with antibodies or immunotoxin conjugates thereof has been suggested. For instance, US2011171204 discloses anti-NTB-A antibodies and antigen-binding fragments thereof, and methods of using the same to bind NTB-A and treat diseases, such as hematologic malignancies, which are characterized by expression of NTB-A. Additional antibodies against NTB-A are described, for example, by Krover et al., 2007. These antibodies exerted cytotoxic effects on NTB-A expressing lymphocytes, and had no effect on T cell proliferation or cytokine secretion.
EP2083088 discloses a method for treating cancer in a patient comprising modulating the level of an expression product of a gene selected from the group consisting of inter alia SLAMF6, wherein the cancer is selected from the group consisting of melanoma, breast cancer, colon cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, ovary cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, uterine cancer, cervical cancer, bladder cancer, stomach cancer or skin cancer. The publication discloses that the method is useful for treating a patient characterized by over-expression of said gene.
WO 03/008449 relates to NTB-A polypeptides, nucleic acid molecules encoding the same and uses thereof. The publication also relates to methods of regulating NK cells activity by regulating the activity of NTB-A in vitro, ex vivo or in vivo, and to methods of screening active compounds using NTB-A or fragments thereof, or nucleic acid encoding the same, or recombinant host cells expressing said polypeptide. Further disclosed is the use of a compound that regulates the activity of a NTB-A polypeptide in the preparation of a medicament to regulate an immune function in a subject.
X-linked lymphoproliferative disease (XLP) is a rare congenital immunodeficiency that leads to an extreme, usually fatal increase in the number of lymphocytes upon infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). XLP commonly results from deficiency of SLAM-associated protein (SAP), also designated XLP1, caused by mutations in the SH2D1A gene on chromosome Xq24-25. Accordingly, NTB-A has been implicated in this pathology, as contributing to the inability of NK-cells to kill EBV-infected B-cells.
Snow et al. (2009, 2010) examined the role of NTB-A and its downstream effector SAP, in the regulation of restimulation-induced cell death (RICD) of T cells obtained from healthy donors and XLP patients. The publications report that in normal donor T cells, NTB-A is positively involved in, and necessary for, TCR-induced apoptosis. In contrast, in XLP patients this phenomenon is reversed, as NTB-A was found to contribute to RICD resistance in XLP T cells.
Interleukin-2 is a critical growth factor for lymphocytes in culture. In its absence, activated T cells cannot be maintained and are subjected to activation induced cell death. Thus, IL-2 is widely used in cell culture, for both experimental purposes and clinical applications, in the preparation of various cell compositions, vaccines and immunotherapies for cancer, autoimmune diseases, and other immune mediated pathologies.
IL-2 is also used as a therapeutic agent in vivo. For example, IL-2 is licensed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of kidney cancer, and its significant therapeutic effects on patients have been reported in many clinical trials. In clinical trials with patients with melanoma, IL-2 increased the survival rates of many individuals, which were higher than the average survival rates usually obtained with chemotherapy drugs.
However, it has been repeatedly shown that the use of IL-2 enhances the appearance of regulatory T cells, which may eventually exert an inhibitory effect. This issue is of particular relevance when using T cells in the clinical context, both in vivo for the systemic treatment of patients, and ex vivo, for the production of lymphocytes for adoptive cell therapy. A satisfactory substitution for IL-2 has not been found yet.
In addition, a major difficulty in using exogenous IL-2 and other exogenous cytokines in vivo is their high toxicity. Side effects are of considerable magnitude, particularly cardiac symptoms and dysfunctions, septic shock and fever. This requires intensive care for adverse effects remediation or control, and may also lead to discontinuation of treatment.
There remains an unmet medical need for improved therapeutic modalities for the management of cancer. In addition, further means for enhancing the propagation and activation of T cells in culture and for providing improved cell vaccine compositions are required. Safer, more effective therapies, circumventing the drawbacks of currently used treatment, would thus be desired.

Cell compositions and methods for cancer therapy

HADASIT MEDICAL RESEARCH SERVICES AND DEVELOPMENT LTD.


The method for engaging a geosynthetic or erosion mat including a soil engaging layer to underlying ground includes the steps of feeding a length of twine out over the soil engaging layer of the mat, and pressing a loop of the twine into the ground at intermittent points therealong. If required, an enhancing step of compressing the ground over the pressed in twine may be incorporated into the method.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention discloses a method of attaching a geosynthetic or erosion mat (hereinafter "mat") to the ground. More particularly, the method teaches the use of a suitable twine, which may or may not be biodegradable, for engaging the mat to the ground in a manner similar to sewing.
2. Prior Art
Heretofore, various methods of attaching an erosion control mat to underlying ground have been proposed.
These have typically included the use of metal stakes, clips, or staples which are necessarily driven into the ground through the mat at points along the mat, to secure the mat in place upon the underlying ground.
Obviously such methods are labor intensive and therefore time consuming. Further, the material of the attachment devices has not been capable of being biodegradable because of the type of stresses placed thereon during installation.

Method of attaching mat for controlling erosion