A new and distinct Bougainvillea particularly distinguished from other Bougainvillea plants by its yellow green non-woody stems, peduncles, and pedicels; its light yellow, light green and dark green variegated young leaves, and flower bracts which change from orange to empire rose as they mature.

This invention relates to a new and distinct selection of Bougainvillea, a member of the Nyctaginaceae family, which was discovered in 1988 by me as a spontaneous bud sport occurring in a potted specimen of a group of the Bougainvillea hybrid cultivar Alabama Sunset (unpatented) being grown in a commerical greenhouses in Mobile, Ala. In the Summer of 1988, a number of cuttings were propagated from this sport. The following summer, one plant in the group was observed to be distinctly different and superior to the others. Because of the high quality growth habit, and the pleasing coloration of this plant, it was selected by me for propagation. Asexual reproduction of this plant by cuttings at my nursery in Mobile, Ala., has continued from generation to generation and shows that its characteristics remain fixed, and that its homogeneity can be assured.


A device and method for removal of a tick from the skin of a host, such device having an open-ended casing for receiving the tick in a V-shaped slot defined in the casing, such tick to be trapped at the narrow end of the slot with means to apply heat in proximity to the tick to cause it to release its grip from the skin of the host after which it can be removed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention resides in the area of devices for removing ticks from people and animals and more particularly relates to a device having a casing with a tapered slot for engaging a tick within the slot and a heating element in close proximity to the tick for heating the tick to cause it to release its grip whereupon the tick can be removed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hand-held devices with tweezer-like arms for removing ticks are well known in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,563 by the present inventor discloses a device having first and second tweezer arms disposed within a casing with the tweezer arms extendible through the casing to grasp a tick. Other examples include U.S. Pat. No. 4,213,460 to Weiner describing a forceps with an electrical current passing therethrough to provide heat, with the forceps having oppositely-aligned, cup-shaped members to surround and remove a tick. U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,771 to Childs, III also describes the use of cup members at the end of tweezer-like elements to surround a tick. U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,306 to Huffman teaches the use of a heated needle which, when poked into a tick, causes the tick to release its grip, and the tick can then be scooped off the skin by a spoon member disposed below the needle. A disadvantage of these tweezer-like gripping devices is their difficulty of use, as manipulating a device to grip a tiny tick requires dexterity sometimes not possessed by the user.


A method is provided for determining employer compliance in determining employment eligibility requirements in accordance with federal immigration regulations. Compliance alerts and compliance tips are displayed for guiding employers in verifying employment eligibility. Completed employment eligibility forms are automatically audited to analyze whether the employer has accurately completed the employment verification. The completed forms are audited by applying various compliance rules to a completed employment eligibility form, presently a Form I-9, to determine compliance with the applicable regulations. A listing is provided of various errors and additional data required to complete the audited form. The method is preferably administered by a single service provider for multiple employers, to assure that changes in the applicable regulations are regularly incorporated. A central system is provided for managing all of the employment eligibility forms associated with particular employers, to assure continued compliance with federal regulations.

The U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, administers federal statutory requirements and regulations which require that employers verify that any persons hired as employees or to perform services, that its workers are eligible to work in the United States. Presently, to assure that employers adequately verify eligibility to work in the United States, federal regulations require that employers complete a U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Form I-9 document. Completion of the Form I-9 requires that employers inspect various ones of specified documents, which requires that employers review originals of the documents and not reproductions of the documents, to determine the employee's eligibility to work in the United States. If an employer does not perform the procedure outlined in the Form I-9, and accurately complete the Form I-9, such employer is subject to civil penalties and persons completing such forms on behalf of the employer may also be subject to criminal penalties for not complying with the eligibility verification requirements under United States immigration law.
Accurately verifying employment eligibility and successfully completing the U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service's Form I-9 to verify employment eligibility requires that each employer train at least one person who develops the requisite expertise and familiarity with verification requirements to accurately complete such forms. Employers will also have to monitor previously completed Form I-9's to determine that new Form I-9's are completed prior to expiration the documents used to verify the employees' eligibility to work in the United States. Industry wide, across the United States, this creates a large financial burden for various companies to adequately assure that their personnel are appropriately trained to meet and maintain such compliance requirements, and often, once trained, such trained persons are subject to turnover. Additionally, as employment eligibility requirements change, such persons will have to keep current on any regulatory changes and implement any changes in regulatory requirements into the employment eligibility program of each particular employer in the United States.

Method for complying with employment eligibility verification requirements


A document link structure generation device for generating link structure information indicating a link structure formed by web documents detects links among web documents by repeating a process for detecting a link description in a web document and a retrieval process for retrieving a web document at a link destination indicated in the link description, and, when a redirection from a web document at a link destination indicated in the link description in the web document to another web document is detected during the retrieval process, adds, to the link structure information, information indicating a link from the web document containing the link description to the another web document which is the destination of the redirection.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for generating information regarding a link structure of documents which indicates a link structure for a group of web documents and, in particular, to a technique for handling a case in which a redirection of a document is present.
2. Description of the Related Art
Web documents which exist on the World Wide Web (hereinafter simply referred to as the "WWW") and which are written in HyperText Markup Language ("HTML") form a network structure having each web document as a node by providing links to each other. The network structure is commonly referred to as a hypertext structure or a hyperlink structure.
Various software has been developed for diagrammatically displaying a structure of connection relationship formed by a group of such web documents through links.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 6-149648 discloses a hyper media system which can display data connected by links in units of cards wherein a network diagram is displayed in which arrows connect icons which correspond to the cards to indicate links among the cards.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. Hei 4-321144 and Hei 10-222415 disclose a system in which a hypertext structure constructed by a group of documents is displayed in a form of a tree structure with each document being a node and each link being an edge of the tree.
On the WWW, there are many instances in which a web document indicated by a certain URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is redirected to a web document at another URL. A redirection is employed in cases, for example, when a web site has been moved. There are various methods of redirection, including, for example, a method for setting a redirection in the web server program itself, a method for incorporating a CGI (Common Gateway Interface) script in the web server to indicate a redirection, and a method for including a description of a redirection in the web document using a meta tag.
Consider a case as shown in FIG. 1 in which a web document B1 indicated in a link description of a web document A as a link destination is redirected to another web document B2. In such a case, the web document B1 either is only present as URL and does not have a document body or includes a simple content such as an explanation of the new URL, and thus, in general, does not have any meaningful content as a link destination. The web document B2 has the content of interest as the link destination.
However, when the related art shown in the above-described references is applied to a link structure of a group of web documents including a redirection, as shown in FIG. 2, although an arrow indicating a link from the web document A to the web document B1 is displayed, the relationship among web documents A and B2 is not displayed. In particular, when no link is described in the web document B1 to the web document B2 (for example, when redirection is set in the web server program), even the indirect link relationship from the web document A through the web document B1 to the web document B2 is not displayed in a method in which presence of inter-document link is detected from the link description within web documents.

Device, method, and computer program product for generating information of link structure of documents


A digital phase-locked loop and a digital phase-frequency detector thereof are provided. The digital PFD includes a divisor switch unit, a low-resolution phase-error detecting unit, an accumulating unit, a high-resolution phase-error detecting unit, a constant unit, and a selector. The divisor switch unit receives and removes partial pulses of a feedback signal for obtaining a feedback clock. The low-resolution phase-error detecting unit detects phase error between a reference signal and the feedback clock to obtain a phase-error pulse width. The accumulating unit accumulates the feedback signal during the phase-error pulse width for obtaining an output selection signal. The high-resolution phase-error detecting unit detects phase error between the reference signal and the feedback signal to obtain a phase-error value. The constant unit provides at least one constant value. The selector selects and outputs one of the phase-error value and the constant value according to the output selection signal.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to a phase-locked loop (PLL), and more particularly, to a digital PLL (DPLL) and a digital phase-frequency detector (DPFD) thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
With the rapid development of wireless communication, the digital phase-locked loop (DPLL) is one of important technologies in current years since it is easy to be realized in advanced system on chip. However, it is a challenge to design a DPLL having fast settling and low noise.
Currently, the DPLL faces two main issues: (1) after being digitalized, is the phase noise of the DPLL lower than that of a conventional phase-locked loop (PLL)? (2) does it provide wideband phase modulation or fast settling? Accordingly, it is a tradeoff between loop bandwidth and phase noise of the DPLL. For the DPLL, a larger loop bandwidth helps to reduce locking time and phase noise of the digitally controlled oscillator (DCO). Especially, when the DPLL is unlocked, if the loop bandwidth is timely exchanged, the locking time is reduced, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,851,493 and U.S. patent publication No. 2008/0315960. These techniques necessarily depend on external apparatuses, so as to generate control signals to change the loop bandwidth.
Moreover, although the larger loop bandwidth helps to reduce locking time and phase noise of the DCO, a higher resolution digital phase-frequency detector (DPFD) is required to reduce in-band phase noise. For example, if the phase noise is lower than 100 dBc/Hz, the resolution of the DPFD is required up to 6 ps (picoseconds). Accordingly, the time required for being analyzed ranges from the pulse width of the reference frequency, such as 40 ns (nanoseconds), to 6 ps. However, if some apparatuses are added into the DPFD, the said issue is improved. As a result, when the DPLL is unlocked, the DPFD has lower resolution, but when the DPLL is locked, the resolution of the DPFD is highly raised, such as the paper "A low-noise wide-BW 3.6-GHz digital ΔΣ fractional-N frequency synthesizer with a noise-shaping time-to-digital converter and quantization noise cancellation" (IEEE JSSCC, vol. 43, no. 12, pp. 2776-2786, December 2008) published by C.-M. Hsu, M. Z. Straayer, and M. H. Perrott. However, the published technique is complex. The divisor of the divider, i.e. the divide scale thereof, is required to be changed to maintain a constant output frequency.

Digital phase-locked loop and digital phase-frequency detector thereof

Industrial Technology Research Institute


Example systems and methods of configuring and displaying a model-based user interface are described. In one implementation, a method receives a request to configure a process model, the process model having an object type. A configuration rule associated with the object type is accessed, and a configuration instruction is received. The configuration instruction is analyzed based on the configuration rule, and if the configuration instruction is valid then the object type is modified based on the instruction. The process model is updated based on the modified object type. In another implementation, a method receives a request to display instance data of a process model, where the process model has an object type associated with the instance data. A structure rule determining placement of the instance data is accessed, and a user interface to display the instance data is generated based on the structure rule.

Various business solutions are available to aid a user in managing their businesses. These solutions are usually implemented in software. Some such business solutions use various models to manage and organize business processes and information associated with the processes. Software is usually implemented to display the models in a user interface. Every business has different needs and different processes. In this situation, it is desirable to have a modifiable model that can be displayed easily.


A wall affixed vertically articulated flat panel display mount having a first frame assembly secured to a wall and a second frame assembly operatively connected to the back of a flat panel display. Two pairs of horizontally spaced parallel links extend between the first and second frame assemblies and have respective ends pivotally connected thereto. A pair of pneumatic springs and a linear actuator are connected between the first and second frame assemblies. Knob clamps are provided for holding the mount in a desired position.

Flat screen displays, such as plasma televisions, are customarily mounted at a fixed position on a wall. In some instances, the flat screen display is fixed at a height too high for a particular viewer.
After considerable research and experimentation, the display mount of the present invention has been devised whereby the flat panel display can be lowered to a more ergonomic viewing height which is more suitable for extended watching; such as, movies, sports events, or playing video games.

Wall affixed vertically articulated flat panel display mount


An active-matrix liquid crystal display unit in which gate lines and drain lines disposed around a TFT device and a transparent pixel electrode are formed by a metal film including Ne atoms in a Cr film so as to provide a resistivity of 22 .mu..OMEGA.cm or below for the metal film and an absolute value of 200 MPa or below for the film stress.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an active-matrix liquid crystal display unit, particularly to an active-matrix liquid crystal display unit suitable for driving a liquid crystal by a thin-film transistor (TFT).
2. Description of Related Art
In TFT driving systems of excellent image quality generally used as active-matrix liquid crystal display units, a largest demand is price cutting thereof. Thus, it is essential to reduce the cost of fabrication process of the TFT-LCD (liquid crystal display) unit to which amorphous silicon is applied, to cut down the number of fabrication processes and to improve the throughput and fabrication yield. Recently, for the purpose of improving the throughput in the fabrication line of liquid crystal display units, glass substrates having the sizes of 470 mm.times.370 mm from which four 10.4-inch panels can be taken, and 650 mm.times.550 mm from which six 12.1-inch panels can be taken. In this case, in order to reduce the weight of liquid crystal display units, the conventional thickness of the glass substrates of 1.1 mm has been reduced to 0.7 mm or below although the sizes of the glass substrate have been increased. Thus, in the fabrication process in which the glass substrates of increased size are used, there is a case of an occurrence of a bending in the glass substrate itself during a process of transferring this glass substrate. A stress of a thin film including a metal film for signal lines is one of factors for causing the bending of the glass substrate itself.
Further, not only the price cutting but also progress in a higher resolution and a larger diagonal screen are demanded in the liquid crystal display unit. Resistance of signal lines increases when the line length is increased or the line width is reduced, and payasific capacitance also increases along with an increase in the number of line cross sections and an increase in the number of transistors connected to the lines. When a display unit is structured in the state of an increased number of signal lines and parasific capacitance, a time constant to be determined by the product of the resistance of signal lines and the parasific capacitance increases, and the image quality is deteriorated due to a dull waveform of the driving pulse. Therefore, a metal material of low resistivity is required for the lines of a TFT-LCD unit.
Under the above circumstances, as a metal line material for a TFT-LCD unit, an Mo-W alloy of low resistance around 20 .mu..OMEGA.cm has been proposed, as described in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 6-317814. When this alloy is used as the line material, a tapered section is formed at the edge of the line, without a formation of a protrusion such as a void at the line edge, by a dry etching method. This improves the step-coverage at the time of forming other film on this line.
Prior-art technique have had problems that the cost of material of a target to be used for a sputtering method for forming this alloy thin film is extremely expensive since the Mo-W alloy thin film is used as the line material, the throughput of the dry etching method is low, and a dry etching unit is expensive. Thus, it is difficult to lower the price of the liquid crystal display unit according to the prior-art technique.
Al or an Al alloy may be used as a line material considering its low resistivity and low price and being able to be processed by a wet etching method for high throughput. However, if Al or Al alloy is used as the line material, a hillock (protrusion) is generated by the heat applied during a fabrication process, with a resultant risk of an occurrence of a short-circuiting between lines. In order to use Al or Al alloy as the line material, it is necessary to anodize a film or to laminate the film with other metal of high melting point. This rather increases the process cost along with an increase in the number of processes.
Cr can be processed by the wet etching method without a risk of an occurrence of a hillock, and is excellent in its adhesiveness with other film and its lower contact resistance. Cr is used as a line material as described, for example, in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 5-188397. However, Cr has a problem that the film stress is extremely high within the range of the normal sputtering conditions. If the film thickness is increased in order to lower the resistivity, the bending of the substrate becomes larger along with an increase in the film thickness, with a resultant risk that there arises a defect in the substrate during its transfer and the substrate is broken if the substrate has a hurt on it. The simply use of Cr as the line material is difficult to achieve a high resolution and a larger diagonal screen of the liquid crystal display unit. The use of Ne as an inert gas for the sputtering is also considered as disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 6-67214. The mere use of Ne still has a problem that it is difficult to make the resistivity smaller or to make the film stress smaller.

Active-matrix liquid crystal display unit in which gate and/or data lines are made of Cr containing Ne-atoms


A host computing system may include a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory may include an auto-discovery module to broadcast a message to a set of management nodes in a data center. The message may include a configuration policy. Further, the auto-discovery module may receive an acknowledgment message from a management node. The acknowledgment message may indicate that the management node supports the configuration policy. Furthermore, the auto-discovery module may establish a trust relationship with the management node in response to receiving the acknowledgment message. Further, the auto-discovery module may enable the host computing system to add to a cluster managed by the management node upon establishing the trust relationship.

A virtual computing instance (VCI) (e.g., a virtual machine (VM), a virtual workload, a data compute node, a cluster, a container, and the like) is a software implementation of a computer that executes application software analogously to a physical computer. VCIs have the advantage of not being bound to physical resources, which allows VCIs to be moved around and scaled to meet changing demands of an enterprise without affecting the use of the enterprise's applications. VCIs can be deployed on a hypervisor (e.g., a server or host computing system) provisioned with a pool of computing resources (e.g., processing resources, memory resources, and the like). Multiple VCIs can be configured to be in communication with each other in a distributed computing system (e.g., a software defined data center).
Such software defined data centers may include multiple clusters of host computing systems. In a cluster, a group of host computing systems may be pooled together to share resources in managing multiple virtual machines (VMs), for instance. Further, such clusters may be managed by management servers to provide a single point of control to the corresponding host computing systems. For example, the management server may be assigned to the host computing systems in a cluster or a set of clusters to provide data center services such as access control, performance monitoring, configuration, and the like.
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present subject matter in any way.

Host computing systems placement in data centers


An organic electroluminescent display device (10) includes a plurality of organic layers (16, 18, 20, 22 and 24) disposed between opposing electrodes (14 and 26). The hole transporting layer (22) is composed of a hole transporting material stabilized by a polymeric network.

Until fairly recently, the preferred, indeed the only means by which to display information in the electronic medium was to use a video monitor comprising a cathode ray tube ("CRT"). CRT technology has been well known for over 50 years, and has gained widespread commercial acceptance in applications ranging from desktop computer modules to home televisions and industrial applications. CRTs are essentially large vacuum tubes having one substantially planar surface upon which information is displayed. Coated on the inside of the CRT planar surface is a layer of phosphors which respond by emitting light when struck by electrons emitted from the electron gun of the CRT. The electron gun is disposed in an elongated portion which extends away from the inside of the CRT display surface.
While CRTs are widely used in numerous applications, there are several inherent limitations to the application of CRT technology. For example, CRTs are relatively large and consume a great deal of energy. Moreover, as they are fabricated of glass, the larger the display surface, the heavier the CRT. Given the need for the electron gun to be spacedly disposed from the phosphorus surface of the display surface, CRTs have a substantial depth dimension. Accordingly, CRTs have little use in small and portable applications, such as handheld televisions, laptop computers, and other portable electronic applications which require the use of displays.
To answer the needs of the marketplace for smaller, more portable display devices, manufacturers have created numerous types of flat panel display devices. Examples of flat panel display devices include active matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCD's), plasma displays, and electroluminescent displays. Each of these types of displays has use for a particular market application, though each are accompanied by various limitations which make them less than ideal for certain applications. Principal limitations inherent in devices such as AMLCD's relate to the fact that they are fabricated predominantly of inorganic semiconductor materials by semiconductor fabrication processes. These materials and processes are extremely expensive, and due to the complexity of the manufacturing process, cannot be reliably manufactured in high yields. Accordingly, the costs of these devices are very high with no promise of immediate cost reduction.
One preferred type of device which is currently receiving substantial research effort is the organic electroluminescent device. Organic electroluminescent devices ("OED") are generally composed of three layers of organic molecules sandwiched between transparent, conductive and/or metallic conductive electrodes. The three layers include an electron transporting layer, an emissive layer, and a hole transporting layer. Charge carriers specifically, electrons and holes, are generated in the electron and hole transporting region. Electrons are negatively charged atomic particles and holes are the positively charged counterparts. The charge carriers are injected into the emissive layer, where they combine, emitting light.
OED's are attractive owing to low driving voltage, i.e., less than about 20 volts. Hence, they have a potential application to full color flat emissive displays. OED's have heretofore suffered from relatively short usage lifetimes. Though significant lifetime for OED's has been achieved as in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,432 to VanSlyke, et al, further improvement is needed, particularly in applications where high brightness is required. In general, the hole transporting materials used in the hole transporting layer of an OED are the most vulnerable parts, and hence, contribute significantly to shortened lifetime for devices. The hole transporting layers are typically susceptible to thermal degradation by physical aggregation or recrystallization.
To address the thermal degradation problems associated with hole transporting materials in OED's, hole transporting materials characterized by high glass transition temperatures, and bonded onto a polymer have been proposed. These are shown in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,569 and 5,443,921. While the thermal degradation problem has been somewhat alleviated by the solution proposed in the aforementioned patents, they have nonetheless continued to plague the hole transporting materials used in OED's.
Another approach described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,824 to Funhoff, et al, discloses an electroluminescent arrangement containing one or more organic layers, at least one of the layers being obtained by thermal or radiation induced crosslinking, and where at least one charge transporting compound is present per layer. While the '824 patent appears to have achieved some improvement in thermal degradation, it has come at the cost of high operating voltage. Specifically, operating voltage of the device disclosed in the '824 patent is on the order of 93 volts, far too high for practical use in portable applications.
Accordingly, there exists a need for improved materials for use as the hole transporting layer in OED's. The material should be relatively inexpensive and easy to fabricate as well as being conducive to manufacturing in the current OED manufacturing process. The device should have good thermal stability, and be capable of operating at voltages which are within the range of those generally accepted for OED's.

Polymer stabilized molecular whole transporting materials for organic electroluminescence displays


A flexible sensor includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and a piezoresistive element incorporating piezoresistive composite material arranged between the first electrode and the second electrode. Piezoresistive composite materials include a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) and a conductive filler material (e.g., carbon), may have an elastic modulus value of preferably less than about 1×10−3 GPa, and exhibit a change in electrical resistance responsive to a change in pressure applied thereto. Exemplary flexible sensors may have a thickness and a feel similar to human skin, may be amenable to simple fabrication techniques (e.g., fused filament fabrication (FFF) three-dimensional (3D) printing or molding), and can be manufactured into user-specific geometries.

In the United States, about two million people have lost a limb, and about 185,000 people each year lose a limb, with hospital costs for amputations reaching approximately $8.3 billion each year. Approximately 54% of limb losses are attributable to vascular diseases, including diabetes and peripheral arterial disease; about 45% of limb losses are attributable to physical trauma; and fewer than 2% of limb losses are attributable to cancer, with a ratio of upper limb to lower limb loss of 1:4. Prosthetics can cost up to $50,000 per limb, with a significant fraction of cost frequently not covered by insurance. Additionally, many prosthetics need to be replaced as the user grows, and health insurance often does not cover the cost of continual replacement.
Some of the main feedback systems used in prosthetics include tactile (touch) sensors that relay to the user when the prosthetic has come into contact with an object. Tactile sensors are typically composed of either a pressure or shear sensor, and in certain situations contain both types of sensors. A pressure sensor detects forces acting perpendicular to its loading surface, whereas a shear sensor detects forces acting parallel to its loading surface. Other types of sensors useful with prosthetics and medical devices include proprioceptors, which provide information about joint angle, muscle length, and muscle tension, which may be integrated to give information about the position of a limb in space. Proprioceptors in the human body are specialized sensory receptors on nerve endings found in muscles, tendons, joints, and the inner ear.
Upper limb prosthetic pressure sensors are typically placed on the hand of the prosthetic due to the role they play in manipulating objects and daily activities. Sensor types include capacitive, piezo-resistive/electric, inductive, optoelectric, and strain gage based. The main design types used for current prosthetics are strain gage sensors for detecting pressure or shear.
Strain gage sensors provide a large operating range that can detect very high or low-pressure values, but are bulky and expensive. This may result in the prosthetic fingers being too large, which decreases the fine motor grasping function of the prosthetic. Bulky strain gage sensors also do not allow a sensing mechanism to be placed or wrapped around the edges or tip of the finger. Being able to sense on the edges and tip of the finger can greatly improve the fine motor control of a prosthetic.
To overcome the barriers of strain gage sensors, academic research has developed many different types and styles of pressure sensors in the form of film, most commonly referred to as thick or thin film sensors. These thick/thin film sensors are mostly piezo-resistive/electric based sensors, but can be transistor-based, capacitance-based, or optical-based, and can achieve high and low force detection. Thin/thick film sensors may also be used for shear force detection.
In research, film-based sensors have been shown to reach very low-pressure values, down to 0.001 Pa, and high-pressure values of up to 200 kPa. These pressure values are well within the human skin threshold for pressure detection, where the human skin is able to detect between 100 Pa-1 MPa, and the pressure required for common daily tasks is approximately 10 kPa.
Thick/thin film sensors include a top and bottom flexible layer, an inner conductive layer, and a top and bottom electrode surface for signal recording. The end sensor designs are bendable, but have a hard or smooth plastic finish that makes them difficult to be implemented on a prosthetic and does not create a finish or feel like human skin.
One conventional film sensor design includes a micropillar array-based pressure sensor with the active pressure sensing area comprised of a PPy/PDMS substrate and an Au covered micropillar array. Pillars of the micropillar array may have a repeating cell unit of 70.0 μm×120.0 μm with the diameter of the pillars varying from 5 μm to 65 μm. A second conventional film sensor design includes a microstructured rGO/PDMS film and ITO-coated PET film created through the use of silicon mold masters produced via photolithography. Elastomer precursor may be applied to the molds to create a base layer, with a layer-by-layer fabrication method used to add layers of uniform microstructure graphene to the elastomer surface. A third conventional (thin) film sensor design includes two layers laminated together, wherein the bottom layer contains a source-drain electrode and a semiconducting polymer and the top layer contains a gate electrode and a microstructure dielectric. These examples of thick/thin film fabrication demonstrate the complexity of conventional film sensor manufacturing processes. Although thick/thin film sensors are well-suited to detect typical pressures encountered in daily human activities as well as pressures consistent with a light touch on human skin, these sensors require complicated manufacturing processes and are expensive. Additionally, these sensors do not embody an appearance similar to human skin, and are difficult to implement in or with a prosthetic.
Thus, strain gage sensors and thick/thin film based sensors have their respective benefits, but have limited utility with respect to their size, feel, and manufacturing techniques. As stated previously, strain gage sensors are bulky and expensive, whereas thick/thin film sensors lack the feel or appearance of synthetic human skin, entail complicated manufacturing processes and high costs, and are difficulty to implement in or with a prosthetic.

Flexible sensors incorporating piezoresistive composite materials and fabrication methods

ARIZONA BOARD OF REGENTS ON BEHALF OF ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY


A heated stuffed animal is provided for therapeutic use which includes a soft body having an inner cavity and an outer covering, said outer covering having an appearance of a live animal, an electric heating pad disposed within said inner cavity for generating heat, said electric heating pad including an electric power cord projecting outside of said outer covering for connection to an AC electric outlet power supply, means for selecting a temperature of heat generated by said electric heating pad, and a ballast material disposed within said inner cavity.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a heated stuffed animal, and particularly to a stuffed animal containing an electric heating pad for therapeutic use.
2. Description of Related Art
A variety of heated stuffed animals are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,558,278 discloses a combined toy and heating device in the shape of a stuffed animal containing a hot water bottle or electric heating means. U.S. Pat. No. 1,896,663 discloses an electrically heated toy in the shape of a doll or animal which is warmed by an electric resistance wire or heating pad. U.S. Pat. No. 2,647,195 discloses a sleeper toy in the shape of an animal such as a teddy bear containing an electric heating pad. U.S. Pat. No. 2,859,731 discloses a puppy comforter in the shape of a mother dog containing a resistance wire heating element. U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,110 discloses a decorative personal electric heating appliance in the shape of a stuffed-animal containing a bladder filled with a heatable fluid. U.S. Pat. No.4,694,829 discloses a therapeutic stuffed toy in the shape of an animal figure such as a teddy bear containing a hermetically sealed container filled with a non-toxic heatable or chillable fluid. U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,445 discloses a warmed animal toy in the shape of an animal such as a teddy bear containing a bladder filled with a heatable fluid. U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,676 discloses a battery powered electrically heated stuffed toy containing a mass of fibrous heat transfer material such as a mass of copper wires. U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,511 discloses a stuffed animal toy containing a heating element responsive to infrared radiation such as a ceramic material.
None of the prior art heated stuffed animals, however, disclose or suggest the combination of features of the heated stuffed animal of the present invention, as is described hereinbelow.
The object of this invention is to provide an electric heating pad which has all of the therapeutic benefits and features of a modern electric heating pad, while providing the additional benefits of being comforting to the user. The user is envisioned to be an adult or child in need of therapeutic heat application to a sore or tender part of their anatomy.
The heated stuffed animal of the present invention has the following combination of features which is not suggested by the prior art. The heated stuffed animal comprises a soft body having an inner cavity and an outer covering. The outer covering has the appearance of a live animal, preferably a household pet such as a dog or cat. Within the inner cavity of the stuffed animal is disposed an electric heating pad for generating a therapeutic amount of heat. The electric heating pad includes an electric power cord which projects through an opening in the outer covering for connection to an AC electric outlet power supply. The electric heating pad includes a means for selecting a temperature of heat generated by said electric heating pad. Preferably the means for selecting the temperature of the heat is a control device located on the electric power cord outside of the outer covering for ease of adjustment by the user. The electric heating pad also preferably contains a means for controlling the heat generated by the heating pad, such as a thermostat control which is preset to discontinue heating of the electric element upon the element reaching a specified temperature. Lastly, the heated stuffed animal contains a ballast material in the inner cavity which provides the stuffed animal with a sense of weight which is comforting to the user and evokes a sensation that the user is being warmed by a live animal. These and other features of the preferred embodiments of the invention are described hereinbelow in further detail.


The invention provides monoclonal antibodies that bind the estrogen receptor α (ER α) when phosphorylated at serine 118 (Ser118) in the N-terminal domain, but do not bind to ER α when not phosphorylated at this site. Also provided are methods for determining the phosphorylation of ER α in a biological sample, profiling ER α activation in a test tissue, and identifying a compound that modulates phosphorylation of ER α in a test tissue, by using the disclosed monoclonal antibodies. The sample or test tissue may be taken from a subject suspected of having cancer, such as breast cancer. Kits comprising the phospho-ER α (Ser118) monoclonal antibodies of the invention are also provided.

Many cancers are characterized by disruptions in cellular signaling pathways that lead to uncontrolled growth and proliferation of cancerous cells. Receptors, including hormone receptors, play a pivotal role in these signaling pathways, transmitting extracellular molecular signals into the cytoplasm and/or nucleus of a cell. Among such receptors is the nuclear hormone receptor estrogen receptor α (ER α), which acts as a transcription factor controlling gene expression mediated by estrogen signaling.
It has long been recognized that ER α plays a central role in the development and progression of breast cancer. Breast cancer is the second most common form of cancer in women, with about 192,000 new cases annually in the United States alone. It is estimated than nearly 40,000 women will die from the disease each year (Source: American Cancer Society). More than half of all breast cancers express ER α, and about two-thirds of these cancers respond to anti-estrogen therapy, emphasizing the importance of this receptor in disease progression. See generally, Osborne er at., Clin. Cancer 7(12): 4338s–4342s (2001).
The transcriptional activity of ER α is mediated through two distinct domains, transcription activation functions 1 and 2 (AF-1 and AF-2), which can act either independently or synergistically, in a promoter- or cell-dependent manner. See, e.g. Beato et al. Cell 83: 851–857 (1995); Tsai et al., Annu. Rev. Biochem. 63: 451–486 (1994). While estrogen binding controls AF-2 transcriptional activity, it has been shown that phosphorylation of ER α at one of three sites (serine 104 and/or 106,118, and/or 167) in the 180 amino acid N-terminal domain comprising AF-1 mediates the estrogen-independent transcriptional activity of this domain. See e.g. Le Goff et al., J. Biol. Chem. 269(6): 4458–66 (1994). In particular, phosphorylation of serine 118, which can occur via the MAPK pathway, has been shown to be critical for the AF-1 activity of ER α. See, e.g. Kato et al., Science 270: 1491–94 (1995); Ali et al., EMBO J. 12(3): 1153–60 (1993); Joel et al., Mol. Endocrinol. 9(8): 1041–52 (1995); Castano et al. J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. 65: 101–110 (1998). Antibodies to ER α have been described (see, e.g. Kobayashi et al., Breast Cancer 7(2): 136–41 (2000); Rost et al., Steroids 65(8): 429–36 (2000); Tyulmenkov et al., Steroids 65: 505–512 (2000)), and a phospho-specific polyclonal antibody to ER α (Ser118) is commercially available (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc., Cat. No. sc-12915).
Given the prevalence of ER α activation in breast cancers, this receptor has long been a target for inhibitory therapies. Tamoxifen, a systemic ER inhibitor (acting to suppress AF-1 activity), has been the therapy of choice for ER-positive breast cancer for many decades. More recently, second-generation inhibitors, such as raloxifene, have entered clinical development. Unfortunately, although about fifty percent of patients with advance ER-positive breast cancer initially respond to tamoxifen therapy, the disease ultimate acquires tamoxifen-resistance through mechanisms that are not presently well understood. See, e.g. Horwitz, Breast Cancer Res. 1: 5–6 (1999). Despite the lack of a clear mechanism of tamoxifen-resistance, it has been postulated that steroid-independent phosphorylation of ER mutants may be a contributing factor. Bunone et al. EMBO J. 15(9): 2174–83 (1996). More recent reports indicate that acquisition of tamoxifen-resistance in ER-positive breast cancer is likely to involve multiple, interrelated signaling pathways in an estrogen-independent manner. See, e.g. Clarke et al., J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. 76: 71–84 (2001); Dorssers et al., Drugs 61(12): 1721–33 (2001). Indeed, it has been reported that the efficient phosphorylation of ER α at serine 118 requires a ligand-regulated interaction between CDK and AF-2. See, e.g. Chen et al., Mol. Cell 6(1):127–37 (2000).
Accordingly, given the importance of ER α in breast cancer progression, there remains a need for new and improved reagents, such as monoclonal antibodies, capable of specifically detecting phosphorylation (and hence, activation) of ER α at serine 118. Since phosphorylation-dependent activation of ER α is associated with diseases such as breast cancer, reagents enabling the specific detection of ER α activation would be useful tools for research and clinical applications. ER α (Ser118)-specific monoclonal antibodies would be desirable for studying the mechanisms of resistance to therapeutics like tamoxifen, as well as for applications, such as diagnostic assays, where reagent purity and consistency are paramount.

Monoclonal antibodies specific for phosphorylated estrogen receptor alpha (Ser118) and uses thereof


An image forming apparatus which performs image formation using plural color materials including dark color material and light color material for a hue generates color component signals corresponding to the respective plural color materials from an input image signal. Edge smoothing processing is performed on the respective color component signals except a color component signal corresponding to the light color material.

Needs of the marketplace for printers are increased every year. Regarding color image formation, a 4-color image forming apparatus using 4 color ink or toner is popular, however, image forming apparatuses using increased number of colors of ink or toner have been proposed and realized. For example, an ink-jet printer which performs image formation using 6 inks including light cyan and light magenta inks as well as conventional cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks for the purpose of mitigation of graininess has been realized. Further, an electrophotographic printer using 6 colors as in the case of the ink-jet printer has been proposed (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2001-290319 and 2001-318499). Additionally, an electrophotographic printer using green and orange inks for enlargement of color gamut has been proposed and realized. Further, a printer which performs image formation using ink toner corresponding to special colors such as red, blue, green or gold, silver and fluorescent colors has been proposed and realized.
In this manner, various types of image forming apparatuses using increased number of ink/toner colors are known, however, in these apparatuses, the use of increased number of ink/toner colors is intended for improvement in color reproducibility of an image output device itself.
On the other hand, edge smoothing is known as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-317210. Edge smoothing is an image processing technique mainly used in electrophotographic printers. In this technique, an edge included in an image signal is detected, and the edge portion or edge-adjacent portion is replaced with halftone dots, thereby jaggies on character and thin line images are reduced, and smoothed edges are reproduced on a paper medium.
The edge smoothing technique performs independent processing for each color channel in the conventional 4-color (CMYK) image forming apparatus. To apply the edge smoothing technique to the above-described image forming apparatus using the dark and light color recording materials, a circuit to realize smoothing processing is provided for the respective color recording materials. Accordingly, smoothing processing is performed on even light color signals. However, the application of smoothing processing to a light color signal, where edge portions are not conspicuous, does not greatly improve the image quality, but increases the circuit scale, thus increases the costs of the apparatus.
Particularly, in the electrophotographic image forming apparatuses, there is a close correspondence between the size of a dot to be formed and the stability in dot formation. That is, when a large dot is formed so as to obtain a higher density, the stability of dot formation is increased, while when a small dot is formed so as to obtain a low density, the stability of dot formation is lowered (becomes unstable). As dots added to an edge portion in the edge smoothing processing are intermediate density dots, the stability of the dots are lower than full dots.

Image forming apparatus and method which perform smoothing processing


An IoV message exchange method performed by the server includes: obtaining position information of a first roadside unit, position information of a second roadside unit, and a roadside unit density reference value, the first roadside unit and the second roadside unit are on a first road section and are two adjacent roadside units, and the first road section is a road section between the first roadside unit and the second roadside unit; determining a density of roadside units on the first road section based on the position information and the roadside unit density reference value; determining a downlink message sending policy based on the density of the roadside units on the first road section; and sending the first IoV message to a first vehicle-mounted device according to the downlink message sending policy, the first vehicle-mounted device is a vehicle-mounted device on the first road section.

Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication refers to a communications technology for connecting a vehicle to everything. V2X may be referred to as IoV, and the V2X communication is a technology developed based on the internet of things. The V2X communication is a basis and a key technology of a smart vehicle, autonomous driving, and an intelligent transportation system. The V2X communication includes four parts: (1) Vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication, which refers to communication between a vehicle-mounted device and a network device, and may be used to enable the vehicle-mounted device to be connected to a server through a wireless network, and to use application functions provided by the server, such as navigation, entertainment, and theft prevention. (2) Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, which refers to communication between vehicle-mounted devices, and is mainly used for information exchange and reminding between vehicles. (3) Vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, which refers to communication between a vehicle-mounted device and a roadside unit (RSU), and is mainly used to obtain road management information, for example, a traffic light signal. (4) Vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication, which refers to communication between a vehicle-mounted device and a pedestrian, and is mainly used to give a safety warning to a pedestrian or non-motor vehicle on a road.
In the foregoing four types of communication, user equipment (which refers to the vehicle-mounted device, the pedestrian, and the RSU) may communicate with the network device through a network communications interface (a Uu interface), and the user equipment may directly communicate with another user equipment through a communications interface (a PC5 interface). The vehicle-mounted device may exchange an IoV message with the network device through the Uu interface or the PC5 interface. A schematic diagram of a message exchange path may be shown in FIG. 1. In an uplink path, the vehicle-mounted device may send the IoV message to the network device through the Uu interface. Alternatively, the vehicle-mounted device may send the IoV message to a device around the vehicle-mounted device through the PC5 interface. After the RSU receives the IoV message, the RSU forwards the IoV message to the network device through the Uu interface. In a downlink path, the network device may send the IoV message to the vehicle-mounted device through the Uu interface. Alternatively, the network device may send the IoV message to the RSU through the Uu interface, and then the RSU forwards the IoV message to the vehicle-mounted device through the PC5 interface. Currently, the message exchange between the vehicle-mounted device and the network device is generally implemented based on one or two of the paths shown in FIG. 1. Due to a difference in deployment of roadside units on road sections, message repetition, message lost or a long transmission delay may occur in a message exchange process between the vehicle-mounted device and the network device.

Internet of vehicles message exchange method and related apparatus

HUAWEI CLOUD COMPUTING TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.


The present invention provides a method and apparatus in a memory controller coupled between a system bus and memory for independently supporting one of a Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) and an Asynchronous DRAM (ADRAM) memory type via common signal pins. According to the preferred embodiment, the memory controller comprises memory control logic for generating both SDRAM and ADRAM memory interface signals and multiplexing means for selecting as output onto common signal pins either set of interface signals depending upon a memory type setting programmed within a configuration register. The memory control logic comprises at least a request processor in addition to two memory state machines, one for SDRAM and the other for ADRAM memory operations. When a system bus request is received by the request processor, it is assigned to a request state machine which interacts with both the SDRAM state machine and the ADRAM state machine to generate two sets of memory interface signals in addition to two sets of internal control signals. The sets of signals are input to a multiplexor provided for each type of control signals (i.e., memory interface and internal control), which multiplexors are controlled by the memory type select signal output from the configuration register. Based on the memory type setting programmed into the configuration registers, the appropriate sets of memory interface and internal control signals (i.e., either SDRAM or ADRAM) are selected for output to the memory array and to other units of the memory controller, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to data communications in a computer system, and more specifically, to memory controllers designed to support different types of memory.
2. Art Background
In the past, computer systems have relied heavily upon Dynamic Random Access Memories ("DRAMs") to implement system memories due to their simplicity, affordability and memory density. However, the performance of DRAMs in modern computer systems is lacking due to their slow access times and their inability to burst data. To overcome these problems, a new type of DRAM has been recently developed to enable faster operation in a synchronous fashion. This type of DRAM is referred to as Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory ("SDRAM"), which has been described in the JEDEC Standard published by the Joint Electronics Design Evaluation Conference and is manufactured by NEC Corporation as part number UPD42116420.
Yet, the cost of the new SDRAMs is extremely prohibitive, and since SDRAMs require a completely different memory interface, such devices are not compatible with previous memory controllers which support DRAMs. Hence, although the use of SDRAM memories in modern computer systems is quite desirable, they may not be a wise choice at the moment due to their extremely high cost and the fact that they require specially designed memory controllers.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a single memory controller designed to support both conventional Asynchronous DRAMs ("ADRAMs") and Synchronous DRAMs ("SDRAMs") such that either type of memory may be used in a computer system depending upon the needs of the user. In this way, the user may base the design of the computer system on the type of memory that offers the target price/performance ratio of the system with minimal design changes.

Memory controller for independently supporting Synchronous and Asynchronous DRAM memories


An insulated gate field effect semiconductor device comprising a substrate having provided thereon a thin-film structured insulated gate field effect semiconductor device, said device being characterized by that it comprises a metal gate electrode and at least the side thereof is coated with an oxide of the metal. The insulated gate field effect semiconductor device according to the present invention is also characterized by that the contact holes for the extracting contacts of the source and drain regions are provided at about the same position of the end face of the anodically oxidized film established at the side of the gate. Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for forming insulated gate field effect semiconductor devices using less masks.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method for forming the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a thin film transistor applicable to liquid crystal electro-optical devices, contact type image sensors, and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Insulated gate field effect semiconductor devices known to the present have been widely applied to various fields. Such semiconductor devices comprise a silicon substrate having integrated thereon a plurality of semiconductor elements so that the devices may function as integrated circuits (ICs) and large scale integrated circuits (LSIs).
In addition to the insulated gate field effect semiconductor devices of the type mentioned above, there is another type of such insulated gate field effect semiconductor devices which comprises a thin film semiconductor formed on an insulator substrate, rather than a silicon substrate. Those thin film insulated gate field effect semiconductor devices (referred to hereinafter as TFTS) are now more positively used, for example, in liquid crystal electro-optical devices as switching elements of pixels and driver circuits, and in read-out circuits of contact type image sensors and the like.
Those TFTs are produced, as mentioned above, by laminating thin films on an insulator substrate by a vapor phase process. This process can be conducted in an atmosphere controlled to a temperature as low as about 500.degree. C., or even lower. Moreover, low cost substrates such those made of soda-lime glass and borosilicate glass can be utilized in those TFTS. Thus, the insulated gate field effect semiconductor device of the latter type are advantageous in that they can be fabricated using low cost substrates, and that they can be readily scaled up by depositing the thin films on a substrate having a larger area with the only limiting factor being the dimension of the apparatus in which the thin films are vapor-phase deposited. Accordingly, application of such insulated gate field effect semiconductor devices to liquid crystal electro-optical devices having a large pixel matrix structure or to a one- or two-dimensional image sensors has been expected, and, in fact, a part of such expectations has been met already.
A representative structure for the latter type of TFTs is shown schematically in FIGS. 2 and 6.
Referring to FIG. 2, a typical structure of a conventionally known TFT is explained. In FIG. 2, a thin film semiconductor 2 made of an amorphous semiconductor is deposited on a glass insulator substrate 1, and the thin film 2 comprises on the surface thereof a source area and a drain area 3, source and drain contacts 7, and a gate 11.
Those types of TFTs comprise, as mentioned above, semiconductor layers having deposited by a vapor deposition process. Since the electron and hole mobilities of the semiconductor layers in those TFTs are significantly low as compared with those of the conventional ICs and LSIS, it has been customary to subject the semiconductor layer 2 to a heat treatment for the crystallization thereof.
In a conventional TFT as shown in FIG. 2, the gate 11 is covered with a relatively thick interlayer insulator film 4 such as a silicon nitride film and a silicon oxide film, and to this interlayer insulator film are provided contact holes by a photolithographic process. The source and drain contacts 7 are electrically connected with source and drain areas 3. If feeding points to the source and the drain were to be provided at such positions, the distance L between each of the feeding points and the channel end becomes considerably long.
As mentioned earlier, the TFTs fabricated by a thin film deposition process at low temperatures are significantly low in the carrier mobility. Even upon doping an impurity, the still low conductivity produces a resistance within this distance L. Accordingly, the conventional TFTs suffer poor frequency characteristics and increase in ON circuit resistance. Furthermore, the area necessary for a TFT increases inevitably with increasing length of L. This made it difficult to accommodate a predetermined number of TFTs within a substrate of a limited dimension.
In FIG. 6, a thin film semiconductor 102 composed of an amorphous semiconductor is deposited on a glass insulator substrate 101, and the thin film 102 comprises on the surface thereof a source and a drain area 103, source and drain electrodes 107, and a gate 111.
The TFTs of this type in general are produced by first depositing a semiconductor film on the substrate, and, by patterning, forming island-like semiconductor areas 102 on the desired parts using a first mask. Then, an insulating film and further thereon a gate material are formed, from which a gate electrode 111 and a gate insulating film 106 are obtained by patterning using a second mask. A source and a drain area 103 are established on the semiconductor areas 102 in a self-aligned manner, using the gate electrode 111 and a photoresist formed using a third mask as masks. An interlayer insulator film 104 is formed thereafter. To this interlayer insulator film are provided contact holes using a fourth mask, so that the contacts may be connected to the source and the drain through those contact holes. A contact material is provided to the resulting structure thereafter, which is patterned to form contacts 107 using a fifth mask. Thus is obtained a complete TFT.
As can be seen from the foregoing description, a TFT in general requires five masks to complete a structure, and in a complementary TFT, six masks are necessary. Naturally, a more complicated IC should incorporate further more masks. The use of increased number of masks involves a complicated process for fabricating a TFT element, which accompanies frequent mask alignment steps. Such a complicated process inevitably results in a lowered yield and productivity of the TFT elements. The demand for larger electronic devices using the TFT elements, for making the TFT elements themselves more compact, and for finer patterning, makes the yield and productivity even worse. Thus, it has been desired to develop a simpler process which involves no complicated steps, and a TFT based on a novel structure which requires less masks.

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


An encoder for use with a machine includes at least one moveable member. The encoder also includes at least one sensor configured to activate via magnetic flux and is configured to dissipate electrical signals with a power amplitude less than approximately one microwatt.

This invention relates generally to rotary machines and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for monitoring rotary machines.
Some known wells, such as oil wells, are formed by drilling a borehole within a natural formation below the surface of the Earth. Such formations may be found below land-based surfaces and/or submerged surfaces. Some known drilling methods use powered rotating equipment to induce torque to a drill pipe that subsequently rotates a drill bit. The rotating drill bit bores into the formation and generates cuttings of the formation to form a drilling well while appropriate fluids that facilitate transporting the cuttings to the surface are circulated within the well. The drill pipe is lowered and raised within the drilling well by a support cable extending from a drawworks drum. When rotating, the drawworks drum extends and retracts the cable to cause the drill pipe to be lowered and raised, respectively. A pre-determined rate and amount of drill bit movement within the drilling well is influenced by a number of variables that include, but are not limited to a hardness of the formations being drilled and/or a need to withdraw the drill pipe from the well to replace the drill bit. Facilitation of the drilling activities is at least partially attained by determining a depth of the drill bit within the well. The drill bit depth is typically attained by monitoring the length of drill pipe inserted into the drilling well, as well as the rate and direction of movement of the drill pipe.
To facilitate determining such drill bit depth, some known drilling assemblies include drill bit measurement devices including encoders that measure the rotation of the drawworks drum. The encoders transmit data to a monitoring system that correlates rotation of the drawworks drum to a drill pipe depth. However, because some known encoders require an external power source to supply a power level above 0.25 watts and voltages above 24 volts DC, such encoders may not be suitable for use in areas wherein an ignitable environment may exist.

Apparatus for monitoring rotary machines


Oligonucleotides are provided herein that inhibit NR1H3 expression. Also provided are compositions including the same and uses thereof, particularly uses relating to treating diseases, disorders and/or conditions associated with NR1H3 expression.

The liver plays a critical role in the metabolism of lipids. Abnormalities in normal hepatic lipid metabolism are associated with the development of various liver diseases or disorders such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its subsequent progression to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and potentially other advanced liver abnormalities.
NAFLD is one of the most common liver diseases, with increasing prevalence worldwide (Loomba R., & Sanyal A. J. NAT. REV. GASTROENTEROL HEPATOL. (2013); 10(11): 686-90). NAFLD is a liver disease characterized by a spectrum of clinical and pathological severity ranging from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver failure (Bessone F, et al., CELL MOL. LIFE SCI. (2019); 76(1): 99-128). NAFLD is characterized by the presence of fat in the liver in the absence of significant alcohol use and other causes of fat accumulation in the liver such as medications, starvation, and viral disease (Chalasani, N., et al., HEPATOLOGY (Baltimore, Md.), (2012); 55(6): 2005-23). Additionally, as the disease progresses, NASH patients also have an increased risk of developing extra-hepatic complications, particularly cardiovascular diseases (CVD), which are among the most common causes of death in this patient population (Patil R, et al., WORLD J. GASTROINTEST. PATHOPHYSIOL. (2017); 8(2): 51-8). The abnormalities in hepatic lipid metabolism that lead to NAFLD also drive the progression of atherogenic dyslipidemia, where elevated plasma triglycerides (TG) cholesterol and lipoprotein particles infiltrate the arterial wall and subsequently develop atherosclerotic plaques (Loomba R & Sanyal A J NAT. REV. GASTROENTEROL. HEPATOL. (2013); 10(11): 686-90). Thus, there is a significant medical need for the development of disease modifying therapeutics for NAFLD.

Compositions and methods for inhibiting nuclear receptor subfamily 1 group H member 3 (NR1H3) expression


Lost circulation of drilling fluid is one of the most serious and expensive problems facing the drilling industry. The present invention relates to an improved drilling fluid for reducing or preventing lost circulation to an underground formation surrounding a well bore in the process of drilling a well. The drilling fluid comprises a base fluid and wax or waxy substance as a primary seepage loss agent. The invention also provides a method of reducing or preventing lost circulation to an underground formation surrounding a well bore in the process of drilling a well using the drilling fluid of the invention, wherein the primary seepage loss agent is added to the drilling fluid, either before or during drilling, and the drilling fluid is pumped down hole during drilling.

Drilling fluid, known as mud, performs several different functions essential to drilling an oil or gas well and enhances the overall efficiency of the drilling operation. Drilling fluid is used, for instance, to cool and lubricate the drilling tool, to reduce friction between the bit and the well bore, to control subsurface pressure in the well bore, to lift the drill cuttings and carry them to the surface, and to clean the well bore and drilling tool.
The major component of drilling fluid is its base fluid, which may be aqueous based, hydrocarbon based or an emulsion. Aqueous or water based drilling fluids are used frequently in the industry and the base fluid may be either fresh water or salt water. Hydrocarbon or oil based drilling fluids are also commonly used, as are invert emulsions (i.e. water in oil). To complete the drilling of complex wells in Western Canada and throughout the world, many operators have turned to hydrocarbon based drilling fluids. Today's drilling engineer has concerns that range from the complexity of well design to stabilizing the well bore under extreme hole conditions. Drilling complex wells creates costly operations and drilling with hydrocarbons allows operators some margin of confidence in completing drilling objectives.
When drilling engineers choose to drill with hydrocarbons there are still some issues for concern, the primary concerns being the cost of the refined base oil, which is directly tied to the price of world oil, and seepage losses or, in more severe cases, total losses, which rapidly increase the cost of drilling. Both the nature and the composition of drilling fluid contributes to the high cost of drilling, in terms of the materials, composition, chemical formulations, and manufacturing processes involved. The enormous volume of drilling fluid required to complete each operation also contributes to the high cost
In the process of drilling a well, the drilling fluid is pumped into the well bore through the drill pipe and exits through nozzles in the drill bit. The drilling fluid then flows back to the surface through the annulus, which is the space between the drill pipe and the wall of the well bore. Back at the surface, the cuttings are removed and the mud is generally pumped back to a fluid tank where it can be reused and/or treated if necessary. The drilling fluid system is typically designed as a loop with the drilling fluid continually circulating as the drill bit rotates.
During the drilling operation, a portion of the drilling fluid may filter into the permeable subterranean formation surrounding the well bore and is therefore not returned to the surface for recirculation. This lost portion of drilling fluid that flows into the formation is generally referred to in the industry as lost circulation. Any lost circulation experienced has a significant economic impact on the operation. Lost circulation, particularly of hydrocarbon based drilling fluids, may also have a negative impact on the environment.
Lost circulation may occur in the form of seepage losses or fluid losses.
Seepage losses occur when whole fluids are lost to formations during drilling. This can occur, for example, when solids in the drilling fluid system are not large enough to serve as effective bridging agents for the porous or fractured formations. Mild to moderate seepage losses do not result in total loss of drilling mud to the formation but these losses nonetheless have a significant impact on the cost of drilling. Severe losses may be experienced in highly porous or fractured formations. The amount of seepage loss experienced depends on the structure and permeability of the formation being drilled. An area of a formation where seepage loss occurs is commonly referred to as a loss zone.
In contrast to seepage loss, fluid loss refers to loss of base fluid to formations where a filter cake is formed or where solids cannot pass, i.e. where only the base fluid is lost. Properties that can be controlled in regard to fluid loss are the amount of filtrate and the thickness of the filter cake created, for example, by adding various polymers or desirable fine solids to the drilling fluid.
When programming a well to be drilled with hydrocarbons, seepage losses are usually estimated based on the size of the hole in millimeters over a 100 meter hole section. An example of this would be as follows: 200 mm hole section 3-4 m3 of losses per 100 meters of new hole drilled, 222 mm hole section 4-6 m3 of losses per 100 meters of new hole drilled, 311 mm hole sections >6 m3 of losses per 100 meter of new hole drilled.
Seepage losses can be reduced, by varying amounts, by adding foreign solids to the fluid. The method is to plug or build a mat of material in, on, or near the well bore to seal off seepage losses between the drilling fluid and underground formations. Various products have been added to drilling fluids over the years in an attempt to control or prevent seepage losses or fluid losses to underground formations. These additives are commonly referred to as lost circulation materials. Known lost circulation materials include sawdust, gilsonite, asphalt, plastics, water soluble polymers and various thickening and gelling agents. Lost circulation materials are often ground or blended to different particle sizes based on the expected severity of lost circulation, and are intended to either plug loss zones with solids or polymers or to build up a mat to seal off the loss zone or reduce lost circulation at the loss zone.
Lost circulation materials traditionally used in attempts to control seepage losses include gilsonite, fibrous materials and calcium carbonate. However, agents such as these have not proven satisfactory.
These lost circulation materials, including known seepage loss agents, can have a variety of undesirable effects on drilling operations, including permanently damaging or plugging the oil or gas bearing formation, damaging the drilling fluid itself, and causing difficulties in maintaining the chemical or physical properties of the original drilling fluid. Additives that dissolve in the drilling fluid can alter the properties of the original fluid, such as lubricity and viscosity, which must then be corrected by additional measures. The use of additives can also cause mechanical problems in the drilling rig equipment, most notably, the fluid pumps and solids control equipment, such as shakers, screens, and centrifuges.
Some undesirable effects from solids that can affect the well bore and the drilling fluid properties, include: solids added to a hydrocarbon and water emulsion reduce the electrical stability or the emulsion stability of the drilling fluid by consuming emulsifiers and must be offset with the addition of emulsifiers to maintain the desired fluid properties; calcium carbonates with a density of 2600 kg/m3 create higher densities in the hydrocarbon drilling fluid which can increase the rate of losses; oil wetting chemicals must be added to ensure the solids are oil wet; slower rates of penetration from additional solids and higher plastic viscosities of the drilling fluid; and erosion of the deposited solids with movement of the drill string and the annular velocity of the fluid pumping action.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,455,390, assigned to Union Oil Corporation of California, discloses a method of treating a well with a water-based well treating fluid to temporarily seal off a drilled well bore without permanent loss of permeability. Finely-divided (i.e. 1 to 50 micron) oil-soluble wax particles are dispersed in the aqueous treatment fluid, which is then pumped into the drilled well to seal off the bore until the well is returned to production. The fine wax particles dissolve within 24 to 48 hours in the hydrocarbon present at oil bearing zones of the formation to allow the well to return to production. Surface active agents and emulsifiers are added to the water-based treatment fluid to aid in dispersion and control particle size. There are a number of disadvantages associated with using such a fluid.
The presence of dissolved wax, surface active agents, emulsifiers and various dissolved polymers alters the original properties of the treatment fluid and renders the fluid expensive to manufacture and maintain and thus impractical for large scale use. The fluid loss agents taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,455,390 are not suitable for drilling with oil based drilling fluids, since they would dissolve in the hydrocarbon over a short time, contaminating the drilling fluid and potentially the oil bearing formation itself. The fine wax particles described therein would not be effective in preventing seepage losses to porous underground formations during open hole drilling but rather are more suitable for very tight formations. The use of such finely divided particles renders the fluid ineffective for controlling seepage losses. The use of fine oil-soluble particles renders the treatment fluid ineffective for preventing seepage losses, particularly when using a hydrocarbon based drilling mud.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,302,719, 3,593,794, 3,601,194, 3,630,280, and 3,684,012, also assigned to Union Oil Corporation of California, disclose similar treatment fluids comprising various combinations of fine wax, resins, polymers, copolymers, surface active agents and emulsifiers for temporarily sealing off an underground formation surrounding a drilled well bore. These fluids have the same disadvantages as set out above and are not suitable for controlling seepage losses to porous formations, particularly when using hydrocarbon based drilling muds.
Lost circulation of drilling fluid, particularly seepage loss, is one of the most serious and expensive problems facing the drilling industry today. It is, therefore, desirable to provide improved seepage loss agents, improved drilling fluids and improved methods for reducing seepage losses to underground formations during drilling operations. An improved drilling fluid and method of using same should be effective but should also be simple and economical in manufacture and use. It should also minimize damage to the formation, the drilling fluid, and the drilling equipment.

Drilling fluid and method for reducing lost circulation


Systems and methods for dynamically restricting rendering of unauthorized content included in information resources are provided herein. A computing device can identify an information resource including a content object specifying one or more graphical characteristics. The computing device can determine that the content object corresponds to a restricted content object by applying at least one of an action-based detection policy to detect actions performed on the information resource or a visual-based detection policy to detect the graphical characteristics of the content object. The computing device can modify by applying a content rendering restriction policy the information resource to alter rendering of the content element on the information resource responsive to the determination.

In a computer networked environment, such as the Internet, content elements may be rendered by an application (e.g., web browser) on information resources (e.g., webpages). Each content element of the information resource may be transmitted via the computer networked environment from a different server to a computing device. One or more these different servers may be unauthorized to include content elements on information resources.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for dynamically restricting the rendering of unauthorized content included in information resources


A hand-held washcloth of balloon like fabric, for washing and scrubbing a body part and for capturing a washing article, such as a bar of soap, other washing and cleaning agents, or a combination thereof. The device is inflated by mouth, and tied at the neck by a closing attachment, such as, a string, clipping device or both. The washcloth device has a balloon like body, that could have any shape, but must includes a neck for holding and inserting the cleaning article and blowing air into the body. By pushing on the body of the device, bubbles come out from the surface. The body also includes a pair of handles for holding and washing body parts, and can be used for hanging during storage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hand-held washcloth device for washing and scrubbing the body, while initiating bubbles. More particularly, to a hand-held device which by capturing a washing article within and blowing into it to create the bubbles. The invention permits washing body parts while enjoying the bubbles during showering or bathing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various devices and types of washcloths for body washing while engaging a bar of soap or detergents have been invented. Even though these inventions may be suitable for specific individuals to which they address, they function differently from the present invention. The instant invention uses a washing article to generate bubbles while taking a shower or a bath. The difficulty with some prior art is reaching the back of a person with ease, another is that they usually are used for scrubbing with a bar of soap and the result is like using a conventional washcloth with a soap in it that might slip out and does not create the necessary bubbles for soaping and enjoyment. Additionally, conventional bathing with bubbles, results in wasting a lot of water, time and energy. One more problem that some of prior art inventions do not solve is that when the soap gets small and hard to handle, they dispose of it, which creates another problem which is the waste of our recourses and not fully getting the results of cleaning that one is after, not mentioning the hazards of slipping on a bar of soap. My invention solves all these problems and adds the joy of taking a shower with bubbles or a bath with easier, faster and more economical method.
A object of the present invention, is to provide a hand-held washcloth for washing and scrubbing body parts and capturing a washing article therein that creates bubbles and adds to the ease of washing and enjoyment to taking a bubble shower or bath.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a hand-held device for washing and scrubbing the body parts therewith and for capturing a washing article that is simple to manufacture and use.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a hand-held device for washing the body parts therewith and for capturing a washing article that is time saving when used, and prevents waste of our resources, such as water and the washing articles. It is also safe to use.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a hand-held washcloth for washing and scrubbing body parts and for capturing a washing article, such as, soap, other washing and bubbling agents or both. The washcloth includes a balloon like body with a void inside, and an opening on one side for inserting and removing the washing article and blowing air into the body to inflate it, while holding it by the neck. This body is constructed of a fabric like body member, that is flexible, and of material such as, but not limited to, cotton, nylon, terry cloth or a combination thereof, that forms it""s shape by stitching around it. The body is impregnated by moving or rubbing it on the washing article inside, with particles of the washing article, generating bubbles on the outside of the body after it""s been blown into and pushed or squeezed.
A cord is attached to the body that is used to close the neck after inflation, to keep the air inside. At the two ends of the body are attached handles for holding the device by both hands and washing the hard to reach body-parts, also for hanging the device after use. These handles are made of straps or cords or like material so they will not scratch the body-parts, and be convenient to use. It is, another purpose of these handles to make it easy for people with disabilities to reach all parts of their body-parts with ease.


A method for synthesizing a composition comprising at least one acid ester stemming from the biomass and an organic biosolvent is provided. The method comprises the esterification reaction between at least one acid stemming from the biomass and at least one alcohol, in the presence of an acid catalyst and of the organic biosolvent, the organic biosolvent being selective of the ester or of the esters formed relatively to the acid or to the starting acids and non-miscible with the alcoholic solution of the acid stemming from the biomass.

Solvents form a class of substances widely used in many economical sectors where they play diverse roles. These are liquids capable of dissolving, diluting or extracting other compounds without generating chemical modifications. However, traditional solvents are general volatile organic compounds, harmful for health and for the environment. Environmental regulations nowadays call for the use of substitution solvents, notably in industrial applications. In this context, novel solvents called biosolvents, stemming from renewable, non-toxic and biodegradable raw materials, have appeared on the market. They have the advantage of providing an alternative to fossil, notably petroleum resources on the one hand and a positive environmental balance on the other hand.
The main biosolvents involved in cleaning formulations, formulations for plant health products, printing inks, paints, varnishes or bituminous binders are esters of fermental organic acids such as ethyl lactate, fatty acid esters, ethanol, terpene derivatives, glycerol or sugars derivatives. Among these biosourced compounds, ethyl lactate and fatty acid esters are known for their solvent properties, used alone or as mixtures. From U.S. Pat. No. 6,284,720, a composition of biosolvents is notably known, comprising from 40 to 70% by weight of a C1-C4 lactic acid ester, preferably ethyl lactate, and from 1 to 30% by weight of a C16-C20 ester of a C1-C4 fatty acid having a melting point below −10° C., preferably ethyl esters (which have the advantage of being 100% biosourced, ethanol being produced by fermentation of sugars while methanol stems from petroleum) or methyl esters of fatty acids from a vegetable oil. The composition may further comprise additives, surfactants . . . . From U.S. Pat. No. 6,191,087, a biosolvent composition is also known comprising from 10 to 60% by weight of a C16-C20 fatty acid ester having a melting point below −10° C., from 20 to 75% by weight of a C1-C4 lactic acid ester, from 0 to 20% by weight of a surfactant, from 0 to 20% by weight of a thickener and from 0 to 50% by weight of an organic solvent. The publication of Datta et al. (Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, 2006, 81, 1119-1129) describes the different applications of lactic acid and of its derivatives, notably the use of ethyl lactate in compositions of biosolvents.
The compositions of biosolvents are obtained by mixing ethyl lactate with the desired fatty acid esters. Ethyl lactate is produced by esterification of lactic acid with ethanol. However, a major problem of this reaction is that it is balanced. It is therefore necessary to displace the equilibrium for obtaining a suitable yield. This is notably possible by using excess ethanol or by continuously drawing off the water formed during the reaction. The solutions presently set into place for solving this major problem are at the origin of a substantial increase in the cost of ethyl lactate. Another problem is the oligomerization of lactic acid during the reaction.
Many investigations have been conducted for finding a remedy to these problems and to improve the yield in ethyl lactate. From GB 1,282,926, a method for separating acids is notably known, comprising esterification of the acids, separation of the obtained esters and recovery of the corresponding acid. The described method comprises the following steps: an aqueous solution containing lactic acid is mixed with a water-miscible alcohol. The resulting solution is extracted by moderately heating it with an organic solvent non-miscible with water. The lactic acid contained in the aqueous phase is transformed into a lactic acid ester, which ester passes into the organic phase. This organic phase is then distilled in order to retrieve the non-miscible solvent. The residue is then distilled in order to recover the lactic acid ester in a pure form and is then transformed into an acid. With this method it is therefore possible to extract the formed ester from the aqueous phase which displaces the equilibrium towards the formation of the ester. However, the solvents used are non-biological organic solvents and some of them are toxic (benzene, chloroform . . . ).
From U.S. Pat. No. 1,651,666, a method for ester preparation by reaction between a mixture of an alcohol, an acid and a solvent of the corresponding ester is known. However, the solvent of the ester is an oil derived from petroleum with a high boiling point. With this method, it is not possible to obtain a biosolvent composition comprising esters in a single step.
From US 2005/0143599, the use of a solvent derived from petroleum is also known for esterifying and extracting an acid diluted in water. This method is specifically aimed at the separation of acids and does not allow preparation of a biosolvent comprising esters in a single step.
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,723,639, a method for preparing ethyl lactate is known by reacting ammonium lactate with ethanol, applying a pervaporation membrane. This pervaporation membrane gives the possibility of letting through the water and ammonia formed but does not let through the alcohol and ester formed. Thus, one has a continuous extraction of water. The publication of Budd et al. (Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 2004, 43, 1863-1867) also describes the use of a pervaporation membrane for the esterification reaction between lactic acid and ethanol. However, such membranes are relatively fragile and of a high cost. The method for preparing ethyl lactate by means of this method is therefore not very economical.
From WO 2004/052826, a method for preparing ethyl lactate by esterification between lactic acid and ethanol is known. This method is based on the existence of a water/ethanol azeotrope. During the process, a water-ethanol gas mixture is extracted continuously, this extract is dehydrated and allows recovery of an ethanol flow which may be recycled. Once again, this method requires additional equipment and treatments for displacing the equilibrium, which increases the production costs of ethyl lactate.
Finally, from WO 01/47860, a method for producing ethyl lactate in two steps is known. The first step consists in a transformation, with removal of water, of a composition of lactic acid into an oligomeric composition of lactic acid. This first step allows removal of the water which may be formed. The second step consists in an esterification of all or part of the contained lactic acid, in monomeric, dimeric, oligomeric or polymeric form, by means of a transesterification catalyst. This method has the drawback of being carried out in two steps which increases the reaction times as well as the costs of the method.
Thus, since the filing of patent GB 1,282,926, methods for synthesis of ethyl lactate by esterification have become complicated, leading to two-step methods or to methods using additional equipment or even costly and sensitive equipment (pervaporation membrane).
The compositions of biosolvents comprising ethyl lactate are obtained in 2 steps, a first step for forming ethyl lactate and a second step for mixing this lactate with biosolvents. Such two-step methods substantially increase the cost price of the final composition, further requiring complementary steps, notably for purifying ethyl lactate.

Method for obtaining compositions of biosolvents by esterification and obtained compositions of biosolvents

INSTITUT VIETNAMIEN DE CHIMIE INDUSTRIELLE

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE (C.N.R.S)