The present invention is a pair of split dies comprises of a pair of fixed die halves, with each fixed die half having an associating movable die insert. The pair of split dies are separated from each other in order to admit a cutting blade therebetween and a variable width opening is formed between each of the fixed die halves and their associating movable die inserts. The movable die inserts move toward the fixed die halves and thereby decrease the width of the openings in response to cam means attaching to the blade which engage movable cam tracks located on the movable die inserts opposite the openings. The openings close on tubing located within the openings so that the tubing is held stationary on either side of where the blade cuts the tubing. The movable die inserts move away from the fixed die halves and thereby increase the width of the openings in response to disengagement with the cam means. When the cam means are disengaged from the movable die inserts, die springs located in spring pockets provided in the fixed die halves push the movable die inserts away from the fixed die halves, thus releasing the tubing and allowing it to move quickly through the openings as the dies are repositioned on the tubing for the purpose of making another cut.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is a cut-off die comprised of a pair of fixed die halves separated from each other, with each fixed die half having an associating movable die insert so that openings of variable width are formed between stationary halves provided on the fixed die halves and movable halves provided on their associating movable die inserts. The widths of the openings are decreased in response to cam means provided on a cut-off blade assembly pushing against the movable die inserts. When the openings are decreased in widths, the stationary and movable halves of the openings grip the tubing on either side of where the blade cuts the tubing, enabling the tubing to be cut without deformation. Once the cut is completed, the cam means disengage the movable die inserts and die springs provided in pockets on the fixed die halves cause the openings to widen by pushing the movable die inserts away from the fixed die halves.
2. Prior Art
Small diameter welded seam tubing, such as that used in constructing radiators, must be cut to precise lengths. To reduce construction costs, a cutting mechanism must be able to cut the tubing quickly to the correct length without deforming the cut surfaces. Normally, the cutting mechanism travels along a moving strand of tubing stock while the tubing is being cut. Once finished cutting, the cutting mechanism quickly reverses direction of travel, moving backward the proper distance to engage the strand of tubing stock for another cutting cycle. Normally, a pair of cutting mechanisms work together to cut the tubing into tubes of a particular length, with one cutting mechanism cutting a first end of a tube and the other simultaneously cutting a second opposite end of the tube. Synchronization of these movements and the distance between the pair of cutting mechanisms is normally computer controlled to create tubes of the desired lengths.
Currently in the cutting process, tubing is inserted through openings in a pair of solid cut-off dies of the cutting mechanism and a blade moves between the dies to cut the tubing. One problem with using solid cut-off dies is that there must be a certain amount of clearance between the exterior tubing wall and the die openings in order for the tubing to move easily at high speed through the openings without binding. When the blade cuts the tubing, the clearance existing between the exterior tube wall and the die openings allows the tubing to move thus creating deformed, pear-shaped ends on the tubes rather than the desired flat, oval-shaped ends. Deformation of the ends of the tubes during the cut-off stroke renders the ends of the tubes unsuitable for use without further processing, which means that the tubes have to be increased in cut-off length at the tube mill to allow for further processing. The material needed for such an increased tube length and the additional processing required to correct the shape and size of the tube's cut ends adds to the cost of construction. Current die designs have no provision for adjusting the clearance between the dies and the tubing during the cut-off stroke, without sacrificing good high speed running clearance.
The present invention addresses this problem by replacing the solid cut-off dies with a pair of split dies that have movable die inserts. The movable die inserts, in conjunction with the fixed die halves, form split openings through which the tubing extends. The movable die inserts are capable of moving toward their associating fixed die halves to close on the tubing during the cut-off cycle in order to prevent the thin walled tubing from deforming as the cut-off blade enters the tubing and capable of then moving away from their associating fixed die halves to open to full clearance after cutting the tube. The movable die inserts are moved toward the fixed die halves during the cut-off cycle by engagement of cam tracks provided on the movable die inserts by cam rollers that are attached to a continuously rotating, spring loaded blade support arm. Once the cut-off cycle is complete, i.e. the blade support arm has rotated sufficiently for the attached blade to have passed through the tubing and for the cam rollers to have disengaged the movable die inserts, springs provided in the fixed die halves force the movable die inserts away from the fixed die halves, thus widening the openings to their full clearance positions through which the tubing may move easily at high speed.

Zero clearance high speed welded seam tube cut-off die


An equipotential grounding tool adapted to provide a temporary grounding and bonding point for establishing an equipotential work area for electrical linemen. The tool has has a variety of attachment fastening means for securing the tool to a fixed point. Once secured the tool provides common grounding and bonding contact points for interconnecting the surrounding surfaces and/or devices.

As anyone who performs a great deal of physical work will attest, nothing beats having the proper tool for a job. The proper tool can save time, money, produce a higher quality work product, reduce equipment damage, and provide for increased worker safety. Each field of physical work has its own type of specialty tools, each of which performing a specialized task. One (1) such field is high voltage work in the electrical industry. As one can imagine, the risk of electrocution when working around live equipment is ever present and extremely high. To ensure workers' safety, it is paramount that all surfaces they touch, or are likely to come in contact with, are at the same potential or voltage. Also, the high voltage nature of nearby lines can induce dangerous voltages even in de-energized lines. In most cases, workers attach to nearby structures using spring clamps or bolt clamps to ensure there safety. However, often times these connections are not low resistance and in other cases are even non-existent, thus sacrificing worker safety. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which high reliability and low resistance grounding connections can be provided for equipotential grounding used in high voltage work. The use of the equipotential grounding tool provides enhanced grounding ability for workers performing maintenance or repair work around high voltage lines in a manner which is not only quick, easy, and effective, but vastly improves safety.

Temporary attachment equipotential grounding tool


A blank for a container and the container afford a structure wherein the adhesive closure for the container also forms a tear strip to allow easy opening of the envelope once it is sealed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improvement in a blank for making a container or envelope and in one aspect relates to an improved closing and opening system for containers such as envelopes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The commercially available envelopes for mailing and for overnight delivery parcels have adhesive closure systems and many have tear strips for facile opening. One such opening system is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,296 for use on envelopes of tough non-woven thermoplastic fibers. Another easy open strip is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,778,059 showing a tear strip for use on a corrugated shipping carton. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,757, available from the assignee of this patent (application) illustrates a further structure for a tear strip for a corrugated package or carton. This later patent discloses a hot melt coated tear tape adhered to the outside surface of the inside liner along the desired line of opening and a hot melt coated tear guide tape, at least as wide as the tear tape, adhered to the inside surface of the outside liner. The two adhesives are separate and do not join one another but both serve to provide the desired even tear line.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,139 discloses a container having an opening-closing flap provided with a strip of adhesive disposed along a straight line on the inside surface of the flap for sealing the container, and a non-tearable guide strip disposed along the outside surface and a non-tearable elongate straight tear band attached to the inside surface of the flap along a perforated punch line to allow the opening with one edge of the tear band aligned with an edge of the guide strip so that when the flap is sealed by the adhesive and the tear band is freed and pulled away from the container, the container is opened with a tear line which extends along the container flap in a straight line.
The present invention affords a single adhesive strip on the closing-opening flap to seal the container closed and to provide a facile tear strip to open the flap and container once it is sealed.
The present invention further has the advantage that the manufacturer of the container or envelope has only one tape or ribbon to inventory. Only one tape to guide and apply during manufacture of the envelopes. And, only one piece of tape applicating equipment on the line.

Blank for a container, and a container having a closing and opening system


In a computer or other digital system a clock or other synchronous signal is routed from a source to a destination as a double side band suppressed carrier (DSB-SC) signal. The clock or other synchronous signal is amplitude modulated at the source using a broadband low frequency envelope signal. The modulated signal is the DSB-SC signal, which then is routed over PC board traces to the destination. At the destination, the DSB-SC signal is demodulated to achieve the clock or other synchronous signal.

This invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for reducing electromagnetic interference (`EMI`) emissions from PC board traces in a digital system, and more particularly for reducing EMI emissions from clock and other synchronous signal traces for a computer or other digitally-clocked system.
Electromagnetic interference is electromagnetic energy emitted from electronic devices which, either directly or indirectly, contributes to a degradation in performance of an electronic receiver or other electronic system. EMI radiation from poorly shielded electronic devices, for example, degrade radio and television signals resulting in audible or visible static at receivers picking up such signals. Governments typically regulate EMI emissions to enhance public use of the radio wave spectrum and other electromagnetic wave spectra. In the United States, for example, the F.C.C. requires testing of devices and rates the devices by class according to their emissions. The United States F.C.C. Agency rates EMI emissions over a 120 kilohertz ("kHz") bandwidth. The 120 kHz bandwidth corresponds to the typical bandwidth of a conventional communication receiver, such as an FM receiver. Reduced EMI emissions within such bandwidth reduce the interference output, otherwise perceived by a listener or viewer as, for example, static or white noise.
Typical precautions taken by electronic manufacturers are to provide shielding of electronic devices to minimize EMI emissions. Computer manufacturers, for example, typically use shielded cables and shielded housings to minimize EMI emissions. This invention is directed toward a digital method and apparatus for reducing detectable EMI emissions within a critical bandwidth (e.g., 120 kHz).

EMI reduction using double sideband suppressed carrier modulation


An oxygen storage material (OSM) includes a zinc manganese iron oxide (ZMF) and an alkali metal base on the ZMF surface. The ZMF has a spinel structure. The alkali metal containing ZMF can be formed to have a weight percent of alkali metal up to about two percent. The alkali metal carbonate is retained on the ZMF surface upon heating to a temperature greater than 1,000° C. and stabilizes the ZMF to the cycling of an oxygen rich and oxygen lean atmosphere. The OSM additionally catalyzes the oxidation of hydrocarbons and CO and catalyzes the reduction of NOx for use in catalytic converters.

Internal combustion engines generate small amounts of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide and leave unconverted or partially oxidized hydrocarbons. These gases are toxic and must be removed from the exhaust stream for the betterment of the environment. A removal that involves the catalytic conversion to low toxicity gases, such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide, is preferred.
Three-way catalysts (TWCs) are increasingly used for removal of these toxic gases, where active platinum group metal (PGM) catalytic sites are on an alumina support with metal oxide promotors for oxygen storage and release during fluctuations in the oxidative and reductive atmospheres that exists during the running of an engine. Many of the oxygen storage materials (OSM) are based on CeO2 (ceria) and CeO2—ZrO2 solid solutions; the latter having superior oxygen storage capacity (OSC) and thermal stability than the former. This requirement of PGM and rare earth metals, especially ceria, in these catalytic systems has become increasingly more expensive to achieve an acceptable catalyst with the stricter requirements imposed on emissions. The inherent mass efficiency of a 1:1 Ce:Zr composition is low, as the Ce+3 to Ce+4 oxidation that occurs to store oxygen has an unfortunately large 4:1 Ce:O atom ratio for the transformation.
Accordingly, to realize superior OSC material impact, the use of metal oxides using more abundant metals that are stable to very high temperatures (over 1,000° C.) and have a more desirable metal:oxygen ratio for storage becomes an important target of development. Also, a rare earth metal free OSM that catalyzes the reduction of NOx and the oxidation of hydrocarbons and CO is desirable.

Zinc manganese-iron spinel with an alkali metal stabilizer as an oxygen storage material resistant to rich/lean aging

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


Disclosed is a method for the addressing of each column of a matrix type LCD panel consisting in the production of a pulse to control a driver transistor of said column, said pulse having a duration determined by the value of the video signal sample at input, said pulse acting on the conduction state of said transistor to connect said column to a supply terminal where a voltage gradient develops. According to the method two pulse durations, the sum of which is predetermined, are alternated and, in order that a given value of a video signal sample may produce the same optical effect from one period to the next one, differentiated excitation voltages are applied to at least one of the electrodes sandwiching the liquid crystal layer, namely said column and its counter-electrode. Application notably to active matrix LCD panels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns the control of the columns of a matrix type LCD panel, especially a method for addressing each column of an LCD panel, and notably an active matrix LCD panel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A matrix type LCD panel has a set of line buses and column buses which control the voltage applied t electrodes located on one and the same side of a layer of liquid crystal, the other side being occupied by a counter-electrode which cooperates with the first electrode to electrically orient the molecules of the liquid crystal and achieve the modulation of a light beam by rotation of polarization. The columns are controlled by giving each column a current for charging the capacitor set up between the column conductor and the counter-electrode in such a way that the voltage at the terminals of this capacitor represents a video signal sample between two successive addressing operations.
To obtain this charge current as a function of the video signal, it is proposed, notably when the control circuits are integrated into the LCD panel, to use a column driver transistor, the gate of which receives a control pulse as a function of the video signal sample. To illustrate this case, FIG. 1 shows the schematic diagram of a known control for an active matrix LCD panel symbolized by a column cl, a line L, a picture element P, the counter-electrode CE and a line selection thin-film transistor.
More specifically, it has been proposed, as shown in FIG. 1, to use a column control circuit comprising a voltage-duration converter 1 which receives the video signal sample E at one of its inputs and a voltage gradient coming from a gradient, generator 2 at its other input. At output, this converter delivers a pulse I, the duration t of which expresses the amplitude of the video signal sample at input. This pulse I is sent to the gate g of a driver field-effect transistor 3. One of the electrodes, or drain d in the embodiment shown, of this field-effect transistor 3 receives a voltage gradient coming from the generator 2. Its other electrode, or source S, is connected to the column bus considered. With the above-described circuit, so long as the voltage Vgs of the transistor 3 remains greater than its threshold voltage Vt, the signal on the source s follows the changes in the voltage gradient applied to the drain d, and the capacitor C, which represents the equivalent capacitance of the column, namely the liquid crystal capacitance, the unwanted capacitances of the picture element P control transistors and the intersection capacitance of the buses, gets charged. As soon as the voltage Vgs becomes smaller than the threshold voltage Vt, the transistor 3 goes off and the signal at the column keeps, as its value, the value of the voltage charged in the capacitor C. Thus, at each column cl, there is obtained a voltage which is, for example, proportional to the width of the control pulse I of the transistor 3.
In this circuit, the pulse I obtained at output of the converter 1 does not have a steep-sloped descending edge The result thereof is that the transistor 3 goes off at an instant depending on the value of the conduction threshold. Consequently, the capacitor charging voltage changes with the shifting of the threshold. Indeed, the conduction threshold gets shifted through the electrical stress undergone by the field-effect transistor 3 used to switch-over the column. This stress may be defined as the product of the gate-source voltage by the duration in which the voltage is applied. Thus, this stress is a function of the value of the input signal and, hence, of the video signal since the duration of the pulse is a function of the video signal. To illustrate this problem, FIG. 2 shows the pulse I, the voltage gradient and the column voltages V1 and V2 obtained respectively with threshold voltages T1 and T2. It is seen that the raising of the threshold voltage of the transistor tends to reduce the column voltage Vsg. Thus, it can be seen that a low value of the video signal sample generates a gate-source voltage stress which is smaller than the stress generated by a high value of the video signal sample, as shown schematically by A and B in FIG. 3. In the former case, the shift in the threshold voltage will therefore be smaller. The result thereof is a non-uniform shift in the threshold voltages of the different column switch-over transistors, leading to a non-uniformity of luminance on the LCD panel.
The present invention, therefore, is aimed at overcoming this drawback by proposing a method for the addressing of each column that prevents the switch-over threshold of the transistor from changing with the video signal samples.
The present invention is also aimed at proposing a method for the addressing of each column that enables the creation of conditions such that the gate-source stress of the transistor is, on an average, independent of the video signal sample applied to the column.

Method for addressing each column of a matrix type LCD panel


Forming a plurality of pipeline orderings, each pipeline ordering comprising one of a sequential, a parallel, or a sequential and parallel combination of a plurality of stages of a pipeline, analyzing the plurality of pipeline orderings to determine a total power of each of the orderings, and selecting one of the plurality of pipeline orderings based on the determined total power of each of the plurality of pipeline orderings.

In processor-based platforms, lower platform power and maximized battery life are desirable features. Low hardware power states and memory self refresh modes, among others, may be used to reduce power consumption and increase battery life. It is desirable on power managed platforms to move as much of the hardware into low power states as possible, when feasible, and to increase memory self refresh time in order to minimize total platform power.
Some platforms may include components or functionality based on specialized hardware, often termed hardware acceleration. An example is a video decode data flow, which may pass data through multiple stages such as for example, a decoding stage, an image enhancement stage, and a composition stage as is known in the art. Several approaches can be used in order to lower the power consumption. One approach is to run a multi-stage hardware acceleration process such as a video decoder by pipeline processing through the stages so that all the stages are run in parallel, and then are shut down or idled until the next frame is scheduled to be processed. This approach may be based on an assumption that a parallelized pipeline leaves the platform most of the time in an idle mode, which enables a low power state for the various components.

Power aware software pipelining for hardware accelerators


A new Tool System and Method of Applying Snow Board Surface Covers for offering a kit of tools and easy steps to follow to redecorate and resurface a snow board. The inventive device includes a snow board, a snow board surface cover, a spray bottle, a squeegee, and a razor blade. In use, the present invention includes 8 steps to follow; where: Step 1. is to "Remove bindings and clean and remove all stickers from the snow board."; Step 2. is to "Wipe down board thoroughly with alcohol."; Step 3. is to "Spray the snow board generously with soapy water and keep it wet."; Step 4. is to "Peel the adhesive backing paper off the surface cover and spray adhesive side with soapy water and re-spray the snow board."; Step 5. is to "Lay the surface cover onto the snow board and adjust it to fit."; Step 6. is to "Squeegee out all bubbles with squeegee provided and work from the middle towards the edges and ends of the snow board."; Step 7. is to "Trim edges of the surface cover with razor provided and re-squeegee to remove any remaining water or air bubbles."; Step B. is to "Let dry over night, mount bindings,and ride."

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the ornamental design of snow boards and more particularly pertains to a new Tool System and Method of Applying Snow Board Surface Covers for offering a kit of tools and easy steps to follow to redecorate, resurface a snow board, and also to protect the original surface of the board.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of the ornamental design of snow boards is known in the prior art. More specifically, the ornamental design of snow boards heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art the ornamental design of snow boards include U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,287 issued to Harrison on 11 Oct. 1983; U.S. Pat. No. 5,229,207 issued to Paqette et al. on 20 Jul. 1993; U.S. Pat. Des. No. 314,601 issued to Floreani on 12 Feb. 1991; U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,934 issued to Tomiyama et al. on 30 Jul. 1991; U.S. Pat. No. 4,259,274 issued to Titola on 31 Mar. 1981, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,330 issued to Ferch on 20 Feb. 1979.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new Tool System and Method of Applying Snow Board Surface Covers. The inventive device includes a snow board, a snow board surface cover, a spray bottle, a squeegee, and a razor blade.
In these respects, the Tool System and Method of Applying Snow Board Surface Covers according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of offering a kit of tools and easy steps to follow to redecorate, resurface a snow board, and also to protect the original surface of the board.

Method of applying snow board surface covers


A method of 3D morphing driven by facial tracking is provided. First, a 3D model is loaded. After that, facial feature control points and boundary control points are picked up respectively. A configure file “A.config” including the facial feature control points and boundary control points data that are picked up corresponding to the 3D avatar is saved. Facial tracking algorithm is started, and then “A.config” is loaded. After that, controlled morphing of a 3D avatar by facial tracking based on “A.config” is performed in real time by a deformation method having control points. Meanwhile, teeth and tongue tracking of the real-time face image, and scaling, translation and rotation of the real-time 3D avatar image is also provided. In addition, a control point reassignment and reconfiguration method, and a pupil movement detection method is also provided in the method of 3D morphing driven by facial tracking.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of 3D model morphing, and more particularly, to a method of 3D model morphing driven by facial tracking, and an electronic device adopting the method of 3D model morphing driven by facial tracking.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a traditional 3D model morphing and motion capture technique. In FIG. 1, the traditional 3D model morphing and motion capturing that are commonly applied in commercial movies' visual effects usually use high speed camera to capture a large number of color-dot tags disposed on a subject or user (i.e. a whole person). These color-dot tags are typically pasted in advance on the subject or user's face to track facial expression. However, it's highly inconvenient and non-intuitive to paste such large number of color-dot tags on the face.
Hence, how to improve the method of 3D morphing has become an important topic in this field, and thus there is room for improvement in the art.

Method of 3D model morphing driven by facial tracking and electronic device using the method the same


The present invention is directed to operating fabric articles comprising a synthetic substrate which has been treated to render it absorbent to aqueous media and an anti-statically effective amount of a conductive fiber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to synthetic fabric articles having a high affinity for aqueous media, very low linting characteristics and electrical conductivity so as to eliminate static electric charges. These fabric articles find particular applications in the form of surgical toweling, drapes, gowns, and wash cloths, for example, which are used in hospital operating rooms or where standards require.
2. Description of the Background
The fabric articles of the present invention have particular utility in hospital operating rooms where there is a need for highly absorbent fabric articles which are non-linting and essentially free of static electricity. Up to the present time it has not been possible to produce non-linting, static-free fabric articles from synthetic fibers which can be used in hospital operating rooms, and especially the toweling used in the operating rooms. There are several significant properties of synthetic fibers which render them unsuitable for such use. The first is the fact that fabric prepared from synthetic fibers is generally hydrophobic and cannot absorb aqueous media. Thus, a towel prepared from a synthetic fiber would not absorb blood, water or other aqueous media and thus would be essentially useless in the hospital operating room.
Second, synthetic fabrics have a tendency to develop static electrical charges during the drying cycle of the laundering process. Static electricity is normally generated when two different materials are rubbed together. If the resulting charges are retained and accumulated, a measurable potential is generated. If the material is a dielectric, charge builds up to the point where clinging and sparking may occur. While such static charges are inconvenient to the general consuming public and in other applications, the static charge in the hospital operating room would be dangerous since such operating rooms typically have elevated concentrations of oxygen and other flammable gases which could be ignited by the static charge. Thus, hospitals have been restricted to the use of cotton for the toweling which is employed in the hospital operating room since cotton is both highly absorbent and essentially free of static electrical charges. However, cotton toweling has a tendency to lint. Many believe it is the lint from the toweling used in the operating room which is the source of from 80% to 90% of the post-operative infections. Thus, hospitals have long sought alternatives to cotton toweling for use in the hospital operating room so as to reduce or eliminate lint as a source of potential infection.
Synthetic fabrics having useful absorbent properties are known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,105 discloses a stabilized rayon web which can be fabricated into textile articles. The stabilized rayon web shows no particulate discharge (lint or the like). U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,026 discloses a cloth-like three-layer laminate material in which the outer layers are made of polyester continuous filament yarn and the middle layer is made of an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene film. This laminate material is essentially lint-free and can be repeatedly laundered without delamination.
Techniques as also known for preventing the buildup of static electricity in the operating room environment. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,277 discloses a fabric strap containing conductive fibers to control the electrostatic charge accumulation on the body of an individual. The individual is grounded by means of a grounding wire connected to the fabric strap. U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,124 discloses a protective shoe covering incorporating a flexible grounding strap to prevent static buildup while walking in the operating room.
In addition to specific articles worn by a person in the operating room, several electrically conductive textile materials are also known. U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,066 discloses synthetic polymer fibers coated with a powdered metal oxide. U.S. Pat. No. 3,288,175 discloses a fabric having a continuous grid system of metallic fibers in continuous metal-to-metal contact.
However, no one has succeeded in producing synthetic fabric articles which are absorbent and at the same time prevent the buildup of static charges.
A need exists, therefore, for fabric articles which are essentially lint free, free of static electricity and highly absorbent. A specific need exists for toweling material which is highly absorbent, lint free and essentially static electrical charge free.

Non-linting, anti-static surgical fabric


Provided are a photoresist coating apparatus and a method of coating photoresist using the same. The apparatus includes a photoresist supply line through which photoresist is supplied. A fluid control valve is connected to the photoresist supply line to control the flow of the photoresist. A nozzle assembly is connected to the photoresist supply line at a rear end of the fluid control valve. The nozzle assembly includes a nozzle located above the center of a semiconductor wafer loaded in a photoresist coating unit to spray the photoresist. A camera is located outside the photoresist coating unit to monitor the shape or spraying amount of the nozzle located at the tip of the nozzle assembly. A controller converts data monitored by the camera into an electric signal and processes the electric signal.

Generally, the fabrication of an IC semiconductor device includes performing a lithography process to form a pattern on a specific layer of a semiconductor wafer. The lithography process includes coating photoresist on the semiconductor wafer and exposing and developing the photoresist. Therefore, a photoresist coating apparatus is needed to coat the photoresist on the semiconductor wafer.
With an increase in the integration density of IC semiconductor devices, the spraying amount of photoresist to be coated on a semiconductor wafer must be precisely controlled. However, a conventional photoresist coating apparatus cannot continuously spray a precise amount of photoresist on the semiconductor wafer because of, for example, a variation in the pressure of a pump used for coating the photoresist, a variation in an atmospheric pressure applied to open and close off valves, and the contamination of a nozzle unit.
When a precise amount of photoresist cannot be sprayed on the semiconductor wafer, a nonuniform photoresist layer is uniformly coated on the semiconductor wafer. In this case, exposure and developing processes are performed on the nonuniform photoresist layer, so that a photoresist pattern is not uniformly formed on the semiconductor wafer. The extreme case is that a photoresist coating process and an exposure process need to be performed again or the used semiconductor wafer must be discarded.

Photoresist coating apparatus having nozzle monitoring unit and method for supplying photoresist using the same


A detonator which includes a tubular body within which is located a detonator assembly which comprise a container (20) which houses a set explosive composition element in which is embedded part of a PCB (72, 76) which carries an ignition element (66).

This invention relates to an electronic detonator and to a method of manufacturing an electronic detonator.
Typically an electronic detonator includes a tubular housing which contains a printed circuit board which carries various electronic components. An ignition element such as a bridge is provided on the board. The ignition element is exposed to a primary explosive composition which is exposed to a secondary explosive material.
To achieve reliable operation of the detonator it is inter alia necessary to ensure that the primary explosive composition is in intimate contact with the ignition element. A technique which has been adopted requires a portion of the printed circuit board, which carries the ignition element, to be located inside a bore of a tube which has opposed open ends. The printed circuit board protrudes from one end of the enclosure (the tube) and, as an initial step, this end is sealed through the use of a suitable potting mixture which also adheres to an adjacent portion of the printed circuit board. The printed circuit board and the tube are then orientated so that the remaining open end of the tube is uppermost. A suitable primary explosive, which is in particulate form, is then placed into the tube through the open upper end and is tamped in position thereby to bring the composition into contact with the ignition element. This process does, however, have some disadvantages.
Firstly, the sealing of the printed circuit board to the tube can be problematic. If the sealing is not properly done a malfunction can occur. The potting compound can also damage the electronic components on the printed circuit board.
A second aspect is that the quantity of explosive composition which is placed in particulate form into the tube may vary from detonator to detonator—a feature which can produce inconsistent outcomes. Also, the tamping of the composition around the ignition element can result in physical damage to the element.
EP1548391 describes a detonator assembly in which a printed circuit board, carrying an ignition element, is positioned partly inside a cup-shaped body. The ignition element is covered by a settable explosive composition. There is however no disclosure of any mechanism which enables the printed circuit board to be precisely and correctly positioned relative to the cup-shaped body.
An object of the present invention is to address the aforementioned aspects.


A projection system is provided with a controller equipped to drive light emitting devices of a light source of the projection system in a manner that enhances the operational life of the light emitting devices, the ability to provide peak white, and/or finer gray scale.

The present invention is related to the field of image projection.
A number of projection systems designed to render images, or more specifically, an image frame, by successively turning on and off selected ones of a number of light emitting devices have been proposed. Typically, each of the light emitting devices emits light in a primary color, e.g. red, green or blue. Typically, each of the light emitting devices is driven in accordance with its drive current design point, which is often selected to enable the light emitting device to have a reasonable chance of having a reasonably lengthy operational life.
Additionally, many of these projection systems employ light valves to control the color of each pixel of the image frame being rendered. A light valve e.g. may be a micro-mirror device, (for example DLP® device from Texas Instruments, Dallas, Tex.) and the color of a pixel may be controlled by controlling the on or off state of one or more micro-mirrors of the micro-mirror device through pulse width modulation of the micro-mirror device in synchronization with colored illumination light. Due to the responsiveness (response time) limits of some of the micro-mirrors (in the light valves), many of these projection systems have difficulty effectively imaging dark scenes, where discernment between the lowest gray levels are desired. An example is night scenes in a movie. Typically, temporal and/or spatial dithering is required. Temporal dithering refers to the effectuating of a color (and grayscale) effect through color controls that span different frame periods, whereas spatial dithering refers to the effectuating of a color (and grayscale) effect through color controls that span different pixels. Practice of either or both of these dithering techniques adds to operational complexity and cost (since a high compute power image processing ASIC is required to implement spatial and/or temporal dithering). In addition, these dithering techniques result in image artifacts: the appearance of noise or "snow" or lack of image detail in darker images and blurring of moving objects.
Another problem suffered by non-CRT projection systems is their inability to provide "peak white" to a small area of an image frame like CRT displays can.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Light emitting device driving method and projection apparatus so equipped


A data protection agent or server running on a computing device receives a cluster configuration of a high availability cluster. The data protection agent or server identifies highly available data of an application running on the high availability cluster based on the clustering. The data protection agent or server then implements a data protection policy that backs up the highly available data.

Many enterprises have important data that should be backed up for business reasons and/or compliance reasons. For example, there are compliance guidelines under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to preserve records of complaint for 6 years, to preserve certain billing records for 6 years, to retain medical records for 5 years, and so forth. To back up and protect such data, enterprises typically deploy enterprise data protection systems. These systems periodically generate backup copies of specified data, and write the backup copies to backup storage devices.
Data protection systems are typically set up and maintained by information technology (IT) administrators (often called backup administrators). Such IT administrators do not typically have detailed knowledge about the systems for which they are to backup data. Accordingly, it can be difficult and time consuming for an IT administrator to set up protection policies to backup data for enterprise systems. Often, the IT administrator will need to coordinate with a system administrator who manages the system that is to be backed up to determine what data from the system to protect. This can further consume enterprise resources and slow down the process of setting up protection policies. Moreover, this can result in backup policies that do not protect sensitive data. Additionally, enterprise systems are dynamic in nature. Therefore, even if an IT administrator sets up a data protection policy correctly, that data protection policy may stop protecting important data in the future unless the IT administrator correctly modifies the policy.

Method and system for using high availability attributes to define data protection plans


Computer-implemented methods and systems for integrating computer applications are disclosed. One method includes querying a primary computer application for current state of a newly created object; receiving the current state of the object, and generating object data for a secondary computer application based on the current state of the object. The method further includes communicating an object creation request to a secondary computer application, the object creation request including the generated object data, receiving a secondary computer application object identifier from the secondary computer application upon creation of the object at the secondary computer application, and communicating the secondary computer application object identifier to the primary computer application for storing in a record of the object created at the primary computer application.

Typically computer applications are created to offer specific features to users. For example, one computer application may be developed to provide an online real time chat service whereas another computer application may be developed to deliver another service, such as online collaboration for projects. Over time, many developments may be made in both computer applications as they grow and each computer application may have a rich and complex backend system that supports the corresponding computer application.
Over time, situations may arise where it might be beneficial to integrate the features of one of the computer application with features offered by the other computer application—e.g., it might be beneficial to offer the real time chat service of the first computer application to the online collaboration service offered by the second computer application.
However, the two computer applications are often developed by different parties, totally independently and without any regard to the possible future integration with other computer applications. Therefore, the process of integration of two existing computer applications often involves solving numerous technical compatibility issues in order for the existing products to function together in a relatively cohesive fashion. In such cases, it might be possible to develop the features offered by the first computer application into the second computer application. However this may be too computationally expensive, may require many man hours to accomplish and even then, the newly developed real time online chat features developed in the second computer application may not be able to replicate the quality of the features offered by the first computer application (which has been refined over time).
Accordingly, there exists a need for simpler, more efficient mechanism for introducing the features of an external computer application in a given computer application.

Systems and methods for integrating computer applications


Ligand Drug conjugate compounds comprising a β-glucuronide-based linker and methods of using such compounds are provided.

Monoclonal antibody therapies are gaining momentum as adjunct and front-line treatments for cancer. Successes of mAb therapies like AVASTIN (anti-VEGF) for colon cancer, RITUXAN (Rituximab; anti-CD20) for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and HERCEPTIN (anti-Her2) for breast cancer have demonstrated that unconjugated antibodies can improve patient survival without the incidence of significantly increased toxicity.
Monoclonal antibodies (mAb) can be conjugated to a therapeutic agent to form an antibody drug conjugate (ADC). ADCs can exhibit increased efficacy, as compared to an unconjugated antibody. The linkage of the antibody to the drug can be direct, or indirect via a linker. One of components believed to be important for developing effective and well-tolerated ADCs is the composition and stability of the linker. For some types of ADCs, the linker desirably provides serum stability, yet selectively releases the drug at or within the target cell.
Attachment of a linker to a mAb can be accomplished in a variety of ways, such as through surface lysines, reductive-coupling to oxidized carbohydrates, and through cysteine residues liberated by reducing interchain disulfide linkages. A variety of ADC linkage systems have been described in the literature, including hydrazone-, disulfide- and peptide-based linkages. Some hydrazone and disulfide-based linkers can be labile in circulation, resulting in release of drug outside the targeted tissue. It is believed that this premature release of drug might lead to systemic toxicity or organ-specific toxicity and/or less than optimal therapeutic efficacy. Peptide-based linker strategies may provide linkers of higher stability; however, the increased associated hydrophobicity of some linkers may lead to aggregation, particularly with strongly hydrophobic drugs. Such aggregation may lead to non-specific uptake of the ADCs into non-targeted tissues, potentially affecting non-target toxicity.
β-glucuronides are metabolites produced in the liver and kidneys by a class of enzymes known as UDP-glucuronosyl transferases. These transferases are involved in a metabolic transformation leading to the clearance of xenobiotics from the body. Glucuronidation dramatically increases the solubility of substrate compounds, allowing more efficient renal clearance.
β-glucuronidase is a UDP-glucuronosyl transferase which is present in the lysosomes of essentially all human tissues. The enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of the glycosidic bond of glucuronides with β-configuration and is reported to have broad substrate specificity. It is most active at a low pH with the enzymatic efficiency dropping to approximately 10% at neutral pH. β-glucuronidase has been reported to be over-expressed in breast cancer tissue relative to peritumor tissue. In spite of its ubiquitous nature, the enzyme is effectively sequestered inside cell lysosomes, and minimal immunohistochemical staining is observed in the extracellular space of normal tissue samples. One exception is the β-glucuronidase activity seen in the intestinal tract, arising from the presence of E. coli.
In contrast to normal tissues, the interstitial space of necrotic tumor tissue displays high levels of β-glucuronidase activity. The source is believed to be inflammatory cells and not directly from the tumor tissue. Based on this observation, β-glucuronide prodrugs (primarily of doxorubicin) have been prepared for research in monotherapy. The rationale for this approach is that the β-glucuronide prodrug would be less toxic than free drug due to its inability to enter cells. The prodrug has two primary fates: prodrug in the vicinity of the tumor will be converted to free drug, while the remaining prodrug will be rapidly cleared through the kidneys. β-glucuronide prodrugs have been reported for use in ADEPT (Antibody Directed Enzyme Pro-drug Therapy). β-glucuronide prodrug-based therapies require, however, high systemic levels of prodrugs, which may be associated with undesired toxicities.
There remains a need, therefore, for targeted delivery of prodrugs, resulting in elimination of targeted cells while reducing toxicity to non-target cells.
There is a further need for ADCs with linker systems that provide a high level of linker serum stability and increased solubility, allowing the efficient conjugation of hydrophobic drugs and that effect intracellular delivery of drugs.
These and other limitations and problems of the past are solved by the present invention. (The recitation of any reference in this application is not an admission that the reference is prior art to this application.)


An electrical fault locating system for distributing power from an input to a plurality of output channels provides fault detection and locating for each of the plurality of output channels. Each of the plurality of output channels is monitored by a fault detection circuit to detect the presence of an electrical fault. In response to a detected fault condition, the fault detection circuit isolates the output channel from the input and generates an output identifying the output channel on which the fault was detected. A fault locating device injects a high-frequency (HF) signal onto the input of the electrical system, the HF signal is distributed to each of the plurality of output channels, and the monitored reflection of the HF signal is monitored by the fault locating device to calculate a distance to the detected fault. The distance calculated by the fault locating device is combined with the channel identification provided by the fault detection circuit to generate a specific location associated with the detected fault.

The present invention relates to electrical fault protection and, in particular, to a system and method for detecting and locating electrical faults.
Conventional electrical systems distribute electrical power from a power source to one or more of a plurality of loads through a network of switches (contactors, circuit breakers, SSPCs, etc.) wires, terminal blocks, and connectors. Factors such as temperature, moisture, aging and vibration, among others, can result in degradation of one or more components of the electrical system, resulting in electrical faults. In particular, arc faults caused as a result of wire abrasion, loose connectors or screws, or carbon scoring provide a low-impedance path that can result in potentially damaging currents. To prevent damage, newer electrical systems include arc fault detection and protection circuitry. In response to a detected fault, the protection circuitry isolates the line including the fault from the rest of the system, typically by operating a switch (e.g., MOSFET, IGBT) located between the fault and the remainder of the system.
While fault detection and protection circuitry is useful in protecting the electrical system from fault conditions, it does not provide information regarding the location of the fault. This is particularly problematic in aircraft applications in which subsequent inspection of the electrical system may not identify transient faults (i.e., arc faults occurring as a result of in-flight conditions such as vibration). This results in higher maintenance costs as additional time must be spent inspecting an entire feeder line between the opened switch and the connected load, sometimes including several hundred feet of wires and connectors, to locate the fault. In addition, in instances in which the fault cannot be detected, the entire feeder line may have to be replaced, resulting in additional maintenance costs.
As known in the prior art, fault locating devices can be used to detect the location of an electrical fault along a particular line, but these systems are not weight or cost-effective for in flight aircraft applications. In particular, a typical electrical system for an aircraft may include hundreds of individual loads, each of which would require a separate fault locating device. The additional cost and weight of adding individual fault locating devices for each load becomes prohibitive.

Wire fault locating in distributed power systems


The present invention provides a novel human C-type lectin (human PAP-2) and polynucleotides which identify and encode human PAP-2. The invention also provides expression vectors, host cells, agonists, antibodies or antagonists. The invention also provides methods for treating or preventing diseases associated with expression of human PAP-2.

The present invention relates to nucleic acid and amino acid sequences of a novel human pancreatitis-associated (PAP) protein, which comprises a soluble C-type lectin. This novel human PAP protein shares features with other proteins in the reg/PSP multigene family which are involved in the regulation of cell growth. The present invention relates to the use of these novel sequences in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of disease.
Lectins are proteins which are defined by their ability to bind carbohydrates specifically and to agglutinate cells. Lectins have been shown to be involved in a wide variety of cellular functions including cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. Lectins are widespread among plants, invertebrates and mammals.
Animal lectins have been grouped into four distinct families: 1) C-type lectins, which include selecting; 2) P-type lectins; 3) galectins (formerly termed S-type lectins or S-Lac lectins); and 4) pentraxins [Barondes SH et al. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269:20807-10]. The C-type lectins bind carbohydrate ligands in a Ca2+-dependent manner and are structurally related to the asialoglycoprotein receptor. Selectins, a subcategory of the C-type lectins, are composite transmembrane molecules which are involved in cell-cell interactions. The selectins include lymphocyte homing receptors and platelet/endothelial cell surface receptors [Stoolman (1989) Cell 56:907-10].
C-type animal lectins contain Ca2+-dependent carbohydrate-recognition domains (CRDs). The prototypical C-type animal lectins are integral membrane proteins (e.g., the asialoglycoprotein receptor); however, a number of soluble C-type animal lectins have been identified. One group of soluble C-type animal lectins, termed collections or Group III C-type lectins, comprise proteins having both lectin- (i.e., CRD) and collagenous-like domains within a single polypeptide [Drickamer (1993) Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol. 3:393]. Another group of soluble C-type animal lectins, termed Group IV C-type lectins, comprise free CRDs which are not joined to other polypeptide domains (other than a signal peptide utilized in secretion) [Drickamer (1993), supra]. The soluble C-type animal lectins comprising free CRDs found in mammals are most closely related to proteins identified in invertebrates and lower vertebrates (e.g., snakes).
Proteins recognized as members of the Group IV C-type lectins appear to be members of a multigene family termed the reg/PSP multigene family [Drickamer (1993), supra and Unno et al. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268:15974]. The reg/PSP multigene family comprises genes encoding secretory proteins which are expressed in the pancreas; the ectopic expression (i.e., expression in a tissue which does not normally express reg/PSP proteins) of some members of the reg/PSP family is associated with disease states such as tumors and Alzheimer""s disease.
The first member of the reg/PSP multigene family was identified in a cDNA library derived from rat regenerating pancreatic islets [Terazono et al. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263:2111]. This gene was termed reg (regenerating gene) and is now known as the regIxcex1 gene. The regIxcex1 gene product has been called by different investigators reg protein, regIxcex1 protein, lithostathine, islet cell regeneration factor (ICRF), pancreatic stone protein (PSP) and pancreatic thread protein (PTP) [Terazono et al. (1988), supra; Moriizumi et al. (1994) Biochem. Biophys. Acta 1217:199; Dusetti et al. (1993) Biochem. Biophys. Acta 1174:99; Rouquier et al. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266:786; and de la Monte et al. (1990) J. Clin. Invest. 86:1004]. The clear association between reg gene expression and islet cell replication in vitro has lead to the suggestion that the regIxcex1/lithostathine protein has a growth-promoting activity for islet xcex2-cells [Unno et al. (1993), supra]. Human regIxcex1 mRNA is expressed in colon and rectal tumors although it is not expressed in normal colon or rectal tissue. Thus, ectopic expression of regIxcex1 protein is associated with tumorigenesis. Elevated levels of regIxcex1 protein have been found in the brains of patients suffering from Alzheimer""s disease as well as in the brains of middle-aged individuals with Down""s syndrome [Ozturk et al. (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86:419 and de la Monte et al. (1990) J. Clin. Invest. 86:1004]. RegIxcex1 mRNA is expressed in the developing human brain, but not in normal adult brain; expression of regIxcex1 is seen in adult brain which is undergoing regenerative sprouting. Given its pattern of expression (e.g., expression in regenerating pancreatic islets and brain, expression in tumors), it appears that regIxcex1 protein is associated with cell growth.
Other members of the reg/PSP multigene family are the genes encoding pancreatitis-associated proteins (PAPs) which have been identified in humans, mice and rats [Iovanna et al. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266:24664; Orelle et al. (1992) J. Clin. Invest. 90:2284; Itoh and Teraoka (1993) Biochem. Biophys. Acta 1172:184; and Dusetti et al. (1994) Genomics 19:108]. The reg/lithostathine and PAP proteins characterized to date share about 45-65% identity on the amino acid level.
The PAP proteins are secretory proteins which are stored in zymogen granules prior to secretion [Keim et al. (1991) Gastroenterol. 100:775]; PAP is present at low levels in normal pancreas but is rapidly overexpressed during the acute phase of pancreatitis. PAP, like other members of the reg/PSP family, shares sequence similarity with the carbohydrate-binding domain of C-type lectins which likely explains the ability of PAP to induce aggregation of bacteria [Iovanna et al. (1991), supra]. The ability to aggregate bacteria has lead to the suggestion that PAP is involved in the control of bacterial proliferation, a frequent complication of pancreatitis. PAP has been shown to be able to bind lactose [Christa et al. (1994) FEBS Lett. 337:114].
Three PAP genes, PAP I-III, have been identified in rats. All three PAP genes are expressed during the acute phase of pancreatitis. Rat PAP I and PAP III are expressed constitutively in the intestine and their expression is induced by feeding. Rat PAP II is not expressed in the intestine. Rat PAP I and PAP III share 66% amino acid identity; rat PAP II and PAP III share 63% amino acid identity; rat PAP I and PAP II share 58% amino acid identity. A homologue of rat PAP I has been identified in cows [BPTP; de la Monte et al. (1990), supra].
A human homolog of the rat PAP I gene, human PAP or human PAP I, has been identified [Orelle et al. (1992) J. Clin. Invest. 90:2284]. The human PAP I protein is the same size as the rat PAP I protein (175 amino acids) and these two proteins share 71% amino acid identity, including conservation of 7 cystine residues. Both the rat and the human PAP I proteins are synthesized as preproteins having an N-terminal signal peptide of 26 amino acids. Expression of the human PAP I mRNA is increased in necrohemorragic pancreatitis. Serum levels of human PAP I were found to be near background levels in normal individuals; in individuals suffering from acute pancreatitis or acute exacerbations of chronic pancreatitis, human PAP I levels increased 24-140 times the background level [Orelle et al. (1992), supra]. Thus, human PAP I appears to serve as a marker of acute pancreatitis.
The human PAP I gene is also referred to as the HIP gene [Lasserre et al. (1992) Cancer Res. 52:5089]. The HIP gene was identified by differential screening of a human primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma) library. The human PAP I/HIP gene is not expressed in normal adult or fetal liver; expression of PAP I/HIP is limited to the pancreas and small intestine in normal tissues. Thus, the ectopic expression of PAP I/HIP is associated with tumorigenesis in the liver. In addition, PAP I/HIP mRNA is expressed in human pancreatic cell hyperplasia (hyperinsulinism) (Lasserre et al., supra).
Proteins expressed by the reg/PSP multigene family represent an important family of proteins which are involved in the maintenance of proper pancreatic function as well as in the regulation of cell proliferation and/or differentiation. Discovery of new molecules related to or in the mammalian reg/PSP multigene family is useful for the development of new diagnostic or therapeutic compositions.
The present invention features a novel Group IV C-type lectin protein hereinafter designated human PAP-2 and characterized as having similarity to the human PAP 1 protein. Human PAP-2 is a member of the PAP branch of the reg/PSP multigene family.
Accordingly, the invention features a substantially purified polypeptide having the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:1 or fragments thereof. Preferred fragments of SEQ ID NO:1 are fragments which retain biological activity or immunological activity (i.e., capable of eliciting anti-human PAP-2 antibodies). Fragments of SEQ ID NO:1 which are at least 15 amino acids, at least 50 amino acids, at least 100 amino acids, at least 125 amino acids and at least 200 amino acids in length are contemplated. The invention specifically contemplates secretory (i.e., the signal peptide is cleaved; E27-D175 of SEQ ID NO:1) and nonsecretory (i.e., signal peptide remains) forms of a substantially purified human PAP-2 as well as any proteolytic fragments thereof.
The present invention further provides isolated and substantially purified polynucleotide sequences encoding the polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or fragments thereof. In a particular aspect, the polynucleotide is the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:2 or variants thereof. In another embodiment, the present invention provides polynucleotides comprising fragments of SEQ ID NO:2 having a length of at least seven nucleotides. The invention further contemplates fragments of this polynucleotide sequence (i.e., SEQ ID NO:2) that are at least 50 nucleotides, at least 100 nucleotides, at least 250 nucleotides, at least 500 nucleotides and at least 750 nucleotides in length.
In addition, the invention provides polynucleotide sequences which hybridize under stringent conditions to the polynucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:2. In another embodiment the present invention provides a composition comprising an isolated and purified polynucleotide sequence encoding human PAP-2.
The invention provides polynucleotide sequences comprising the complement of SEQ ID NO:2 or variants thereof; these complementary nucleic acid sequences may comprise the complement of the entire nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2 or fragments thereof. In another embodiment the present invention provides a composition comprising an isolated and purified polynucleotide sequence comprising the complement of SEQ ID NO:2 or variants thereof.
The invention additionally features nucleic acid sequences encoding polypeptides, oligonucleotides, peptide nucleic acids (PNA), fragments, portions or antisense molecules thereof, and expression vectors and host cells comprising polynucleotides that encode human PAP-2.
In another embodiment the present invention provides an isolated polynucleotide comprising at least a portion of the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2 or variants thereof contained on a recombinant expression vector. In yet another embodiment, the expression vector containing the polynucleotide sequence is contained within a host cell. The invention is not limited by the nature of the host cell employed. For example, the host cell may be an E. coli cell, a yeast cell, an insect cell, a mammalian cell, etc.
The present invention also provides a method for producing a polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or fragments thereof, the method comprising the steps of: a) culturing the host cell containing an expression vector containing an isolated polynucleotide encoding at least a fragment of the human PAP-2 polypeptide under conditions suitable for the expression of the polypeptide; and b) recovering the polypeptide from the host cell culture.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising a substantially purified human PAP-2 protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 in conjunction with a suitable pharmaceutical carrier.
The invention also provides a purified antibody which binds specifically to a polypeptide comprising at least a portion of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.
Still further, the invention provides a purified agonist which specifically binds to and modulates the activity of a polypeptide comprising at least a portion of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1. The present invention further provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising a purified agonist which specifically binds to and modulates the activity of a polypeptide comprising at least a portion of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1. In another embodiment, the invention provides a purified antagonist which specifically binds to and modulates the activity of a polypeptide comprising at least a portion of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1. The present invention further provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising a purified antagonist which specifically binds to and modulates the activity of a polypeptide comprising at least a portion of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.
The invention also provides a method for treating pancreatitis (particularly for preventing or controlling bacterial infections associated with pancreatitis) comprising administering to a subject in need of such treatment an effective amount of a pharmaceutical composition comprising a purified agonist which specifically binds to and modulates the activity of a polypeptide comprising at least a portion of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1. The treatment of a variety of tumors, including but not limited to tumors of the pancreas, esophagus lung and large intestine (e.g., cecum and colon), using agonists as well as antagonists of human PAP-2 is also contemplated by the present invention.
The invention also provides a method for detection of polynucleotides encoding human PAP-2 in a biological sample comprising the steps of: a) hybridizing a polynucleotide sequence encoding human PAP-2 (SEQ ID NO:1) to nucleic acid material of a biological sample, thereby forming a hybridization complex; and b) detecting the hybridization complex, wherein the presence of the complex correlates with the presence of a polynucleotide encoding human PAP-2 in the biological sample. In a preferred embodiment, prior to hybridization, the nucleic acid material of the biological sample is amplified by the polymerase chain reaction.


The present invention provides a method and a communications system for the exchange of data between at least two users who are in contact with one another using a bus system. The data are included in messages which are transmitted by users over the bus system. A specifiable priority is assigned to each message. In order to achieve, in the normal case, a high probability of a short latency period (t) of a message to be transmitted, and to be able to guarantee, in the worst case, a maximum latency period (tmax), it is provided that the priorities assigned to the messages be dynamically modified during the operation of bus system. Preferably, the set of all messages is subdivided into equivalence classes, and a priority is assigned to each equivalence class. During the operation of the bus system, the priorities of the messages are dynamically modified within an equivalence class, and the priorities of the equivalence classes are dynamically modified.

The networking of control units, sensors and actuators using a communications system has increased greatly in recent years in motor vehicle manufacturing. In this context, of main concern is to achieve synergism effects by the distribution of functions to several control units. In this connection, the term distributed systems is used. Communications among the various users (e.g., control units, sensors and actuators) of the communications system take place increasingly via a bus system. The communications traffic on the bus system, access and reception mechanisms, as well as error handling are governed via a protocol.
In the motor vehicle field, the so-called Controller Area Network (CAN) protocol has been established. This is an event-driven protocol, i.e. protocol activities such as transmitting a message are initiated by events which have their origin outside the communications system. Unique access to the communications system is solved by a priority-based bit arbitration. The presupposition for this is that a unique priority is assigned to each message. The CAN protocol is very flexible, and adding additional users and messages is possible as long as free priorities (message identifiers) are still available.
In the case in which the average utilization of the bus system is relatively low, the probability that a user who wishes to transmit a message can indeed transmit its message at once or within a very short latency period, is very high. Since CAN bus systems are typically laid out in such a way that the average utilization of the bus system is low enough, this means that, as a rule, a very rapid access to the bus system is a given. However, the worst case scenario from the point of view of the communications system, namely that all users permanently wish to transmit, produces an infinitely long latency period, at least for those messages whose priority is relatively low. Therefore, a communications system having a CAN bus system is very well suited for the normal operation (very high probabilities for short latency periods), but less well suited for the worst case scenario (low, finite probabilities for very long latency periods).
Another protocol known from the related art is the so-called time-triggered protocol for Class C (TTP/C), which is a purely time-controlled, and thus a deterministic protocol in which redundancy is predefined in a fixed manner. All communications activities on the bus system are strictly periodic. Protocol activities such as transmitting a message are triggered only by progress in (global) time. Access to the communications system is based on the apportionment of time periods during which a user has an exclusive transmission right. The protocol is comparatively inflexible, and adding new users is only possible when the respective time periods were left free ahead of time. The probability that a user obtains access to the bus system when it wishes to do so is independent of the current utilization of the bus system. The latency period is only a function of the distance in time to the next transmitting time. Since the access request of a user is created outside the influence of the communications system (is asynchronous to it), the latency period between access request and authorization to transmit is equally distributed over the entire time interval between two sending times. This probability distribution is very much broader than in the CAN protocol, i.e. the probability of gaining access to the bus system after a very short time is clearly lower. For this, this distribution is localized, and the probability of very long latency periods is zero. The normal case and the worst case scenarios are the same, and, in contrast to the CAN protocol, an upper limit may be stated for the maximum latency period. With that, the TTP/C protocol is suitable for applications in which the worst case scenario has to be tolerated, even if along with that (slight) restrictions have to be accepted for the normal case. Some fields of application of the time-controlled TTP/C protocol are applications in safety-relevant fields (e.g. steer-by-wire, brake-by-wire or generally X-by-wire in motor vehicles) or applications in which the difference between the normal case and the worst case is not great.
Moreover, a possibility of designing a time-controlled protocol more flexibly is known from the prior art. In this case, the entire protocol operates in a time-controlled manner, but certain time ranges are reserved for an event-driven message transmission. Depending on how access within the event-driven time ranges is regulated, the treatments of the normal case and application-specific individual cases may be improved, without the loss of the fundamental ability to treat the worst case. The fundamental orientation of such a communications system is a time-controlled one, and the event control proceeds within the time control in the reserved time ranges. One bus system that works in this manner is the so-called byte flight bus, or the SI bus.
The present invention relates to both an event-driven and a deterministically controlled bus system. Bus systems are likewise included which represent a combination of an event-driven and a deterministic bus system.
It is an object of the present invention, in a data exchange via a bus system, to enable a rapid access to the bus system in the normal case and ensure a finite latency period for the messages to be transmitted in the worst case.

Method and communication system for data exchanging data between users of a bus system


Contrail detection aft of an aircraft is provided by a rear-looking ranging system carried by the aircraft. A randomly modulated laser beam is directed into a detection volume aft of the aircraft for scatter back toward a detector on the aircraft. Bistatic mounting of a laser and a telescope of the detector preclude sensing of the scattered beam forward of the detection volume. Processing of the detected scattered beam includes cross correlation and analysis to indicate the formation of the contrail aft of the aircraft.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to detecting condensation trails behind an aircraft, and more particularly to a rear-looking system and a method for distinguishing contrails from other atmospheric phenomena occurring behind an aircraft.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Jet engine exhaust condensation trails ("contrails") have been studied from a number of standpoints. For example, Robert G. Knollenberg has reported on various studies performed using an aircraft which was controlled so that its engines intentionally produced contrails. The aircraft was then flown into the contrails so that a forward-looking optical-array spectrometer could sense the distribution of ice crystals in the contrails. The spectrometer output was used to determine whether jet aircraft traffic increases or decreases water abundance at sub-tropopause levels. Because onboard technicians were available to detect contrail formation, and the aircraft could change course to fly through the visually-detectable contrails, the pilot in these studies was not faced with the problem of automatically (non-visually) and quickly determining whether the aircraft was causing contrails to be formed.
Through these and other studies, many aspects of contrails are known. However, for a given aircraft operating at a particular time, it is still difficult to control the engines so that they never produce contrails. Therefore, there is still a need to detect when an aircraft engine is producing a contrail, and in particular, to automatically detect such a contrail from the aircraft itself without relying on actual visual observations as in the experimental studies conducted by Knollenberg.
Systems which have been used for cloud and aerosol studies include random modulation continuous wave laser radar ("lidar"). While these systems have generally been ground-based and directed into the sky for studying clouds and aerosols, it was reported in Applied Optics, Vol. 22, No. 9, in May 1983, that such systems are suitable for airborne use. However, these and other lidar systems with which applicants are familiar (e.g., Applied Optics, January 1986, Vol. 25, No. 1; and Applied Optics, April 1990, Vol. 29, No. 10) have not been directed to distinguishing clouds from contrails, and the manner in which such systems would be mounted on the aircraft has not been specified. Further, to provide in an airborne system the altitude ranging features of a ground-based lidar system, the outgoing lidar signals of the system of the Applied Optics articles would be directed upwardly from the aircraft through the layers of the atmosphere. Based on the disclosed use of such lidar system, there would be no reason for the outgoing lidar signal to be directed other than upwardly from the aircraft.
Other atmospheric analysis systems, such as Knollenberg's noted above, have been forwardly directed, with probes being spaced to allow the contrail particles to flow through a sensing area as the plane flies through the contrail. Since the Knollenberg sensor must be in the contrail for measurement purposes, whereas the system disclosed in the Applied Optics articles is a device for making observations at long distance, the "fly through" system of Knollenberg does not suggest mounting the normally upwardly oriented lidar systems in a horizontal position to look forwardly for cloud observation.
Neither the Knollenberg nor the Applied Optics articles teach how a cloud observation device could distinguish a cloud from a contrail when the contrail is in the cloud. As to Knollenberg, it appears clear that Knollenberg would not even be faced with such problem because the goal of the studies was to analyze only the contrail. Thus, the pilot would not even fly the aircraft into a contrail which was in a cloud. As to the Applied Optics articles, even if one were to use a lidar in a forward-looking manner, there would be no assurance that differences in amplitude of return signals would be an indication of a contrail. For example, in FIG. 7 of the Applied Optics article, January, 1986, Vol.25, No. 1, aerosol and one cloud are shown having a higher amplitude return signal than a more distant cloud, indicating that such is determined by various factors.
From another aspect, if the Knollenberg or the Applied Optics airborne systems were used to look ahead through horizontally spaced cloud formations which contain contrails, the aircraft would move toward the contrail and the clouds, causing all of the returns from the clouds and the contrail to appear at ranges which vary with changes in the distance from the aircraft to the clouds and the contrail. Based on these articles, all targets which are looked at in the forward direction (as in Knollenberg) would become closer to the aircraft as the aircraft approaches them. The fact that all targets, such as clouds or contrails, would all become closer to the aircraft as it flies toward them would cause the location of all of the clouds (as indicated by the "range" scale in FIG. 7) to be shown uniformly closer to the aircraft. Thus, in this situation, there would not be any signal from the clouds or the contrail which always stays at the same range from the aircraft.
Neither the Knollenberg nor the Applied Optics articles discuss making changes in the direction of the output from the transmitter. Thus, these articles do not appreciate that there would be a difference between (1) a signal scattered back toward the aircraft from the front portion of a cloud behind the aircraft and (2) a signal scattered back toward the aircraft from the front portion of a contrail which forms behind the engines of the aircraft. In particular, the articles do not appreciate that the front portion of a contrail is generally located within the same range aft of the aircraft given stable atmospheric conditions. Therefore, the articles do not appreciate that a rearwardly directed signal which is scattered back toward the aircraft by the contrail will have a peak within that range.
These articles also do not appreciate any need to avoid detection of the contrail detecting system itself. Further, one goal of the lidars disclosed in the Applied Optics articles is to be able to detect phenomena at a range of many kilometers from the detector. Therefore, the 1986 Applied Optics article discloses that the instrument operates at 780 nm to provide weak absorption by water vapor, and thus provide an ability to obtain data from long range.
Reducing false alarms has also been a problem in airborne systems. Ward U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,531 for a Dead Reckoning Optoelectronic Intelligent Docking System granted May 30, 1989, is directed to avoiding false alarms in a satellite docking system. False alarms are avoided by continuing a target acquisition scan until a predetermined number of consecutive returns are detected.

Rear-looking apparatus and method for detecting contrails


A method for clustering together network IP addresses is disclosed. A number of IP addresses are received and processed to determine which IP addresses share a longest prefix matching. The longest prefix matching process is performed according to radix encoded trie which facilitates on-line clustering of the IP addresses. Client and/or server IP addresses may be clustered in accordance with the teachings herein.

This invention relates to a method of grouping or clustering clients, servers and/or other entities within a network to optimize and expedite the flow, transfer, redirection and/or redistribution of data and information within the network and more particularly, to a method for fast network aware or on-line clustering which uses a radix-encoded trie process to perform longest prefix matching on one or more client and/or server network IP addresses in order to properly cluster the clients and/or server into proper clusters.
Servers, such as proxy servers, cache servers, content distribution servers, mirror servers and other related servers are typically used to speed the access of data and reduce response time for network client requests in a network, such as the World Wide Web. Generally, these network clients issue requests for information, such as in the form of a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) requests for some information, such as one or more Web pages. These requests are then handled directly or indirectly by these servers, such as proxy servers, caches servers, content distribution servers and mirror servers, to hopefully expedite the accessing and transfer of the requested information.
Generally, these servers either act as intermediaries or as transfer or redirection points for client requests in the network. For example, in operation, a proxy server receives a request for an Internet service (such as a Web page request) from a user. If the request passes filtering requirements, the proxy server looks in its local cache of previously downloaded Web pages. If the server finds the page, the page is returned to the user without needing to forward the request to, for example, a World Wide Web server on the Internet. If the page is not in the cache, the proxy server, acting as a client on behalf of the user, requests the page from the server out on the Internet. When the page is returned, the proxy server relates it to the original request and forwards it on to the client user.
Strategically designing placement of proxies in the network can benefit greatly from clustering network client users who are from the same network together so that the proxy server can adequately and efficiently serve these respective client clusters. Mis-characterizing clients as being in the same network may result in a proxy server being placed such that it impracticably and inefficiently serves these clients resulting in degraded performances in the network.
In the case of, for example, a cache or a content distribution server, the user's HTTP request at an originating server is typically re-routed away from the originating server and on to a cache server "closer" to the user. Generally, the cache server determines what content in the request exists in the cache, serves that content, and retrieves any non-cached content from the originating server. Any new content may also be cached locally in the cache server.
Similar to the strategic placement of proxies, the placement of cache servers, content distribution "boxes" or servers and related mirror servers can be best made by accurately clustering clients together in the network. Performances in the network may thus be improved by accurately and properly clustering multiple network clients together in related client clusters. The servers, whether they are cache servers, content distribution servers and/or mirror servers can then efficiently service these client clusters.
Knowledge of these network clusters, such as identifying certain "busy" clusters from which a certain level of network traffic originates can be used in a variety of different applications. For example, a busy Web site may want to provide tailored responses and/or Quality of Service differentiation based on the origin of requests to the Web site. Web sites and/or server may also be able to dynamically perform automatic user request re-direction where needed in the network based on clustering information. However, such information needs to captured in an efficient, expedited and real-time basis without any undue lag time which may be experienced by the Web site requester.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a method for accurately clustering clients, servers and other entities within a network together to guide placement of proxies, cache servers, content distribution servers and mirror servers within the network. It would also be desirable to have a method for fast on-line clustering which may be used in applications such as content distribution, proxy positioning, server replication and network management.

Method for fast network-aware clustering


A method for treating a site in a human body to inhibit abnormal proliferation of tissue at the site includes introducing into the body at the site a metal surface which generally conforms in shape to the shape of tissue to be treated at the site. Tissue at the site is then irradiated with ionizing radiation directed onto the metal surface from a point external to the surface so as to obtain locally enhanced radiation therapy by an amplification of the radiation dosage delivered to tissue adjacent to the metal surface as a result of backscattered radiation from the metal surface. Irradiating the tissue is performed by directing a beam of radiation with an energy content selected to have a value in a range from about 10 KeV to about 400 KeV, preferably about 40 KeV, from a point external to the body toward the metal surface and onto the tissue to be treated. The metal surface, which may be solid or composed of spaced apart particles, is selected to incorporate a metal or metal ions having an atomic number greater than 20 and of at least about 40. A synergistic effect may be achieved by employing at least one of a cytostatic drug therapy and a genetically based therapy to treat the tumor, in combination with the locally enhanced radiation therapy.

The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for delivering effective dosages of radiation therapy to selected sites in the body to inhibit proliferation of tissue, and particularly to selective localized enhancement of radiation dosage using low level sources.
As the average age of the population of the industrialized countries increases, and with it, the prolongation of exposure to environmental hazards, a corresponding increase is seen in the risk of cancer, and in the number of people with neoplasias and tumors. Radiation therapies which have heretofore been applied to treat tumors have had little differential effect. That is, to the extent that the dosage of radiation is effective to destroy or at least alter the growth rate of the tumor, it is also effective to place considerable stress and injury upon surrounding healthy or non-diseased tissue.
Interventional cardiology and interventional angiology have enjoyed increasing popularity in recent years for treating various vascular and duct disorders involving lesions. The numbers of implantations of prostheses for such treatment, and new applications that are under consideration, are growing rapidly with time, but new problems have arisen as well. For example, in treating carotid artery stenosis by a minimally invasive interventional procedure which removes or reduces the thickness of plaque on the inner lining of the vessel, the initial success of opening the lumen is often followed within only weeks by restenosis which is attributable to a neointimal hyperplasia reaction to the original procedure. This occurs in a significant percentage of the population of patients subjected to such a procedure, which appears to range from 20% to 35%, depending on the lesion type and length, the vessel size, and underlying basic conditions of the patient, such as diabetes mellitus.
Among solutions that have been proposed to inhibit, alleviate or prevent restenosis are the use of a radioactive stent which would serve to lessen or eliminate the healing response of hyperplasia, and/or coating of the stent with a biodegradable carrier which would disintegrate over time when the stent is deployed in a blood vessel, to release anti-proliferative substances incorporated therein. These procedures, however, would necessarily be used for all angioplasty patients because it cannot presently be determined which patients will be among the approximately 20% to 35% who will suffer restenosis as a result of proliferation of tissue in the healing response. Thus, about 65% to 80% of angioplasty patients who receive a radioactive stent, for example, would not have actually developed a restenosis, and would not have had to be subjected to treatment for an adverse reaction to the procedure.
It is a principal aim of the present invention to provide a method and means of treating angioplasty patients and other patients who are subjected to tissue trauma in a body vessel, duct, tract or other passageway in the body sought to be relieved from an obstruction, that actually leads to an acute restenosis, without need to perform a subsequent or even concurrent prophylactic and possibly injurious treatment on every patient who receives an angioplasty or related procedure, a large percentage of which will not experience the restenosis.
Additionally, it has been found that especially with the increasing number of prosthetic implants being performed in surgery, orthopedics and dental medicine, a certain percentage of the patients will suffer from an enhanced foreign body reaction. For example, when a hip prosthesis is implanted the patient may experience a reaction of the surrounding tissue which can compromise the healing process and the firmness or retention of the implant. This same problem is encountered in a measurable percentage of patients who receive dental and other surgical implants.
Accordingly, a related aim of the invention is to provide a localized form of treatment that allows such foreign body reaction to be selectively addressed in only those patients who suffer the problem, and to deliver the treatment in a way that is effective without any significant potential for harm to adjoining or nearby tissue that may be exposed to the treatment.
In efforts to treat localized solid tumors in the body, with an ever-increasing number of procedures owing to an increasing rate of tumors in the bronchial system and in the abdominal intestines, surgical removal may not be a viable option especially if the malignancy has metastasized and spread to other portions of the body. In many instances, the tumor may cause blockage of a duct or passage. A stent may be implanted to keep the lumen open, such as in the lumen of a bronchial passage or of a duct in the gall bladder, but experience has shown that tumor growth can again cause the lumen to become occluded. A localized action to slow or inhibit tumor growth would be desirable to prevent or reduce such occlusion.
It is known that the capacity to inhibit solid tumor growth and even destroy the tumor, by means of ionizing radiation treatment, depends on the types of cells involved and their sensitivity to radiation. Each individual tissue has its own sensitivity to radiation. Exposure of the skin to mild radiation can produce a skin burn, whereas exposure to larger doses can produce a skin necrosis. In the case of treatment of a tumor in the body, it is desirable to use a higher level of radiation, sufficient to produce a radiation dose at or near the tumor site in a range upward of 20 Gray (Gy). Delivery of a dosage in the range from about 20 to 200 Gy to the tumor site can be effective to induce necroses or apoptosis in the tumor and inhibit further growth, but typically the externally generated radiation (usually a beam of X-rays or accelerated electrons using a collimator, rather than a mass of radioactive material as had been the technique in the earliest treatment) is directed toward a tumor deep below the skin. Only rarely is the tumor at or directly beneath the skin, the much more frequent situation being that considerable healthy tissue lies between the skin and the tumor site. To deliver a dose of radiation adequate to have a desired effect on the tumor (albeit that it may not be completely successful, even over several sessions of the radiation treatment) it is necessary to accept the likelihood that intervening healthy tissue may be severely harmed by the impinging radiation. For example, in the case of liver carcinoma or a metastasis in the liver that requires treatment, it is necessary to penetrate not only the skin, fatty tissue and bowel that overlie the site of the metastasis with the radiation, but also the normal and still functional liver tissue in its path.
It is therefore another important aim of the present invention to provide a method and means for locally enhancing the therapeutic effects of radiation treatment of relatively deep body tumors, in a way that will allow effective treatment of the tumor with considerably lower doses of radiation than would otherwise be required, so that non-diseased tissue is subjected to substantially less harmful effect.
Still another important objective of the invention is to utilize locally enhanced radiation therapy to make a tumor more susceptible to attack and eradication by other forms of tumor treatment, such as cytostatic therapy, chemotherapy, genetically engineered drug therapy, or cancer gene therapy. In the latter treatment as proposed, genes which have been altered to render them damaged or defective as a possible result of cigarette smoking, excessive exposure to sunlight or toxic chemicals, for example, are repaired or replaced by inserting other genes carried by modified viruses into the cancer cells.

Method and apparatus for differential energy application for local dose enhancement of ionizing radiation