A dual chamber closure and dual closure chamber package including dual chambers which have outlets and a common wall between the outlets. The closure comprises a first portion that is snapped into position on the outlets and a second portion hinged to the first portion and providing a cover closing the outlets. Each outlet has a top surface with an annular groove. The second portion of the closure includes complementary annular beads which engage the grooves and provide a seal. The second portion of the closure preferably includes an inner skirt that surrounds and engages an axial wall on the first portion. The second portion further includes an outer skirt that engages a shoulder on the first portion of the closure. Each outlet further includes an annular wall having an annular bead on the external surface thereof which is engaged by snap action with an internal annular bead on the annular wall of the first portion of the closure. In one form, the dual chamber package comprises a container formed by two substantially identical plastic tubes with D-shaped outlets. In another form, the container has rectangular outlets and may include two separate containers. In another form, the container is a single plastic container with two chambers and two outlets from the chambers.

In dispensing of various products, it has been common to have dual chamber packages which may consist of side-by-side plastic containers, plastic tubes, or a plastic container having dual chambers. In order to provide closures for such packages, it has been proposed to utilize separate threaded closures for each chamber or closures with adapters.
It has heretofore been suggested that two flexible tubes can be brought together to form a dual flexible tube package, as shown for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,782,600, 4,687,663, 5,052,590, 5,244,120, 5,269,441 and 5,318,203.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,203, there is disclosed the concept of utilizing elongated hollow flexible tubes, each of which has an upper end and lower end wherein the upper end is D-shaped in cross section. The upper ends of the tubes are attached to a coupling which is joined to a dispensing base. The coupling has two exit orifices, one for each tube. The dispensing base includes two nozzles which are inserted into the two orifices.
In copending application Ser. No. 08/707,564, filed Sep. 4, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,391 having a common assignee with the present application, the dual chamber flexible tube dispensing package comprises two substantially identical tubes that are mirror images of one another. Each tube includes a rigid half finish, a rigid half shoulder and a flexible tubular body extending from the shoulder. The cross sections of the half finish, half shoulder and body of each tube are D-shaped such that each has a flat portion and all the flat portions are in a single plane. The two tubes have the flat portions in abutting relation to one another such that the dual tube package has a finished defined by the two half finishes, a shoulder defined by the two half shoulders and a dual chamber body defined by the two flexible tube bodies. The threads on the half finishes are located thereon such that when the two tubes are brought into abutting relation a continuous thread is formed on the finish. The resultant dual chamber flexible tube packages are then filled with the respective viscous materials and the open ends are sealed to complete the package. In another form of dual chamber dispensing package, each tube has a plurality of vertically spaced integral ribs which extend transversely. The ribs on one tubes are staggered relative to the ribs on the other tube so that when the tubes are brought into engagement, the ribs on one tube engage the ribs on the tube and the first portions of the shoulders are in abutment. Each rib is convex outwardly when viewed in transverse cross section.
Each tube of the dual chamber flexible tube dispensing packages is formed by providing a plastic parison, blow molding each parison to form a container having rigid half finish, a rigid half shoulder adjacent the finish and a flexible body extending from the shoulder to a rigid closed lower end. The rigid closed end of each container is cut-off to produce the two tubes. The flat portions of the two tubes are then brought into abutting relationship such that when the flat walls of the two tubes are in abutting relation, the thread on the half finish on one tube forms a continuous thread with the thread of the half finish on the other tube. This results in the dual chamber flexible tube dispensing package. The overall cross sectional configurations of the shoulder and flexible body are generally oval with the major axis at ninety degrees to the abutting flat portions.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,020,694, 5,289,949, 5,318,203, 5,332,124 and 5,335,827 there are disclosed dual dispensing packages wherein a pump type package has a dual dispensing nozzle with a hinged closure that seals by plug like seals.
Among the objectives of the invention are to provide a closure that is readily applied to form a dual dispensing package and provides access to the two chambers by single motion of opening the closure; wherein the closure provides a seal without the need for resilient or plug seals; wherein the closure can be readily applied by a snap action; a dual chamber flexible tube dispensing packages which includes a closure that can be snapped in position; which package includes integral seals; and which package includes a hinged cap and integral seals.
In accordance with the invention, the dual chamber package comprises dual chambers which have outlets and a common wall between the outlets. The closure comprises a first portion that is snapped into position on the outlets and a second portion hinged to the first portion and providing a cover closing the outlets. Each outlet has a top surface with an annular groove. The second portion of the closure includes complementary annular beads which engage the grooves and provide a seal. The second portion of the closure preferably includes an inner skirt that surrounds and engages an axial wall on the first portion. The second portion further includes an outer skirt that engages a shoulder on the first portion of the closure. Each outlet further includes an annular wall having an annular bead on the external surface thereof which is engaged by snap action with an internal annular bead on the annular wall of the first portion of the closure.
In accordance with the invention, the dual chamber flexible tube dispensing package comprises two substantially identical tubes that are mirror images of one another, except for the finishes. Each tube includes a rigid rectangular finish, a rigid half shoulder and a flexible tubular body extending from the shoulder. The cross sections of the half shoulder and body of each tube are D-shaped such that each has a flat portion and all the flat portions are in a single plane. The two tubes have the flat portions in abutting relation to one another such that the dual tube package has a finish defined by the two rectangular finishes, a shoulder defined by the two half shoulders and a dual chamber body defined by the two flexible tube bodies. A closure is provided that has a first portion which is telescoped over the two abutting rectangular finishes and a second portion hinged to the first portion. Integral seals are provided between the first portion and the rectangular finishes and integral seals are provided between the second portion and the first portion. The resultant dual chamber flexible tube packages are then filled with respective viscous materials and the open ends are sealed to complete the package.

Hinged closure for a dual chamber dispensing package


A method for processing image data corresponding to temporally successive motions of an object, the method including adjusting a range of a first occlusion region which is estimated according to whether position changes occur in sub-blocks forming temporally successive first and second frames among image frames which display the motions of the object, by using Motion Vectors (MVs) mapped to the sub-blocks and detecting a second occlusion region of a third frame which displays the object that moves between the first frame and the second frame, by using the adjusted range of the first occlusion region.

1. Field
Methods and apparatuses consistent with exemplary embodiments generally relate to a technique for processing images corresponding to temporally successive motions of an object, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for detecting an occlusion region in generation of an interpolation image frame which compensates for a motion of the object between two successive image frames.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, in image processing on a device for displaying image frames, frame rates are converted through conversion into another format. This frame rate conversion process inserts or removes additional frames between existing frames without changing a total time length of the existing frames. If an object moves between temporally successive image frames, the object may newly appear on a background or may disappear behind the background. Consequently, a current frame which displays the motion result of the object may display regions which have not been displayed on the previous frame, that is, the newly appearing or disappearing region (hereinafter, 'an occlusion region'). Hence, research has been carried out on methods for accurately detecting an occlusion region generated due to a motion of an object between two temporally successive image frames.

Method and apparatus for processing image data corresponding to temporally successive motions of object


A laser level with adjustable laser projection line comprises a support bracket, a housing, a switch, a laser generator which project a fanned laser beam to the surface of the work piece to form a line, and wherein a rotating mechanism is coupled to rotate the laser generator thereby causing rotation of the line. There is also a positioning device to position the laser level on an arbitrary surface.

There are many kinds of laser alignment devices, which project laser beams by laser generators to mark lines. One such device is designed by U.S. Tool Co. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2002/0178596A1), which can project a line of fixed orientation. Another such device is marketed by U.S. CTB/Berger, which can project a horizontal line and a plumb line decussate to each other on walls perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the laser. The former can merely project a line parallel to the baseplane of its pedestal; the latter can form two lines vertical with each other, but there is a disadvantage that two laser generators are needed, and as the switch is turned on, required or not, the two laser generators project beams simultaneously, thereby causing much more power consumption.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Laser level with adjustable laser projection line


A hair tie to fasten locks of hair into pony tails, braids or dred locks. The hair tie comprises a generally planar, elongated material containing corresponding fastening surfaces at each end. The hair tie encircles the lock of hair in a belt-like fashion and fastens upon itself. The hair tie is capable of tying different amounts of hair by varying the positions the ends of the hair tie engage. Additionally, the hair tie incorporates an elastic loop and a friction pad to ensure the hair tie securely attaches and remains in position on the lock of hair. Ornamentation, such as jewelry, beads and ribbon, printing and logos may decorate the hair tie, allowing individuals to decorate their hair as well as fasten it.

Devices to fasten locks of hair in a pony tail, braids or dred locks are generally well known, but suffer from a number of drawbacks. Many hair ties have as their predominate tying feature some sort of elastic band that requires the user to loop and twist about a lock of hair. These hair ties are sometimes difficult to apply. In addition, some of the elastic band hair ties on the market have numerous small metal pieces on the elastic loop, which can pull out or damage the hair. Other hair ties require knots that must be tied by the user in order to properly secure the hair in a pony tail. Some are difficult to tie to the hair, and sometimes the user may need assistance from a second person to help attach the hair tie. In addition, certain hair ties are unreliable in that they fail to remain in place on the pony tail. This drawback requires the wearer to adjust the hair tie intermittently. Some hair ties also provide limited flexibility to adjust and allow the user to choose different amounts of hair that may be fastened by a single hair tie at any one time. Furthermore, certain hair ties do not permit the hair tie to be decorated in a way that enhances the appearance of the wearer.


A time-of-flight (ToF) image sensor system includes a pixel array, where each pixel of the pixel array is configured to receive a reflected modulated light signal and to demodulate the reflected modulated light signal to generate an electrical signal; a plurality of analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), where each ADC is coupled to at least one assigned pixel of the pixel array and is configured to convert a corresponding electrical signal generated by the at least one assigned pixel into an actual pixel value; and a binning circuit coupled to the plurality of ADCs and configured to generate at least one interpolated pixel, where the binning circuit is configured to generate each of the at least one interpolated pixel based on actual pixel values corresponding to a different pair of adjacent pixels of the pixel array, each of the at least one interpolated pixel having a virtual pixel value.

Time-of-Flight (ToF) cameras deliver a point cloud with distance information in every pixel and addresses multiple applications in the consumer, industrial, and automotive markets. ToF cameras typically feature large pixels, which limits the achievable practical resolution. Many applications are requesting increased resolution from the ToF image sensors, combined with increased requirements towards the data robustness and smaller form factor. Those requirements are contradictory and require compromise.
Therefore, an improved ToF image sensor having increased resolution and/or reduced noise may be desirable.

Time-of-flight image sensor resolution enhancement and increased data robustness using a binning module


A clip is used with a pilaster assembly, where the clip is snap-fit into the slots of the pilaster, so that the clip is retained when inserted into the slots. This provides the advantage that the clips tend not to fall out due to bumps or vibrations such as those that can occur, for example, during transport of a cabinet having the pilasters and clips.

It is known in a wide variety of applications to use a vertical pilaster strip having a plurality of slots in combination with removable clips that have fingers that engage the slots. Pilaster and clip arrangements are well known, for example, for supporting shelves in a cantilevered fashion from a wall, so that the clip forms an extended cantilevered elongated bracket to support the entire shelf. In other situations where the shelf is being suspended on multiple sides, for example, in the case of a box-shaped cabinet, it has been known to use shorter clips that extend horizontally outward a small distance from the pilaster strips, on two or three sides of the shelf to support the shelf.
The pilaster strips are often formed as an elongated U-shaped ban that provides a vertical strip-type surface having slots evenly spaced along its length. The clips typically have two or more fingers spaced with the same spacing as the slots. The fingers can be inserted into the slots, and then slid downwardly by a small distance so that they interlock with the slots and will not pull out from the slots unless the clip is raised again. Once the clip has been slid down into the slots, the clip provides a secure mounting point. Often times, the clip has a top resting surface onto which a shelf or other item can be supported.
The prior art clips have been known to have a completely planar configuration, with a thickness that is slightly less than the width of the slots. This permits the fingers to be inserted into the slots, with some sideways clearance, and then be slid down into the supporting position. The clips then bear the weight of the shelf or other item, and this tends to hold the clips in place once the clips and the shelf or other item have been installed in this way.
Pilaster and clip arrangements are often used in various cabinets such as furniture or other storage cabinets. For example, pilaster and clip arrangements are used in the interior of environmentally controlled cabinets, such as for example refrigerated cabinets.
In some situations, it is desirable to insert the clips into the slots of a pilaster prior to a transport of the cabinet. For example, in the case of refrigerators, it is frequent that the refrigerator will be shipped via air, truck, or railroad, with the pilasters pre-installed on the cabinet, and the clips and shelves placed inside the cabinet. Frequently for transport the shelves may be resting on the clips. In other transport situations, the clips may be simply clipped into the pilasters by themselves so that they can be conveniently transported and located by the user when the refrigerator reaches the destination. In this circumstance the shelves may be resting in the bottom of the cabinet, and are not supported by the clips.
It has been found that in this situation where the clips are merely resting in the pilaster slots, but are not supporting any other weight, the clips, which are themselves relatively light, can be dislodged by vibrations or bumps during transit. That is, vibrations or bumps can cause the clips, which are relatively loosely fit in the slots when they are not supporting any other weight, to bounce or jiggle vertically enough so that they fall out of the slots. This is undesirable, because the clips then fall to the bottom of the enclosure, and may become lost or misplaced or at least had to locate at some point during unpacking at the destination. Also, even if the clips are supporting the shelf, vibration can cause the clips to disengage, and then both the shelf and clips can fall to the bottom of the cabinet, damaging the shelf.
One remedy for this problem has been to add a tie wrap that ties around a part of the clip and around a part of the shelf, e.g. a side rail of a wire-type shelf. The tie wrap can be a conventional plastic tie. However, this adds the inconvenience of a separate component.
In view of the foregoing, it is apparent that it would be desirable to have a system and method for retaining clips such as shelf clips in the pilaster slots so they are retained in place during vibration. It would also be desirable to provide this clip retaining effect without the need for additional parts or pieces, while reducing the expense associated with manufacture of the arrangement, and also while providing an arrangement that is easy to insert and remove.

Support clip and pilaster apparatus and method


A method of operating a Master gNodeB (MgNB) in a radio access network RAN is disclosed. An indication of a user plane security policy is received from a core network node, wherein the user plane security policy requires user plane integrity protection for a protocol data unit PDU session. Responsive to the user plane security policy requiring user plane integrity protection for the PDU session and responsive to determining that a secondary base station supporting the user plane security policy requiring user plane integrity protection is unavailable, a data radio bearer DRB of the PDU session is established directly between the MgNB and a user equipment UE. Related MgNBs are also discussed.

3GPP is currently developing the standards for fifth generation 5G (also known as Next Generation or NG) Systems. It is expected that 5G will support many new scenarios and use cases and will be an enabler for the Internet of Things IoT. It is expected that NG systems will provide connectivity to a wide range of new devices such as sensors, smart wearables, vehicles, machines, etc. Flexibility may thus be a key property in NG Systems. This is reflected in the security requirement for network access that mandate the support of alternative authentication methods and different types of credentials than the usual Authentication and Key Agreement AKA credentials pre-provisioned by the operator and securely stored in the Universal Integrated Circuit Card UICC. This would allow factory owners or enterprises to leverage their own identity and credential management systems for authentication and access network security.
The 3GPP architecture working group (SA2) has finalized the architecture of 5G Systems illustrated below in FIG. 1 from TS 23.501 [1]. FIG. 1 illustrates a non-roaming 5G System Architecture in reference point representation.
Going back one generation, a feature called Dual Connectivity (DC) was introduced in Long Term Evolution LTE in order to boost the performance of the system allowing it to leverage base stations (which are called eNBs in LTE) with a non-ideal backhaul. This feature is realized by a base station endorsing the role of a Master Node (MN) connected to another base station endorsing the role of a Secondary Node (SN) and allowing the MN to utilize the resources of the SN by offloading data radio bearers to the SN.
In the context of 5G, a similar feature called Enhanced Dual Connectivity was introduced in LTE as described in option 3/3a in FIG. 2B below in order to enable usage of the New Radio (NR) which is the 5G radio technology. In this feature the MN is an enhanced eNB and the SN is a gNB (which is a base station providing NR radio access).
This feature called Dual Connectivity DC will be supported, with some enhancements, in 5G systems as well. The network architecture options 4/4a and 7/a for Dual Connectivity in 5G systems involving multiple radio access technology (RAT) and a 5G core network (CN) are shown in FIGS. 2C and 2E. FIGS. 2A-E illustrate architecture options for Dual Connectivity DC in 5G systems including options 4/4a and 7/7a.
As a background on Option 3/3a of FIG. 2B, E-UTRAN supports Multi-RAT-Dual Connectivity via E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) since Release 15, in which a UE is connected to one eNB that acts as a MN and one en-gNB that acts as an SN. The eNB is connected to the EPC via the S1 interface and to the en-gNB via the X2 interface. The en-gNB might also be connected to the EPC via the S1-U interface and to other en-gNBs via the X2-U interface. User Plane UP integrity protection is not supported in eNB acting as Master Node in Enhanced Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) in LTE and not in an en-gNB acting as a Secondary Node in Enhanced Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) in LTE. The EN-DC architecture is illustrated in FIG. 3.
In a 5G system, the Multi-RAT (Multiple Radio Access Technology) Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) is a generalization of the Intra-E-UTRA Dual Connectivity (DC) described above and in 36.300 [2], where a multiple Rx/Tx UE may be configured to utilize resources provided by two different nodes connected via non-ideal backhaul, one providing E-UTRA access and the other one providing NR access. One node acts as the MN and the other as the SN. The MN and SN are connected via a network interface and at least the MN is connected to the core network. The MN could be either a gNB or an ng-eNB. The SN could be either a gNB or an ng-eNB.
FIG. 4 illustrates the New RAN architecture and the architecture options 4/4a and 7/a for Dual Connectivity in 5G systems.
In MR-DC, the UE has a single Radio Resource Control RRC state, based on the MN RRC and a single C-plane CP connection towards the Core Network. FIGS. 5A-B illustrate the Control plane architecture for MR-DC. Each radio node has its own RRC entity (E-UTRA version if the node is an ng-eNB or NR version if the node is a gNB) which can generate RRC PDUs to be sent to the UE. More particularly, FIG. 5A illustrates a control plane architecture for EN-DC, and FIG. 5B illustrates a control plane architecture for MR-DC with 5GC (5G Core Network).
Radio Resource Control RRC Protocol Data Units PDUs generated by the SN can be transported via the MN to the UE. The MN always sends the initial SN RRC configuration via MCG SRB (SRB1), but subsequent reconfigurations may be transported via MN or SN. When transporting an RRC Protocol Data Unit PDU from the SN, the MN does not modify the UE configuration provided by the SN.
The 3GPP security group (SA3) is currently finalizing the security specification for the 5G Systems in TS 33.501 [1]. New security features in 5G Systems include the introduction of the integrity protection of the User Plane (UP) and the support for a separate mechanism for the negotiation of the UP security. By negotiation, it is meant the procedure used to determine whether and which of integrity or confidentiality should be activated for a UP session.
By comparison to LTE, there may be no integrity protection for UP and the negotiation of UP confidentiality may be integrated in the activation of the security for the Control Plane (CP) in the Access Stratum (AS) between the eNB and the UE. As described in TS 33.401 [3], the security for the AS CP is activated by a run of the AS Security Mode Command (SMC) procedure which allows the selection of the cryptographic algorithms and the activation of the security for the RRC protocol. Observe that a lower level protocol may actually provide the security, namely the Packet Data Convergence Protocol PDCP protocol in the AS CP protocol stack. Furthermore, since integrity protection of UP is not supported in LTE and confidentiality protection is mandatory, the confidentiality algorithm selected during the AS SMC mentioned above is automatically used for the protection of the UP traffic.
A new feature for the negotiation of UP security in the 5G System may allow the RAN node to receive a UP security policy from the Core Network (CN) during the Packet Data Unit (PDU) Session establishment procedure. This policy is applicable on a PDU Session level. That is, RAN applies the UP security, received from the CN, to all the Data Radio Bearers (DRBs) serving the PDU Session in question. Furthermore, this UP Security policy includes indications on whether to activate either integrity protection or confidentiality protection or both.
This kind of flexibility may be required in the 5G System which is expected to provide connectivity for various types of services and devices. For IoT services, integrity protection may be sufficient while for the usual voice and broadband services, as in LTE, confidentiality protection may also be required. It may thus be difficult to provide dual connectivity using base station nodes having different capabilities (e.g., a 5G node and an LTE node).

Master gNodeBs and method of operating master gNodeB


This invention relates to agricultural compositions that find particular use as a fungicide composition. The fungicide composition can include one or more fatty acids and one or more organic acids different from the fatty acid. The organic acid can but need not exhibit any fungicidal activity; however, when combined with a fatty acid, the organic acid functions as a potent synergist for the fatty acid as a fungicide. Additionally, the fungicide composition can include other components such as emulsifiers, adjuvants, surfactants and diluents. The fungicide composition significantly reduces or prevents the fungal infection of cash crops including vegetables, fruits, berries, seeds, grains and at higher application rates, can also be used as a harvest aid or desiccant for harvested crops such as potatoes.

The present invention relates to compositions and methods for treating plants and agricultural products.
Fungus can often attack and destroy crops and, if not kill them, can induce distress in the crops so that they succumb to other diseases and/or significantly lower crop yield. Furthermore, agricultural products can be particularly susceptible to damage by fungus after the products are harvested. Many of the products are stored for extended periods of time before they reach the consumer or are used by the consumer. The fungus can make the harvested agricultural products inedible or otherwise unusable. This can be particularly problematic since a significant amount of effort and money has gone into producing and harvesting the agricultural products; all of this can be lost before the products reach the consumer.
Consequently, it is not surprising that there are many fungicide compositions currently on the market. However, there is a growing concern that some of these compositions, one or more of their components, and/or metabolites eventually find their way into the food sources for animals, including humans. Unfortunately, many fungicides and/or their byproducts are moderately and even extremely toxic. Further, some fungicides are suspected or known carcinogens. Despite this fact, many fungicides continue to be used and are needed to protect cash crops. It is important to note that some fungi are themselves extremely toxic or produce toxic components. For example, aflatoxins belong to a class of fungal metabolites and are known to occur naturally in many products including peanuts, cottonseed, corn, peppers, etc. Many aflatoxins are extremely toxic and some are listed as known carcinogens. Consequently, fungicides are needed to protect and preserve agricultural products and ensure the public's health.
Consequently, with increased demand and necessity for agricultural products to feed and clothe the world population, and with the risks associated with eating and using diseased products, there is an increased need in the field for advancements. These advancements include improved methods and compositions for treating plants, particularly cash crops and products derived from the plants. The present invention is such an advancement and provides a wide variety of benefits and advantages.


A catheter exchange tool for use in vascular dilitation procedures comprising a tool couplable between a balloon catheter and a balloon guidewire. The tool is operated by a physician to exert a longitudinal force on the balloon catheter and, in response to the exertion of the force on the catheter, simultaneously exert an equal and opposite force on the balloon guidewire.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of apparatus for use in vascular dilitation procedures such as angioplasty. The invention relates more specifically to a small, hand-held apparatus for simplifying and facilitating exchange of balloon catheters on a balloon guidewire used in an angioplasty procedure.
2. Background Art
As an example, cardiac catheterization procedures are well known for diagnosis and therapy relating to lesions in the cardiovascular system. One such procedure is angioplasty, for eliminating or ameliorating vascular plaque blockage or constriction in vessels which carry the heart's blood supply. In an angioplasty procedure, an expandable balloon is introduced into the patient's arterial system and advanced until it is positioned in the region of the blockage or constriction. Once so positioned, the balloon is expanded by filling it with a liquid. In successful procedures, the expandable balloon presses outwardly against the walls of the artery and expands the artery to a degree to which the artery is either partially or totally re-opened to blood flow.
A typical angioplasty procedure, and components used in practicing the procedure, are now described.
Prior to initiating the angioplasty procedure, a guiding catheter is placed typically via the femoral artery into the aorta and its tip is advanced to the entrance of the coronary arteries which branch from the aorta. This entrance into the coronary arteries is called the "osteum". Once placed, the guiding catheter acts as a conduit to access the coronary arteries with a balloon guidewire and balloon catheter. The guiding catheter is a portion of plastic tubing having a length of about 95 centimeters, an inside diameter of about 0.08 inches, and an outside diameter of about 2.5 millimeters.
The physician threads a balloon catheter onto a balloon guidewire. This operation takes place external to the patient.
The balloon guidewire is a piece of stainless steel and p1atinum wire, approximately 175 centimeters in length, and about 0.010-0.018 inches in diameter. The soft distal tip of the guidewire can be shaped to form a "J" configuration. This "J" shape allows the physician to steer the wire by twisting the proximal extremity of the wire while advancing or retracting the wire.
The balloon catheter is an elongated flexible plastic member defining two longitudinal passages and having a balloon located near its distal end. One longitudinal passage defines a sleeve through which the balloon guidewire can be passed. The other longitudinal passage defines a conduit communicating with the interior of the balloon and through which inflation fluid can be injected to inflate the balloon. The passage defining the sleeve for accommodating a guidewire is often called the "guidewire lumen". The passage defining the conduit for inflation fluid is often called the "inflation lumen".
Among the types of balloon catheters is one of a type in which the two longitudinal passages are generally side by side and parallel. In another type of balloon catheter, the two longitudinal passages are co-axial. In this latter type, the balloon guidewire is passed down the inner passage and the inflation fluid is injected into the balloon via the outer passage.
Balloon catheters, as well as associated apparatus and method for use in angioplasty, are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,548, issued on Aug. 20, 1991, to Yock, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,129, issued on Aug. 8, 1988. Each of these issued U.S. patents is hereby expressly incorporated by reference.
The physician passes the balloon guidewire through the appropriate one of the longitudinal passages in the balloon catheter, leaving a portion of the balloon guidewire extending from the distal end of the balloon catheter and also a portion extending from its proximal end.
This assembly is then inserted into the proximal end of the guiding catheter, distal end first. The assembly is inserted until the balloon which is attached near the distal end of the balloon catheter is near the distal end of the guiding catheter. At this point, the physician, while maintaining the balloon catheter stationary, pushes on the balloon guidewire to advance it outwardly from the distal end of the guiding catheter.
The balloon guidewire can be steered by appropriate twisting movement by the physician.
The physician steers the balloon guidewire into the chosen one of the coronary arteries, and advances it until it reaches a location of constriction which the physician desires to re-open. Carefully, the physician eases the balloon guidewire through the region of restriction until a portion of the balloon guidewire is beyond the constriction, relative to the guiding catheter.
With the balloon guidewire held stationary, the physician then advances the balloon catheter. The distal end of the balloon catheter, as it is advanced, will, of course, follow the balloon guidewire which is already in place.
The physician continues to advance the balloon until it is located in the region of constriction of the artery. With the balloon and its associated catheter held stationary, inflation fluid is injected into the conduit which communicates with the balloon, causing it to inflate. Inflation of the balloon expands the walls of the artery in the region of constriction and, in successful procedures, re-opens the artery to sufficient blood flow.
Arteries vary in size, and therefore balloon catheters having balloons of different sizes are provided for the physician's selection. These balloons, when inflated, range from about 1.5 millimeters to about 4 millimeters in diameter.
Sometimes, it is necessary for the physician to use more than one balloon to open an artery. Sometimes, the chosen balloon is too large to be advanced into the constricted area. In other instances, the first chosen balloon size, even when inflated, is not large enough to open the constricted area to the degree desired. In such cases, it is necessary to exchange one balloon for another during the same angioplasty procedure.
In order to accomplish this exchange, the balloon guidewire is left in place, and the balloon catheter is withdrawn entirely from the guiding catheter until it is completely disengaged from the balloon guidewire. A new balloon catheter, having a different sized balloon, is then re-inserted over the balloon guidewire and advanced back to the location of the constricted area, where it is used to effect the desired result.
Once the balloon guidewire is initially in place, extending past the constricted area, it is highly desirable to leave the balloon guidewire in place for the entire remainder of the angioplasty procedure. This means that the balloon guidewire must remain in place even during exchanges of balloons. The reason for this is that, when a foreign object, such as the balloon guidewire, is introduced into an artery, the artery walls sometimes go into spasm, and constrict generally along a substantial portion of its length. If the artery tends to contract in this way, removal of the balloon guidewire while the artery is so contracted will sometimes render it virtually impossible to reinsert the guidewire through the contracted artery.
Withdrawal of the balloon catheter, while preventing movement of the balloon guidewire, is a difficult and cumbersome procedure. This procedure requires both a second individual, in addition to the physician, and the attachment of a removable extension to the proximal end of the guidewire.
In the catheter exchange procedure, removal of the catheter, and the insertion of the new catheter, is done manually. This is a two-hand operation for the physician. In addition, an attendant must hold the balloon guidewire longitudinally fixed with respect to the patient during the catheter exchange procedure.
Holding the balloon guidewire longitudinally fixed has been a difficult task. One reason for this is that, when the catheter to be removed is being slid proximally along the guidewire, friction between the balloon catheter and the balloon guidewire tends to dislodge the balloon catheter and move it in the proximal direction. As pointed out above, it is undesirable that the balloon guidewire move longitudinally during the exchange operation.
When a new catheter is being threaded upon an indwelling balloon guidewire, frictional forces tend to be generated which urge the balloon guidewire toward longitudinal movement in the distal direction. This, too, is undesirable.
It is a general object of this invention to provide an apparatus for simplifying and otherwise facilitating the catheter exchange operation in an angioplasty procedure, and to inhibit longitudinal motion of the balloon guidewire during the exchange procedure.

Apparatus for catheter exchange in vascular dilitation


In a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, including forming an insulator film including a material having Si—CH3 bond and Si—OH bond, and irradiating the insulator film with ultraviolet rays, the rate of decrease of C concentration by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is not more than 30%, and the rate of decrease of one or more bonds selected from the group consisting of C—H bond, O—H bond and Si—O bond of Si—OH is not less than 10%, as a result of ultraviolet ray irradiation. A low-dielectric-constant insulator film that has a high film strength and can prevent increase of dielectric constant due to moisture absorption, a semiconductor device that can prevent device response speed delay and reliability decrease due to parasite capacity increase, and a manufacturing method therefor are provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multilayer wiring device and an insulator film thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A drop in the signal propagation speed by the increase of parasitic capacity of an insulator film for a semiconductor device has been known, but the line delay did not have a major influence on an entire device at the generation in which the line space of a semiconductor device exceeded 1 μm. But the influence on the device speed becomes major when the line space is 1 μm or less, and in particular the influence of the parasitic capacity between the lines on the device speed will be significant if circuits are formed with a 0.1 μm or less line space in the future.
Specifically, as the degree of integration of semiconductor integrated circuits increases and device density improves, the demand for multilayer semiconductor elements is increasing, particularly. In this trend, the line space is becoming smaller, for example, due to the higher degree of integration, and the line delay caused by the increase of capacity between lines is becoming a problem. The line delay (T) is influenced by the line resistance (R) and the capacity between lines (C), and is given by the following Formula 1.T∝CR  (1)
In Formula 1, the relationship of ∈ (dielectric constant) and C is shown in Formula 2.C=∈0∈rS/d  (2)(where S is an electrode area, ∈0 is the dielectric constant of a vacuum, ∈r is the dielectric constant of an insulator film, and d is a line space.) Therefore in order to decrease the line delay, decreasing the dielectric constant of an insulator film is effective.
Currently, low-dielectric-constant coating-type insulator films, etching stopper layers formed by plasma CVD, and diffusion-barrier insulator films are mainly used as insulator films in the multilayer wiring structures of multilayer wiring devices such as semiconductor devices.
Traditionally, films of inorganic materials such as silicon dioxide (SiO2), silicon nitride (SiN), phosphorus silicon glass (PSG), etc., or organic polymers such as polyimides have been used for these insulators. However, CVD-SiO2 films most frequently used for semiconductor devices have a specific dielectric constant as high as about 4. Although SiOF films which have been investigated as a low-dielectric-constant CVD film show a specific dielectric constant of about 3.3-3.5, they are highly hygroscopic, resulting in increase of the dielectric constant. In addition, in recent years, as low-dielectric-constant films, porous coatings are becoming known which are obtained by addition of organic resins or the like that are evaporated or decomposed by heating, into materials for low-dielectric-constant films, followed by heating during the film forming to make them porous. However, they have poor mechanical strength generally due to the porosity. Because the current pore size is as large as not less than 10 nm, if the porosity is increased so as to decrease the dielectric constant, the increase of dielectric constant due to moisture absorption as well as decrease of film strength tend to occur.
To solve these problems, processes have been investigated in which an insulator film after film formation is cured by ultraviolet rays, plasma beams or electron beams in order to provide the film with a higher strength. However, increase of dielectric constant and film thickness thinning of the insulator films due to elimination of organic groups (mainly CH3 group) tend to occur in any of the processes, providing insufficient results. Processes have been also investigated in which a high-density insulator film is formed on a porous insulator film, over which ultraviolet rays, plasma beams or electron beams are irradiated as a trial to suppress such damage and increase the film strength while maintaining a low dielectric constant (References 1 and 2).                Reference 1: Japanese Patent Application 2004-356618 (claims)        Reference 2: Japanese Patent Application 2005-235850 (claims)

Insulator film, manufacturing method of multilayer wiring device and multilayer wiring device


The semiconductor device is manufactured by forming a lower electrode layer 2 having a predetermined pattern on a semiconductor substrate 1 and forming an upper electrode layer 3 on a part of the top surface of the lower electrode layer 2, while holes 2X extending in the direction of thickness are formed on the top surface of the lower electrode layer 2 below the upper electrode layer 3, and the depth of holes 2X is smaller than the thickness of the lower electrode layer 2.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a functional device, a method for manufacturing the same, and a functional device mounting structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
A functional device such as semiconductor device requires electrodes for the connection to a power source and for exchanging electrical signals. Conventional electrodes formed on functional devices include such a type that an upper electrode layer such as nickel film is formed on a lower electrode layer made of aluminum or the like. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 11-214421 discloses that an aluminum electrode is formed as the lower electrode layer on a semiconductor substrate, zinc is caused to precipitate thereon by means of a zincate treatment solution in which sodium hydroxide and zinc oxide are dissolved, and electroless plating of nickel is carried out so as to form a nickel film as the upper electrode layer.
In the conventional electrodes, however, the lower electrode layer and the substrate are not sufficiently bonded, and there is a possibility of the lower electrode layer peeling off the substrate.

Function element and function element mounting structure


A cushion-less passenger seat. The passenger seat includes spaced left and right spreaders, each having a front and rear leg with top and bottom ends and a seating surface formed from a flexible bottom diaphragm attached to and extending between the left and right spreaders. The passenger seat also includes a lumbar support having lower and upper sections and front and back sides formed from a flexible diaphragm. The lower section of the lumbar support is attached to and between the left and right spreaders. The lumbar support upper section extends upwardly above the seat's rear legs and seating surface.

(1) Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved seating apparatus for an aircraft and, more particularly, to an economy class seat for passenger aircraft.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Commercial airlines are constantly under pressure to cut costs pertaining to the procurement, maintenance and operation of fleet aircraft. One of the areas that airlines look to for cost cuts are the passenger seats used in the aircraft making up their fleet. For example, increased efficiencies are realized with the ability to seat more passengers per flight. For this reason it is important to minimize the front to back distance (i.e., pitch) between rows of seats. Moreover, keeping the weight of the seats low allows more passengers to be seated per flight.
Thus, there remains a need for an improved aircraft seat that is super lightweight while, at the same time, also provides greater perceived space at a relatively close pitch.


A light emitting module and the like having a higher heat-dissipation effect includes a light emitting element mounting substrate, one or more light emitting elements, a heatsink including a through-hole in a position corresponding to a screw hole, a bolt screwed in the screw hole and fastening the heatsink and a metal plate or a full thread and a nut for the fastening. In the light emitting element mounting substrate, the metal plate, an insulating layer, and an electrode layer on which the one or more light emitting elements are mountable are stacked in this order. The metal plate includes a bottomed screw hole opened at a surface opposite to a surface in contact with the insulating layer. The bolt or the full thread and the nut have a heat conductivity equal to or greater than that of the metal plate.

Recently, light emitting elements such as a light emitting diode (LED), which consume smaller power and have better visibility than conventional light sources, have been employed as light sources of various light emitting devices (for example, a headlamp of automobile).
The LED element has a characteristic of light emitting amount decreasing with an increase of temperature; thus, the increase of temperature has to be suppressed by taking measures to dissipate heat. In one of the measures taken typically, a substrate with the LED element mounted is fixed on a heatsink (also referred to as "heat-dissipation member" as well) to dissipate heat generated in the LED element to the heatsink. However, use of the heatsink alone is insufficient to obtain enough heat-dissipation effect. To address this, for example, PTL 1 describes a technique for improving the heat-dissipation effect by disposing a grease layer between the substrate and the heatsink. There are needs of a light emitting element mounting substrate, a light emitting device, and a light emitting module having an improved heat-dissipation effect.

Light emitting element mounting substrate, light emitting device, and light emitting module


A computer-implemented method, system, and program for managing compliance with service level agreements in a grid environment are provided. A grid service for managing compliance with service level agreements in a grid environment detects a grid job passing a timing entry point, and flowing towards a grid environment provided by a grid vendor. When the grid job is detected passing the timing entry point, the grid service starts a timer to monitor an amount of time from the grid job passing the timing entry point until a result of the grid job passes a timing exit point while flowing away from the grid environment. When the grid service detects the result of the grid job passing the timing exit point, the grid service determines whether a value of the timer exceeds a timing term agreed to in a service level agreement specifying performance requirements for said grid job agreed to by said grid vendor, such that compliance with the service level agreement is automatically managed within the grid environment.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to improved grid computing and, in particular, to managing and enforcing compliance with service level agreements in a grid environment. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to monitoring timely compliance of the grid environment with the service level agreement for processing a job and controlling restitution for non-compliance.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ever since the first connection was made between two computer systems, new ways of transferring data, resources, and other information between two computer systems via a connection continue to develop. In typical network architectures, when two computer systems are exchanging data via a connection, one of the computer systems is considered a client sending requests and the other is considered a server processing the requests and returning results. In an effort to increase the speed at which requests are handled, server systems continue to expand in size and speed. Further, in an effort to handle peak periods when multiple requests are arriving every second, server systems are often joined together as a group and requests are distributed among the grouped servers. Multiple methods of grouping servers have developed such as clustering, multi-system shared data (sysplex) environments, and enterprise systems. With a cluster of servers, one server is typically designated to manage distribution of incoming requests and outgoing responses. The other servers typically operate in parallel to handle the distributed requests from clients. Thus, one of multiple servers in a cluster may service a client request without the client detecting that a cluster of servers is processing the request.
Typically, servers or groups of servers operate on a particular network platform, such as Unix or some variation of Unix, and provide a hosting environment for running applications. Each network platform may provide functions ranging from database integration, clustering services, and security to workload management and problem determination. Each network platform typically offers different implementations, semantic behaviors, and application programming interfaces (APIs).
Merely grouping servers together to expand processing power, however, is a limited method of improving efficiency of response times in a network. Thus, increasingly, within a company network, rather than just grouping servers, servers and groups of server systems are organized as distributed resources. There is an increased effort to collaborate, share data, share cycles, and improve other modes of interaction among servers within a company network and outside the company network. Further, there is an increased effort to outsource nonessential elements from one company network to that of a service provider network. Moreover, there is a movement to coordinate resource sharing between resources that are not subject to the same management system, but still address issues of security, policy, payment, and membership. For example, resources on an individual's desktop are not typically subject to the same management system as resources of a company server cluster. Even different administrative groups within a company network may implement distinct management systems.
The problems with decentralizing the resources available from servers and other computing systems operating on different network platforms, located in different regions, with different security protocols and each controlled by a different management system, has led to the development of Grid technologies using open standards for operating a grid environment. Grid environments support the sharing and coordinated use of diverse resources in dynamic, distributed, virtual organizations. A virtual organization is created within a grid environment when a selection of resources, from geographically distributed systems operated by different organizations with differing policies and management systems, is organized to handle a job request.
While grid technologies solve some of the problems with decentralizing disparate computing systems to create a virtual organization of resources, grid technologies do not solve all the problems associated with decentralized resources. One of these problems left unsolved is how to monitor and enforce service level agreements (SLAs), which have become the norm in the computer industry, for designating the expected performance by information technology providers. Grid technology providers, also called grid vendors, make no guarantee except for "here is the environment that you asked for." This guarantee, however, is limited and does not take into account the timeliness required for some grid jobs. Further, this guarantee is limited because there is not a mechanism to detect whether the guarantee is met or to provide compensation to the customer if the guarantee is not met.
Therefore, in view of the foregoing, there is a need for a method, system, and program for managing and enforcing compliance with SLAs for grid jobs executing in a grid environment. In particular, there is a need for managing compliance with SLAs based on the timeliness required of a particular type of grid job. Further, there is a need for controlling restitution when a grid environment does not deliver the response or result of a grid job in compliance with the SLA.

Managing compliance with service level agreements in a grid environment

International Business Machines Corporation


An intermittently operating driving mechanism for a record medium selecting apparatus of a player wherein two principal components thereof do not operate at a time but operate independently of each other to assure a high space factor and the interval of time over which each of them do not operate can be set freely. A tray base plate selectively receives, at an outwardly projected position, tape cassettes on cassette receiving members thereon and moves to a home position, at which one of the cassettes is selected. The selected cassette is transported by a tray driving plate to a playing position at which the cassette is played. Each of the tray base plate and the tray driving plate has a toothed portion, with which a gear of a cam plate is selectively engaged to move the tray base plate or the tray driving plate between the respective end positions of movement. Cam levers cooperate with the cam plate to positively hold the tray base plate and the tray driving plate from moving from the respective home positions.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a record medium player for recording and/or reproducing a record medium such as a digital audio tape, a cassette tape, a compact disk or a video disk and particularly to an intermittently operating driving mechanism for a record medium selecting apparatus of a player of the type mentioned which selects one of a plurality of record media placed on a tray and feeds the selected record medium to a recording/reproducing position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An intermittently operating driving apparatus for a player of the type mentioned is already known and disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 2-216650. In the player, a plurality of tape cassettes are placed on a tray which is drawn out forwardly from a front panel of a player body, and the tray is drawn into the player body by means of the intermittently operating driving mechanism and then only one of the tape cassettes on the tray is fed to the recording/reproducing position, at which information such as music is recorded onto or reproduced from a record medium, i.e., a magnetic tape, in the tape cassette.
The intermittently operating driving mechanism in the player includes a tray base plate for receiving a plurality tape cassettes thereon, a tray driving plate connected to the tray base plate by way of a ball, and a motor for driving the tray base plate and the tray driving plate. The tray base plate is moved by the tray driving plate by way of the ball until it is drawn into the player body, and after the tray base plate is accommodated fully into the player body, the engagement between the tray base plate and the tray driving plate by way of the ball is cancelled and only the tray driving plate is moved to feed a tape cassette to the recording/reproducing position.
With such an intermittently operating driving mechanism which makes use of a ball as described above, however, the strength of a portion on which the ball slidably moves is not assured and the portion is liable to be damaged or broken. Besides, since the ball is liable to drop out of position, a trouble is liable to occur. Further, since both of the tray base plate and the tray driving plate move simultaneously within a certain section, the space factor is low. Besides, since the tray driving plate must operate over a full stroke, such a mechanism as a speed doubling or magnifying mechanism is required, which requires a high cost.

Intermittently operating driving mechanism for record medium selecting apparatus of player


A method for screening statins in their open acid form to determine the susceptibility of each tested statin to metabolic glucuronidation is provided. Also provided is a method for determining if a non-statin pharmaceutical drug co-administered with a statin that is susceptible to metabolic glucuronidation in its open acid form, will inhibit the glucuronidation of the statin and thereby increase the risk of an adverse drug interaction.

It has been clear for several decades that elevated blood cholesterol is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD), and many studies have shown that the risk of CHD events can be reduced by lipid-lowering therapy. Prior to 1987, the lipid-lowering armamentarium was limited essentially to a low saturated fat and cholesterol diet, the bile acid sequestrants (cholestyramine and colestipol), nicotinic acid (niacin), the fibrates and probucol. Unfortunately, all of these treatments have limited efficacy or tolerability, or both. With the introduction of lovastatin (MEVACOR®; see U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,938), the first inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase to become available for prescription in 1987, for the first time physicians were able to obtain comparatively large reductions in plasma cholesterol with very few adverse effects.
In addition to the natural product lovastatin, there have been several semi-synthetic and totally synthetic HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors approved for prescription use, including simvastatin (ZOCOR®; see U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,784), pravastatin sodium salt (PRAVACHOL®; see U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,227), fluvastatin sodium salt (LESCOL®; see U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,772), atorvastatin calcium salt (LIPITOR®; see U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,995) and cerivastatin sodium salt (BAYCOL®; see U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,080). Still other HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors are known to be in development, for example pitavastatin also referred to as NK-104 (see PCT international publication number WO 97/23200); and rosuvastatin also known as ZD-4522 (CRESTOR®; see U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,440, and Drugs of the Future, 1999, 24(5), pp. 511-513). The structural formulas of these and additional HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, are described at page 87 of M. Yalpani, "Cholesterol Lowering Drugs", Chemistry & Industry, pp. 85-89 (5 Feb. 1996). The HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors described above belong to a structural class of compounds which contain a moiety which can exist as either a 3-hydroxy lactone ring or as the corresponding ring opened dihydroxy open-acid, and are often referred to as "statins." An illustration of the lactone portion of a statin and its corresponding open-acid form is shown below.

Salts of the dihydroxy open-acid can be prepared, and in fact, as noted above, several of the marketed statins are administered as the dihydroxy open acid salt forms. Lovastatin and simvastatin are marketed worldwide in their lactonized form. Lovastatin is shown as structural formula I, and simvastatin is shown as structural formula II, below.

The lactonized forms of the statins are not active inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase, but the dihydroxy open acid forms are. It is known that condensation of the dihydroxy open acid form of statins to the corresponding lactonized form occurs under acidic conditions, that is at about pH 4 or under. Therefore, due to the low gastric pH of the stomach, a statin conventionally administered by oral dosing in its lactone form will remain largely in its lactone form in the stomach. The vast majority of the drug will still be in the lactone form at the time of absorption from the intestine following oral dosing with the lactone. After absorption, the lactone enters the liver and it is in the hepatocytes that the lactone can be metabolized to the active open acid form, a reaction catalyzed by two hepatic esterases or "lactonases," one which is in the cytosolic and the other in the microsomal fraction. Once in the blood there is an additional plasma esterase that can also hydrolyze the lactone to the open acid. There may be some minimal chemical, i.e., non-enzymatic, hydrolysis that occurs in blood or in the liver; however, at the pH in blood and liver, there should not be any lactonization, i.e., conversion of open acid back to the lactone.
Since becoming available, millions of doses of simvastatin have been administered and these drugs have developed an excellent safety record. In fact, simvastatin has been administered to over 20 million patients worldwide in the past 11 years and has been demonstrated to be remarkably safe. However, as noted in the Physician's Desk Reference (PDR), occasional instances of myopathy have been associated with the use of all statins, including simvastatin, which manifest as muscle pain or weakness associated with grossly elevated creatine kinase, and more rarely instances of rhabdomyolysis have been reported, marked by the destruction of muscle cells which enter the bloodstream. The mechanism for statin-related myopathy is currently poorly understood. The risk of myopathy may be increased by high levels of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitory activity in plasma. It is known that many drugs, including certain statins such as simvastatin, are metabolised in the liver and intestine by the cytochrome P450 isoform 3A4 (CYP3A4) enzyme system. The very low risk of myopathy may be increased when a CYP3A4-metabolized statin is used in combination with a potent inhibitor of this metabolic pathway which can raise the plasma levels of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitory activity. Such potent inhibitors include cyclosporine; the azole antifungals, itraconazole and ketoconazole; the macrolide antibiotics, erythromycin and clarithromycin; HIV protease inhibitors; the antidepressant nefazodone; and large quantities of grapefruit juice (>1 quart daily).
It is also known that concomitant drug therapy with simvastatin and gemfibrozil, a member of the class of fibric acid derivatives (fibrates) which shows only minimal inhibition of in vitro CYP3A4 functional activity, increases the risk for myopathy. In a study involving combination treatment with simvastatin and gemfibrozil described in Backman, et al., Plasma concentrations of active simvastatin acid are increased by gemfibrozil, Clin. Pharmacology & Therapeutics, vol 68:2, 122-129 (August 2000), it was reported that gemfibrozil considerably increased plasma concentrations of open acid simvastatin, with only minimal increase in the plasma AUC (area under the curve) of parent simvastatin. The paper also stated that gemfibrozil showed no appreciable inhibitory effect on CYP3A4 mediated 1′-hydroxylation of midazolam in human liver microsomes, an in vitro assay for determining hepatic CYP3A4 activity. Therefore, since gemfibrozil is not an inhibitor of CYP3A4 in vitro, yet it increases the plasma AUC of open acid simvastatin when co-administered with simvastatin, the pharmacokinetic interaction between the two drugs is most likely via another pathway distinct from the CYP3A4 pathway.
Although the rate of occurrence of myopathy is extremely low for most statins, cerivastatin, sold in the U.S. under the tradename BAYCOL®, was recently withdrawn from the worldwide market after being linked to significantly more fatal cases of rhabdomyolysis than the other available statins. The side effect was most likely to occur when BAYCOL® was given in high doses or when it was given with the cholesterol drug gemfibrozil.
While the overall safety record for simvastatin is exceptional, it would be desirable to further optimize the safe utilization of simvastatin as well as statins in general by reducing the potential for adverse drug interactions, when the statins are co-administered with one or more additional active agents. It would also be desirable to further reduce the already low rate of occurrence of myopathy and rhabdomyolysis associated with the use of most statins. Further, it would be useful to know how cerivastatin differs pharmacokinetically from other statins in this regard in order to have a better understanding of the mechanism for statin-related myopathy. Statins are among the most widely used drugs in the world, and therefore the benefit of any further optimization of their safety profile would be significant.

Screening and selection methods for statin drug combinations


A food breading apparatus for breading food components with a breading mixture includes a breading drum rotatable about its longitudinal axis wherein the longitudinal axis is inclined from horizontal. The drum includes an inlet opening located in an upper end, an outlet opening located in a lower end, and a plurality of perforations located proximal to the lower end and through a sidewall of the drum. The perforations are sized to allow surplus breading mixture and lumps of breading mixture to pass therethrough but to retain the breaded food product in the rotating breading drum. An inlet conveyor provides food products to be breaded to the inlet opening of the breading drum. A recirculating breading mixture conveyor provides the breading mixture to the inlet opening. A takeout conveyor moves the breaded food products from the outlet opening of the breading drum. A lump removal conveyor is positioned below the plurality of perforations in the sidewall of the breading drum. The lump removal conveyor includes a plurality of openings sized to allow passage of surplus powdered breading mixture therethrough but to retain the lumps of breading mixture for transport to a catch pan. A shaker shoe mechanism raises a portion of the lump removal conveyor as it carries lumps and breading to facilitate moving powdered breading mixture through the openings of the lump removal conveyor and to facilitate recycling a maximum amount of the breading mixture. A surge hopper and conveyor positioned below the lump removal conveyor collects surplus breading mixture passing through the openings in the lump removal conveyor and transports surplus breading mixture to the recirculation conveyor wherein the cycle begins again.

Pre-prepared food products are much in demand by today's consumers. Food products that are pre-cooked and only require final heating before consumption are desired by both household consumers and commercial food establishments. Fried and oven baked foods especially those having a breaded coating are especially popular in the category of pre-prepared products.
Breaded food products were traditionally prepared individually by hand rolling the food product, for example a chicken breast, in a breading preparation. The breading preparation may be wheat flour or corn meal and spices. After the breading is applied, the food product is typically fried or baked.
Anyone who has breaded food products by hand can understand the time consuming and messy nature of the breading process. Prior attempts at mechanical breading apparatus have been largely unsuccessful. Prior art mechanical systems have incorporated drive systems and hydraulics in and around food containing components, thereby subjecting the food products to potential contamination. Additionally, prior art mechanical breading devices have been largely unsuccessful at removing lumps from the breading mixture. As the lumps are recirculated they continue to grow in size and ultimately pass with the breaded product to further food processing stations. If additional resources are not expended in subsequent sorting operations, the lumps of breading will be packaged with the final breaded product and delivered to the customer. Therefore, there exists a need for a quick, efficient and sanitary food breading apparatus capable of removing lumps of breading mixture.
Prior art food breading apparatus do not include a lump removal conveyor for removing lumps in the breading mixture prior to recirculation of the breading mixture. If the lumps are not removed they grow in size during successive recirculation and ultimately pass with the breaded product to further processing stations generating additional waste.
Prior art food breading apparatuses do not include, in a lump removal conveyor, a shaking device to facilitate breaking up loosely coagulated clumps of breading mixture and to shake free any powdered breading mixture only loosely stuck to the exterior of lumps so that increased recycling of usable powdered breading mixture is achieved.
Prior art food breading apparatus also do not include a metering hopper. The metering hopper contributes to the improved quality and consistency of the breaded product by greatly reducing wide swings in moisture content of the breading mixture, thereby allowing consistent adhesion of the breading to the product and providing an even breading coverage and thickness.


To provide a technology of quickly transmitting a buffer status for a reduction of uplink transmission latency.

Currently, development of an ultra reliability and low latency communication (URLCC) is in progress to realize a radio communication with low latency and high reliability. As a case of using the URLCC, automatic traffic control and driving, a robot control network for cooperation of robots, a remote object operation such as remote operation, a remote control of a drone, remote health monitoring such as health sensor control and monitoring, public safety, and the like are assumed.
In the URLLC, typically. Case 1 with ultra-low latency and low data rate, and Case 2 with low latency and high data rate are considered. Specifically, Case 1 and Case 2 include requirements as illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, Case 1 may be required in use cases such as platooning in automatic driving, a remote machine control, tactile interaction (for example, remote operation, remote controlled robot and game) for a remote machine control and augmented reality (AP)/virtual reality (VR). On the other hand, for example. Case 2 may be required in use cases such as a video in which a latency request is in the order of 10 ms, cooperative dynamic map updating in automatic driving, and visual feedback (for example, remote operation, remote controlled robot and game) for a remote machine control and AR/VR. In addition, V2X may be the most challenging use case when considering much higher connection density and mobility.
In a long terra evolution (LTE) system and an LTE-advance system, as illustrated in FIG. 2, a user equipment (UE) and a base station (evolved NodeB: eNB) execute uplink transmission in a procedure as illustrated in FIG. 2. That is, when transmission target uplink data occurs in the user equipment, the user equipment transmits a scheduling request (SR) to the base station. The base station transmits an uplink grant in response to the scheduling request so as to permit transmission by the user equipment. When receiving the uplink grant, the user equipment transmits a buffer status report (BSR) indicating a data size of the transmission target uplink data, and then transmits uplink data in a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) that is allocated by the base station on the basis of the buffer status report.

Abstract: Provided is a user equipment including: a transmission and reception unit that transmits and receives radio signal to and from a base Station; and a buffer status report transmission unit that transmits, to the base station, a speculative buffer status report indicating a buffer status that is expected in a subsequent subframe.


A thermoplastic resin composition comprising: a graft copolymer obtained by polymerizing 10 to 70 parts by weight of a monomer containing 60 to 100% by weight of at least one vinyl monomer selected from the group consisting of a (meth)acrylate ester compound, an aromatic vinyl compound and a vinyl cyanide compound and 0 to 40% by weight of a monomer which is copolymerizable therewith, in the presence of 30 to 90 parts by weight of hollow rubber particles which are rubber obtained by polymerizing a polymerization component comprising a butadiene without using a crosslinking agent and have a porosity of 3 to 90% in the form of a latex, wherein the total amount of the monomer and the rubber particles is 100 parts by weight; and a thermoplastic resin.

Various conventional proposals have been made in order to improve the impact resistance of thermoplastic resins. For example, it is known that a copolymer containing a diene rubber or an acrylate rubber is incorporated in a vinyl chloride resin (JP-B-39-19035). In addition, for improving impact resistance, a process of increasing the particle size of a rubber component (JP-B-42-22541) and a process for lowering the glass transition temperature (hereinafter referred to as "Tg") of a rubber component (JP-A-2-1763, JP-A-8-100095) are proposed.
A technique was recently proposed for improving the impact resistance of a thermoplastic resin by using a graft copolymer having a Tg of 0 degree C. or less, containing 0.1 to 5% by weight of a crosslinking agent and containing a hollow rubber having a porosity of 3 to 90% in the form of a latex (WO00/02963).
However, the above-described processes are accompanied by such problems as a marked increase in the raw material cost, and insufficient improvement in a graft copolymer containing a butadiene rubber which has been most popularly used for the improvement of impact resistance.
Specifically, when the amount of the crosslinking agent is too small and becomes less than 0.1% by weight, the rubber particles are collapsed and finely dispersed upon molding or forming. As a result, no stress concentration occurs and the effects of improving impact resistance are not obtained.
Generally, a rubber-containing copolymer such as described above is mixed for improving impact resistance of a thermoplastic resin such as a vinyl chloride resin or the like. The stress concentration of a molded article and generation and expansion of voids in the rubber play an important role. For stress concentration, it is necessary to introduce a rubber component having a modulus much lower than that of the thermoplastic resin. In practice, various rubbers have been introduced and the size or shape of the rubber component has been optimized. It is predicted that generation and expansion of voids in a rubber contribute significantly to the growth of a shear yield to permit a large energy absorption amount upon impact test and would be expected to lead to an improvement of the impact resistance of a rubber-containing thermoplastic resin.
Therefore, it would be very important to learn how to accelerate generation and expansion of voids in the rubber component. Generation and expansion of voids in the rubber component upon impact on a molded article (under stress) depend much on the crosslinked condition of the rubber. When the rubber component is made hollow in advance, expansion of voids would easily proceed under stress.

Thermoplastic resin composition having improved impact resistance


A carry-all box for use in combination with a vehicle bed having a floor and first and second sides, the box having an elongated, generally rectangular configuration and having first and second end sections, a front side, a rear side, and a bottom to which the end sections and sides are affixed and extend generally upwardly, a pivot mechanism having a hinge component on the vehicle bed adjacent the first side thereof and a cooperating hinge component on the first end section of the box for allowing the box to pivot in an arc path substantially in a plane parallel to the plane of the bed between a generally lateral forward position and a generally longitudinal rearward position relative to the bed, the end sections, sides and bottom of the box being dimensioned to extend substantially laterally across the bed while allowing the second end section to clear any obstruction which may be in its arc path such as a bed side or wheel well housing.

1. Field
This invention concerns carry-all type boxes for placement on vehicle beds such as on pick-up trucks, and particularly concerns unique structural modifications of such boxes which conventionally are fixed in position at the forward end of the truck bed and extend laterally substantially between the full interior width of the bed. Such boxes present many difficulties to the user in that the lifting of items such as heavy tools or even golf clubs or the like out of the box, particularly at arms length, typically leads to serious injury to the back and, of course, lost time at the job or elsewhere.
The present structural modifications and improvements greatly enhance the utility and ease of use of such boxes by providing mechanisms which allow the box to be swung into a position adjacent the side of the bed whereby easy access to the box and items therein is afforded.
2. Prior Art
Heretofore, no practical means has been proposed for allowing significant position adjustments for such boxes. U.S. Pat. Nos.: 4,564,167; 4,085,961; and 4,971,234 show specialized box and positioning structure therefor, but do not suggest employing a modified typical carry,-all box of the type shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,121,959 and 5,088,636 which are boxes that extend lateral substantially all the way across the truck bed, and the disclosure of which are hereby incorporated herein in their entirety.
Objects, therefore of the present invention area: to provide structural engineering modifications to such conventional boxes which allows the boxes to be easily repositioned along the side of a vehicle bed for unloading and reloading thereof, and then easily repositioned laterally across the front of the bed; to provide such modifications which require very little intrusion into the structure of the vehicle itself; to provide such modifications which smoothly function on the metal flat or ribbed bed surface of a truck, and also on a ribbed or corrugated plastic bed liner; and to provide such modifications which add little additional cost to the box and which requires minimal installation time and effort.

Carry-all box for mounting on vehicle beds


A new technique is disclosed, by which a mobile terminal after executing handover between subnets can quickly perform packet transmission to outside immediately after the handover. According to this technique, after deciding the execution of handover, MN (mobile terminal) 10 requests an external transmission address (link local address of an access router belonging to a subnet or of a default router after the handover) relating to a subnet connected after the handover at the same time as the transmitting of RtSolPr message to PAR21 connected before the handover. PAR acquires the external transmission address in response to the request and transmits the external transmission address to MN together with a response by PrRtAdv message to MN. MN sets up the external transmission address as acquired before the handover to the packet to be transmitted after the handover.

In the past, the technique of FMIP has been known as a technique to provide effective means for Internet application requiring real time to minimize packet loss, which cannot be prevented by ordinary layer-3 handover using MIP technique (e.g. see the Non-Patent Document as given below.) Description will be given below on FMIP by referring FIG. 1, FIG. 41 and FIG. 42.
The radio communication system shown in FIG. 1 includes: IP network (communication network) 15 such as Internet, a plurality of subnets (also called subnetworks) 20 and 30 connected to IP network, a mobile terminal (MN: Mobile Node) 10, which can be connected to one of the plurality of subnets 20 and 30, and CN (Correspondent Node), which is correspondent of MN10. In FIG. 1, two subnets 20 and 30 are shown as the plurality of subnets 20 and 30.
The subnet 20 comprises an access router (PAR) 21 for executing the routing to an IP packet (packet data), and a plurality of access points (APs) 22 and 23 for forming inherent radio coverage areas (communicatable areas) 22 and 23. Each of these APs 22 and 23 is connected to PAR21, and PAR21 is connected to the IP network 15. In FIG. 1, two APs 22 and 23 are shown as the plurality of APs 22 and 23. Also, the subnet 30 comprises the same aspect of connection as the subnet 20 as described above by an access router (NAR) 31 and a plurality of APs 32 and 33.
Here, assumption is made on a case where handover is executed from the subnet 20 to the subnet 30 when MN10 moves in a radio coverage area 34 formed by AP32 via an overlap area 26 from a radio coverage area 25 formed by AP23. Hereinafter, the access router, which is present at a superior position to AP23 and to which MN10 is connected before the handover, is called PAR (Previous Access Router) 21, and the access router, which is present at a superior position of AP32 and to which MN10 is connected after the handover, is called NAR (New Access Router) 31.
PAR21, i.e. a component element of the subnet 20, and NAR31, i.e. a component element of the subnet 30, can communicate with each other via the IP network 15. That is, the subnet 20 and the subnet 30 are connected via the IP network 15.
Next, description will be given on operation in FMIP referring to FIG. 1. In FMIP, there are two operation modes, depending on whether FBAck (Fast Binding Acknowledgement) message is received or not on a link (link before handover), to which MN10 is connected before the handover. This depends on whether MN10 transmits FBU (Fast Binding Update) message or not on a link before the handover. Hereinafter, an operation mode in case MN10 transmits FBU message on a link before the handover is called a first operation mode, and an operation mode in case MN10 does not transmit FBU message on a link before the handover is called a second operation mode.
First, description will be given below on the first operation mode, in which MN10 transmits FBU message on a link before the handover. FIG. 41 is a sequence chart to show general features of the first operation mode in FMIP when MN10 transmits FBU message on a link before the handover.
For instance, when MN10 starts to move from an area of PAR21 (radio coverage area 25 of AP23) to an area of NAR31 (radio coverage area 34 of AP32), the movement is detected by a layer 2, and the handover in the layer 3 as starting point is initiated. This initiation of the handover is determined through comparison of the intensity of the received electric field from AP23 with that of the electric field from AP32 in the overlap area 26.
When information including AP-ID (identification information of each AP) of AP32, which is the destination of movement, is notified from the layer 2, MN10 transmits an RtSolPr (Router Solicitation for Proxy) message including AP-ID of AP32 to PAR21 currently connected (Step S801). Upon receipt of the RtSolPr message, PAR21 retrieves an access router existing in the neighborhood according to AP-ID of AP32 as notified from MN10 and acquires the information of NAR31, or it acquires the information of NAR31 from the information already retrieved (information retained by PAR21).
Then, PAR21 transmits a PrRtAdv (Proxy Router Advertisement) message including the information of NAR31 (e.g. link layer address of NAR31, or network prefix of the subnet 30, to which NAR31 belongs) to MN10 as a response to the RtSolPr message (Step S803).
Upon receipt of this PrRtAdv message, MN10 generates NCoA (New Care-of Address), which is an address adaptable at the subnet 30 by using the network prefix of the subnet 30 included in the PrRtAdv message and the link layer address of MN10 itself, and FBU message including NCoA is transmitted to PAR21 (Step S805).
Upon receipt of the FBU message, PAR21 transmits an HI (Handover Initiate) message including NCoA to NAR31 in order to confirm whether the NCoA generated at MN10 is an address usable at the subnet 30 or not (Step S807). When the HI message is received, NAR31 verifies whether the NCoA included in the HI message is effective or not. In case NCoA is effective, HAck (Handover Acknowledge) message to specify the status showing the result is transmitted to PAR21 (Step S809). When the HAck message is received, PAR21 transmits FBAck message to notify the result to MN10 and NAR31 (Steps S811 and S813). Then, the packet sent to MN10 is forwarded to NAR31 (Step S815). When the packet to MN10 has been forwarded from PAR21, NAR31 performs buffering of the packet.
Then, MN10 initiates actual moving to the subnet 30 and executes the handover from AP23 to AP32, for instance (Step S817). Immediately after connection switchover to NAR31, an FNA (Fast Neighbor Advertisement) message to request the notification of connection to NAR31 and the transmission of the packet processed by buffering is transmitted to NAR31 (Step S819). Upon receipt of FNA message, NAR31 transmits the packet processed by buffering to MN10 (Step S821).
Next, description will be given on the second operation mode, in which MN10 does not transmit the FBU message on a link before the handover and transmits FNA (message including FBU) on a link after the handover. FIG. 42 is a sequence chart to show general features of the second operation mode in FMIP when MN10 in the conventional technique transmits FNA [FBU] message on a link after the handover in the conventional technique (prior art).
Similarly to the first operation mode shown in FIG. 41, MN10 transmits RtSolPr message (Step S901) and receives PrRtAdv message (Step S903). Then, without transmitting the FBU message in the first operation mode shown in FIG. 41 (Step S805 in FIG. 41), actual moving to the subnet 30 is initiated. For instance, L2 handover is executed from AP23 to AP32 (Step S905).
Then, immediately after the connection switchover to NAR31, MN10 transmits the FNA message including FBU message in it (this message is described as FNA [FBU]) to NAR31 (Step S907). NAR31 verifies the effectiveness of NCoA included in the FNA message (Step S909). In case NCoA is effective, the FBU message is transmitted to PAR21 (Step S911). In case NCoA is not effective, NAAck (Neighbor Advertisement Acknowledgement) message to notify that NCoA cannot be used is sent to MN10.
As a response to this FBU message, PAR21 transmits FBAck message to NAR31 (Step S913) and forwards the packet addressed to MN10 to NAR31 (Step S915). NAR31 receives FBAck message from PAR21 and forwards the packet addressed to MN10 as received from PAR21 to MN10 (Step S917).
In the Non-Patent Document 1 as given below, it is suggested that IPv6 address of NAR31 is set as the destination address of the FNA message when the FNA message is sent to NAR31. In view of the fact that the setting of NCoA is given as the address of transmission source of the FNA message, there is no disclosure on the procedure, by which it can be estimated that IPv6 address of NAR31 is a global IP address (there is no disclosure on the procedure, by which NAR31 acquires global IPv6 address) or it is a multi-cast address in the subnet 30.
[Non-Patent Document 1] Rajeev Koodli; "Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6", draft-ietf-mobileip-fast-mipv6-08, October 2003.
[Non-Patent Document 2] T. Narten, E. Nordmark and W. Simpson: "Neighbor Discovery for IP Version 6 (IPv6)", RFC2461, December 1998.
However, according to the technique disclosed in the Non-Patent Document 1, MN10 can quickly receive the packet immediately after the handover by performing the acquisition and the registration (Binding Update) of NCoA before or immediately after the handover, while due consideration is not given to the quick transmission of the packet by MN10 after the handover.
FIG. 43 shows a routing table to explain a first example of the problem in the conventional FMIP technique. To transmit the packet to outside from inside of the subnets 20 and 30, MN10 refers to the routing table. FIG. 43 shows the routing table before MN10 carried out the handover. When the packet is transmitted to outside (e.g. CN40) under the condition that MN10 before the handover is connected with the subnet 30, the entry relating to a default router (a router set in such manner that the packet can be sent to outside from within the subnet 20) is hit from the transmission destination of the packet, and then, the entry where the link local address of PAR21 specified to the gateway of the entry is set to the destination is hit. As a result, MAC address of PAR21 specified to the gateway of the entry is set as the destination address of Ethernet (registered trademark) of the packet. FIG. 43 shows the routing table where the default router of the subnet 20 is the same as PAR21.
On the other hand, in order that MN10 transmits the packet from within the subnet 30 after the handover, the link local address of NAR31 or the link local address of the default router 37 of the subnet 30 must be set up as a default router in the routing table of MN10. However, despite of the fact that MN10 can acquire new CoA (NCoA) by FMIP before the handover, the default router in the subnet 20 before the handover is still set up as the default router of MN10 after the handover in the routing table. In this respect, the packet to be sent to outside from the subnet 30 is abandoned without being sent from the subnet 30. Even when MN10 attempts to update the routing table immediately after the handover, it is not possible to update the routing table because NAR31 of the subnet 30, which is a new destination of connection or the link local address of the default router 37 is not known.
On the other hand, in the Non-Patent Document 2 as given above, it is disclosed that MN10 can acquire the external transmission address as described in the RA message (the link local address of NAR31 as given above or the link local address of the default router 37 of the subnet 30) by receiving an RA (Router Advertisement) message from NAR31 or the default router 37. Also, in the RA message, information to identify the default router 37 is also described. However, the RA message is the message to be sent out periodically from each router, and it is substantially difficult that MN10 transmits the packet to outside (e.g. CN40) until MN10 passively receives RA message and acquires the external transmission address. Similarly, besides the external transmission address as given above, there is no procedure to acquire the information included in the RA message, which can be received at the subnet 30 except that the RA message is passively received while being in standby after the handover.
In case MN10 may have the global IPv6 address of NAR31 of the subnet 30 before the handover, the packet transmitted from MN10 immediately after the handover can reach CN40 if encapsulation of the packet as shown in FIG. 44 is carried out by MN10. However, various prescriptions must be newly set up such as conversion of header at NAR31 or de-encapsulation of the packet at PAR21, and this requires modification of the total communication system, and it is not a very realistic solution.
In FMIP, it is possible to acquire network prefix of the subnet 30 and the link layer address of NAR31, and it is possible to estimate the link local address of NAR31 from such types of information. However, even when the link local address of NAR31 can be estimated, it is necessary to confirm whether it is used (or it is correct) or not, and this means that time is required for confirmation. Also, it is possible to estimate the link local address of NAR31 but it is entirely impossible to estimate the link local address of the default router 37 existing in the subnet 30.

Communication system, mobile terminal and access router


An arrangement of radiators (2–6) for a utility vehicle, e.g., an agricultural tractor, comprising three or more cooling radiators which together define a chamber (7), optionally with some of the walls formed by perforated plates instead of radiator elements. One of the radiator elements may be pivotally mounted with respect to the others to provide access to the chamber. The arrangement of radiators may be mounted on a common support (1).

The invention relates to an arrangement of three or more cooling radiators for a utility vehicle, such as an agricultural tractor.
Powerful utility vehicles, such as agricultural tractors, for example, require a number of radiators in order to re-cool the working media, such as coolant water for the engine, transmission oil and hydraulic oil amongst others, as they become heated during use. These days, it is common practice to provide the requisite radiators in a parallel arrangement one after the other so that the coolant air flows through radiators. However, there are certain disadvantages to this layout. Arranging the radiators one after the other results in a high resistance to air flow which, apart from making it necessary to provide a disproportionately powerful fan, can also cause lead to an interruption in the flow, which results in the radiators becoming overheated. The lower temperature differential available to the radiators also makes it necessary to provide radiators of a larger size. In addition, any dirt which gets into radiator fins, particularly those of the radiators at the rear, is very difficult or totally impossible to remove completely without dismantling the radiators. The presence of dirt poses the risk of local overheating in the radiators.