The present invention relates to a novel cell line isolated from a rat osteosarcoma wherein the cell line has the following characteristics: a) a normal p53 gene; b) a normal RB-1 gene; c) a normal c-myc gene; d) a normal c-fos gene; e) a deregulated immediate early gene response; f) a canalicular network MATRIGEL.TM. growth pattern; g) poorly tumorigenic in congenitally athymic mice; h) no alkaline phosphatase activity; i) an ability to produce one or more of the following growth factors: 1) a non-heparin binding growth factor, 2) a first heparin binding growth factor, 3) a second heparin binding growth factor, and 4) a third heparin binding growth factor; and j) an ability to be serially propagated greater than sixty population doublings.. The present invention also relates to growth factors having the characteristics of growth factors isolated from the rat osteosarcoma cell line.. The present invention further relates to a process for producing such growth factors comprising growing the cells of the present invention in a culture medium and recovering the growth factors.

Polypeptide growth factors play a key role in regulating the development of multicellular organisms and in the processes of tissue maintenance and repair. (Cross and Dexter (1991) Cell, Vol. 64, pp. 271-280; Aaronson (1991) Science, Vol. 254, pp. 1146-1153.) At the cellular level, growth factors are involved in regulating proliferation and the progressive acquisition of the differentiated phenotype. Growth factors are capable of stimulating cellular proliferation as well as inhibiting cellular proliferation and many growth factors have been found to be multifunctional (Sporn and Roberts (1988) Nature, Vol. 332, pp. 217-219). The highly coordinated functions of growth factors is perhaps best exemplified in the development of the hematopoiectic cell system (Metcalf (1989) Nature, Vol. 339, pp. 27-30) where a limited number of stem cells give rise to a larger population of developmentally restricted progenitor cells. These progenitors cells are further stimulated to proliferate and differentiate into mature lymphoid, erythroid and myeloid cells. A balance between cell types and numbers of cells must be maintained throughout the developmental cascade. This requires the concerted actions of growth factors which commit a cell (now developmentally restricted) along a particular cell lineage, of growth factors which stimulate the proliferation of committed cells, and finally, of growth factors which promote the differentiation of the committed cells and inhibit the proliferation of the mature, fully differentiated cells.
Tumor cells represent naturally occurring examples of cells where the processes that control cellular proliferation and differentiation have been uncoupled (Cross and Dexter (1991) Cell, Vol. 64, pp. 271-280; Aaronson (1991) Science, Vol. 254, pp. 1146-1153). The observation that many types of tumor cells secrete growth factors suggests that these factors can contribute to the tumorigenic process as well as normal cellular processes. Tumor cells have been found to secrete autocrine growth factors which stimulate the proliferation of the tumor cells themselves and paracrine growth factors which stimulate surrounding cells to secrete factors promoting the proliferation of the tumor cells. Paracrine factors can also stimulate the surrounding cells to provide a cellular environment promoting the survival of the tumor cells. For example, many types of tumor cells secrete growth factors that recruit endothelial cells and stimulate their proliferation and differentiation resulting in a new vasculature supplying nutrients for the tumor cells (Liotta et al., (1991) Cell, Vol. 64, pp. 327-336).


A detector assembly (50) is formed by integrating the electronic processing circuits on a CMOS wafer by stitching a plurality of reticles of at least two different types so as to form an integrated circuit having an array of electronic processing circuits each having a respective sensor input disposed toward a first surface of the wafer and accessible from the first surface via a contact formed near an edge of the integrated circuit. Sensor elements (56) are disposed on the first surface of the respective integrated circuits in the detector whereby an exposed surface of the sensor elements forms a common first electrode towards which incident photons are directed, and an opposite unexposed surface thereof forms multiple second electrodes of opposite polarity to the first electrode each in registration with a corresponding sensor input.

Pixel sensors are known to comprise an array of sensor elements such as diodes, and a complementary array of electronics, typically in the form of an ASIC and comprising a charge amplifier and processing electronics for each sensor element. In CCDs such as are used in miniature television cameras and the like, the sensor elements are formed of silicon diodes which are responsive to visible light for producing a current which is amplified by the charge amplifier and subsequently processed.
Pixel sensors for X-ray and nuclear medical imaging are known that respond to high-energy photons such as X-rays or γ-rays and produce charge in a similar manner. Conventional silicon diodes are not suitable for such applications because they are transparent to the high-energy photons and therefore other materials such as cadmium telluride or mercuric iodide are used instead. Since these materials are not based on silicon, the diode cannot be integrated together with the associated electronics as a single monolithic structure and this requires, in practice, that the sensor elements and the associated electronics be manufactured on separate wafers, which are then interconnected using bump bonding.
Our prior application WO 03/083944 entitled "Pixel sensor array and method of manufacture thereof" and filed Feb. 18, 2003 discloses a sensor array having a plurality of pixels formed on a wafer 10 as shown in FIG. 1. The wafer 10 constitutes an integrated circuit or chip, typically formed of a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) wafer and provided with scribe lines 11 so as to form a rectangular matrix of sensor elements 12 each of which, in turn, comprises a matrix of 3×5 pixels 13. The wafer 10 is processed at a silicon foundry in known manner and for the purpose of low-cost mass-production is processed according to the invention as an uncut wafer bearing multiple replicas of the same integrated circuit. Each pixel 13 includes a sensor input 14 that is connected to a charge amplifier 15 and a processing unit 16. The charge amplifier 15 together with the processing unit 16 constitute the pixel electronics to which the sensor element (not shown) is connected and which responds to a photon striking the sensor element for measuring the charge produced thereby. Thus, the silicon wafer 10 contains multiple replicas of the pixel array 12, and the silicon wafer 10, after scribing, would produce multiple ASICs each containing, for example, an array of 3×5 pixel electronic circuits for connecting to a respective sensor element.
In order to obviate the need for wire bonding as commonly used in pixel sensors, WO 03/083944 connects each sensor input 14 via a respective ohmic contact (or "via") through the silicon wafer to the reverse side thereof. This contact may then be used to connect the sensor element directly to the sensor electronics by effectively bonding the sensor element in correct spatial disposition with respect to the electronics on the reverse side of the silicon wafer.
Reference is also made to "A vertically integrated high resolution active pixel sensor for deep submicron CMOS processes" by Stephan Benthien et al. presented to the IEEE Workshop on CCDs and Advanced Image Sensors, Jun. 10-12, 1999. This article describes a multi-pixel CMOS array for visible light applications, such as photography. It employs thin film ASIC (TFA) technology to deposit an amorphous silicon detector on a pre-fabricated ASIC. The article does not address the need for a multi-pixel sensor array that is amenable to formation of a large area sensor assembly having multiple sensor arrays juxtaposed and makes no provision for such assembly.
FIG. 2 shows pictorially a typical arrangement comprising a standalone 2-D pixel sensor depicted generally as 20 and comprising an upper sensor array 21 comprising multiple sensor elements (not shown), each of which is bump-bonded to a corresponding electronics module in a lower ASIC 22. In addition, power and control signals are fed to the sensor 20 and this typically requires that control-pads 23 be formed along at least one edge of the composite chip and which may be connected to external circuitry using wire-bonding 24.
The typical size of each pixel in such an array is 200 μm and the typical dimension of the two-dimensional array is 1 cm2. This means that there are typically some 625 pixels per pixel array. In practice, it is usually necessary to image over a much larger area, for example at least 10×10 cm2. This requires that 100 pixel arrays must be packed together, for example as a 10×10 matrix. On the one hand, the bump bonding technique used in conventional pixel sensors militates against the closer packing density of the pixels so that it becomes difficult to increase the resolution of the sensor by packing more pixels into a pixel array, since the need to bump-bond each sensor to the corresponding electronics in a different array is a costly process and is subject to low yields. Furthermore, the provision of control-pads along an edge of each module and the need to wire bond these pads to external circuitry means that adjacent sensor arrays cannot be packed edge-to-edge without introducing a "dead" zone where there are, in fact, no pixels at all owing to the interposing I/O and control-pads. Moreover, the connection of the I/O control-pads to the external circuitry by wire bonding is also a costly and cumbersome process and further reduces the effective overall packing density.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,868 (Yutaka) published Oct. 19, 1993 and entitled "Solidstate image sensor device" discloses a semiconductor image sensor device comprising arrayed photo-sensors, wherein a connection electrode used for connecting an external circuit or an aperture on the connection electrode is provided at an opposite side surface to an illuminated surface, and a transparent substrate is provided above the arrayed photo-sensors. By such means the distance between a light source and the photo-sensors can be reduced so as to improve sensitivity and resolving power.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,998,292 (Black et al.) issued Dec. 7, 1999 and entitled "Method for making three dimensional circuit integration" discloses a method for interconnecting, through high-density micro-post wiring, multiple semiconductor wafers with lengths of about a millimeter or below. The method comprises etching at least one hole, defined by walls, at least partly through a semiconducting material; forming a layer of electrically insulating material to cover said walls; and forming an electrically conductive material on said walls within the channel of the hole.
JP61 128564A2 (Fujitsu Ltd.) published Jun. 16, 1986 and entitled "Semi-conductor Device" describes a process for forming a photodetecting section and a driving circuit on the surface and the back of the same substrate and connecting both by a wiring through a through-hole. An amplifier and other driving circuits are shaped to a Si growth layer, and an n type region is formed through the implantation of B+ ions in order to shape a P-N junction for a photodetecting element. Aluminum for a wiring is shaped so as to unit one part of the n type region and the Si growth layer side where the driving circuit is formed, and shaped through a method, such as ion beam evaporation, electron beam evaporation, etc. while masking sections except a required section. Aluminum is evaporated from both upper and lower surfaces, and the wiring is connected by plating. An HgCdTe growth section in the photo-detecting element section and the Si growth layer are displaced, and formed on both surfaces of a sapphire substrate.
Such a configuration appears to relate to a single photo-detector only and the silicon is not pre-fabricated but rather is grown on top of the sapphire substrate.
EP1 045 450A2 (Agilent Technologies Inc.) published Oct. 18, 2000 and entitled "Image sensor array device" discloses an image sensor array that includes a substrate. An interconnect structure is formed adjacent to the substrate. An amorphous silicon electrode layer is adjacent to the interconnect structure. The amorphous silicon electrode layer includes electrode ion implantation regions between pixel electrode regions. The pixel electrode regions define cathodes of an array of image sensors. The electrode ion implantation regions provide physical isolation between the pixel electrode regions. The cathodes are electrically connected to the interconnect structure. An amorphous silicon I-layer is adjacent to the amorphous silicon electrode layer. The amorphous silicon I-layer forms an inner layer of each of the image sensors. A transparent electrode layer is formed adjacent to the image sensors. An inner surface of the transparent electrode layer is electrically connected to anodes of the image sensors and the interconnect structure. The amorphous silicon I-layer can further include I-layer ion implantation regions that provide physical isolation between the inner layers of the image sensors. The I-layer ion implantation regions align with the electrode ion implantation regions. An amorphous silicon P-layer can be formed adjacent to the amorphous silicon I-layer. The amorphous silicon P-layer forms an outer layer of each of the image sensors. The amorphous silicon P-layer can include P-layer ion implantation regions that provide physical isolation between the outer layers of the image sensors.
EP 537 514A2 (Mitsubishi corporation) published Apr. 21, 1993 and entitled "Optoelectronic integrated circuit" discloses an optoelectronic integrated circuit including a light receiving element for converting an optical signal to an electric signal and an electronic circuit for processing the electric signal. The light receiving element is disposed on a first main surface of the substrate and includes p side electrodes and n side electrodes alternately arranged in parallel to each other. The electronic circuit is disposed on a second main surface of the substrate. The light receiving element is electrically connected to the electronic circuit by a via hole penetrating through the substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,792 (Sclar) issued Oct. 15, 1985 and entitled "Selective access array integrated circuit" discloses a semiconductor integrated circuit having an array of electronic devices and a plurality of electronic access devices. The access devices consist of sets of MOSFETs which may be turned on by the joint action of X and Y address lines to permit individual and isolated electrical connection between selected electronic devices in the array and peripheral on or off-hip sensing circuits. This permits continuous readout to be established and maintained for the selected devices without interference with the other devices in the array and without a requirement to readout any but the selected devices. In order to provide minimum dead space between the array detectors, the array and access devices may be disposed on opposite surfaces of the semiconductor body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,746 (Werner et al.) issued Aug. 15, 1989 and entitled "Method for producing an optocoupler" discloses a method for manufacturing optocouplers or reflex light barriers, wherein semiconductor light transmitters and semiconductor light receivers are situated on a single substrate. The optic coupling or optic isolation of light transmitter and light receiver takes place in the substrate. Only then are semiconductor elements separated into discrete units.
Regardless of what technology is used to fabricate the sensor array, and regardless of the size of the sensor array, a practical CT detector typically requires that multiple sensor arrays be juxtaposed edge to edge in order to provide adequate coverage. Inevitably this introduces some "dead space" between adjacent sensor arrays which is insensitive to incoming photons as discussed above. It is clearly desirable to reduce the dead space as much as possible. The small size of hitherto-proposed sensor arrays such as shown in FIG. 2 having contact pads at an edge on the one hand militates against their use as standalone X-ray or γ-ray detectors and, on the other hand, renders it inevitable that when juxtaposed edge to edge there will be created dead spaces in the central regions of the detector which are insensitive to incoming photons.
Our WO 03/083944 as well as some of the other references discussed above address this problem and provide one solution: namely the provision of conductive vias so that connections to the sensor elements can be effected through the reverse side of the wafer. This solution is effective but the need to provide the conductive vias complicates the manufacturing process.
EP1253442A1 published Oct. 30, 2002 in the name of Hamamatsu Photonics and entitled "X-Ray image sensor" discloses a scintillator substrate constituted by an X-ray-transparent substrate and a scintillator in contact with the imaging plane of a solid-state imaging device. The solid-state imaging device and a frame are secured onto a base plate. The substrate is set relatively thin to improve its X-ray transmissivity.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,539 (Kwasnick et al.) published Jul. 21, 1992 and entitled "Planar X-ray imager having a moisture-resistant sealing structure" discloses a radiation imager comprising a scintillator mated to a photodetector array.
These prior art references are representative of X-ray imaging devices employing scintillators. These are not direct detection devices since their principle of operation is that incoming X-rays strike the scintillator where they produce light, which then strikes the adjacent photodetector array so as to generate spatial information relating to the position on the scintillator where the incident X-rays impinged. Such an approach is prone to inaccuracy since the light generated by the scintillator is apt to disperse and strike adjacent pixels of the photodetector array thereby resulting in poor spatial resolution. Moreover, scintillator detectors have poorer Detection Quantum Efficiency leading to higher patient dosage.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a large area sensor array suitable for that obviates the need to provide conductive vias through the silicon wafer, but nevertheless avoids dead space associated with know approaches and offers superior performance to scintillator detectors.

Pixel detector and method of manufacture and assembly thereof


In a passenger service unit, particularly in a passenger cabin of an aircraft, comfort and service elements such as a reading lamp, a flight attendant call button, a loudspeaker, an air nozzle, an oxygen mask and generator, optical display elements, are integrated into a service column. Feeder lines between a main supply line and the passenger service columns are flexible to facilitate the mounting or placement of the columns as a complement to a passenger seat. The column is positioned in the lateral area of a seat to which the column is allocated.

German Patent Publication DE 43 01 681 C1 (Schumacher), published on Oct. 20, 1994, and corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,332, describes such service units, called passenger service units (PSU), in a passenger aircraft cabin. The PSUs are provided for each row of seats and are mounted beneath the luggage compartments arranged in the upper area of the cabin. Increasingly, such luggage compartments are being fitted with a flap or shell that can be lowered. Such lowerable flaps, however, do not allow a service unit to be positioned in the middle area of the row of seats because the service unit would interfere with the luggage compartment flap when the flap is lowered. Consequently, the service units are conventionally displaced away from the middle area toward the windows, where they are not readily accessible to the passengers sitting in the aisle seats, whereby a conflict area is formed between passengers in window seats and center seats and passengers in aisle seats who have a harder time reaching the service units, whereby the latter can annoy the former when trying to access the service units.
Further, it is important for the passengers to have a sense of comfort and well-being based on a cabin that presents a spacious appearance to avoid a closed-in feeling. The arrangement of the service units in the upper area of the cabin, as described in the above mentioned publication, detracts from the positive impression of a spacious cabin. The free and clear head room is limited by the space needed by each passenger to access the service unit. As a result, the inner contour of the cabin is correspondingly low at this location. Furthermore, the service units also require repositioning when the seating layout is changed. This results in substantial additional time and effort for assembly and maintenance of the seating arrangement.
It is also known that certain elements for passenger comfort and service can be arranged in the passenger seats. For example, German Patent Publication DE 37 19 105 A1 (Keiper), published on Dec. 22, 1988, shows a flight passenger seat, in which communication elements such as receivers, loudspeakers, video connections, control elements, and reading lamps are integrated. The communication and control elements are part of a wireless radio information system powered by an energy source that is allocated to the specific seat.
DE 42 27 377 A1 (Beroth), published on Feb. 25, 1993 discloses a further passenger seat which contains an emergency oxygen system. An oxygen generator is integrated into the seat section while a mask compartment is provided in the backrest. This publication, however, does not show how additional components for supplying passenger services are arranged.
In German Patent Publication DE 34 44 802 C2 (Sprenger et al.), published on Jun. 12, 1986; corresponds partly to U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,514 (Hildebrandt), it is suggested that data terminals be arranged at the passenger seat, particularly in the rear side of the backrests of the seats, for providing the passengers with service, monitoring, entertainment, information, and management to functions. According to this publication, the passenger can use these terminals to gather certain information, perform certain work, or for entertainment. The above mentioned publication discloses nothing about the arrangement of other systems that are relevant to passengers, such as flight attendant call, on-board speaker system, reading lamps and air nozzles.
The above conventional, prior art thus shows that single components or single systems that function for the most part independently of a total supply or service system, can be integrated into a seat and thus become a structural part of the seat. However, a functional consolidation of all components that are available to the passenger, in the form of one service unit, separate from the passenger seat, and that are fed from one main supply line, is not known.

Passenger service unit especially for a passenger aircraft cabin


An information distribution system is provided that can distribute various types of information without imposing extra workload on users. This information distribution system includes a server device that can access a profile DB and an information source DB. This server device includes an operation history recorder, a feature extractor, a profiler, an information collector, and an information distributor. Every time a user operates an information device, the server device obtains the operation history of the user. The operation history contains the user ID, the types of operations, and the text information of the handled document. The server device then linguistically analyzes the text information to extract the feature information. After performing weighting on the feature information, the server device registers the feature information in the profile DB. The server device then obtains information from the information source DB, and extracts the profile corresponding to the information from the profiles registered in the profile DB. The server device then distributes the information to the user having the extracted profile.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information distribution system, and, more particularly, to an information distribution system that detects information needs of users from the usage histories of information devices such as a printer and a copying machine, collects information that meets the needs from information sources, and then distributes the collected information to the users.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an office environment, it is necessary to identify users who need information to be uploaded to the Internet or an internal document control server, for example, and to timely distribute the information to the identified users. In a conventional method, the information distribution is performed in the following manner:    1) each user inputs the category and keyword of information he/she needs to acquire, and adds the category and keyword to his/her own profile registered in the system; and    2) if new information is uploaded, the system searches for the corresponding profile, and distributes the new information to the user having the profile.
However, there are several problems with the conventional system that manually produces and corrects the profiles of users. The problems include:    1) the keyword input imposes additional workload on each user;    2) users might not be able to remember the appropriate keyword for their information needs; and    3) when the information needs to be changed, the change is not reflected in the system unless the user manually corrects his/her profile.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2000-105764 discloses a system that produces each new user profile based on document information that has been determined to be suitable for producing a profile by the user, stores and controls the relationships among user profiles, and displays document information that constantly reflects changes of the interests of the users. Also, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2001-160067 discloses a Web recommended article notifying service system. In this system, the similarity between each user profile and an article is calculated, identified, and analyzed, by more than one method. In generating each profile, the history of the user reading documents is fed back to the profile. Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. 2001-350786 discloses a system and method (a marketing support system and method) of analyzing electronic documents produced by users, when generating profiles of the users. By doing so, incorrectness in the profiles can be avoided, and the workload of constructing profiles can be reduced.
Further, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 11-66081 discloses a profile acquiring system, an information providing system, a profile acquiring method, and a profile acquiring medium. In this disclosure, documents that have been produced, read, or quoted by each user, are utilized to acquire the profile of the user. Also, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 11-45284 discloses a profile producing method, and a computer-readable recording medium on which a program for performing the procedures of the method with a computer is recorded. In this disclosure, the search conditions set by users and the search results are utilized to produce the profiles of the users.
All of the above prior art disclosures are aimed at automatically generating profiles, though the information acquiring means on which the automatic profile generation is based are different among the prior art disclosures. Still, the conventional information acquiring means do not include office information devices, such as printers, copying machines, scanners, facsimile machines, and digital multifunction peripherals. As a person uses a printer to print out a document, or a copying machine to obtain a duplicate copy of the document, the operation history has relevance to the person and the information contained in the document. For instance, when a user prints out copies of reference material to be distributed at a business meeting, the information contained in the reference material is the information necessary to the user and his/her work. Also, when a user makes a duplicate copy of a monograph, the information contained in the document (the monograph) is the information that the user is interested in.


A head-gimbal assembly (HGA) is disclosed. The HGA comprises a head including a slider having a leading end and a trailing end that define a slider length. The head further includes a read transducer disposed at the trailing end. The HGA further comprises an adhesive material and a flexure that includes a tongue to which the head is adhered. The tongue includes three stand-offs in contact with the slider, each of the three stand-offs spanning a stand-off length that is one-half the slider length or less. Two of the three stand-offs are disposed adjacent the leading end.

The typical hard disk drive includes a head disk assembly (HDA) and a printed circuit board (PCB) attached to a disk drive base of the HDA. The head disk assembly includes at least one disk (such as a magnetic disk, magneto-optical disk, or optical disk), a spindle motor for rotating the disk, and a head stack assembly (HSA). The printed circuit board assembly includes electronics and firmware for controlling the rotation of the spindle motor and for controlling the position of the HSA, and for providing a data transfer channel between the disk drive and its host.
The spindle motor typically includes a rotor including one or more rotor magnets and a rotating hub on which disks mounted and clamped, and a stator. If more than one disk is mounted on the hub, the disks are typically separated by spacer rings that are mounted on the hub between the disks. Various coils of the stator are selectively energized to form an electromagnetic field that pulls/pushes on the rotor magnet(s), thereby rotating the hub. Rotation of the spindle motor hub results in rotation of the mounted disks.
The head stack assembly typically includes an actuator, at least one head gimbal assembly (HGA), and a flex cable assembly. During operation of the disk drive, the actuator must rotate to position the HGAs adjacent desired information tracks on the disk. The actuator includes a pivot bearing cartridge to facilitate such rotational positioning. One or more actuator arms extend from the actuator body. An actuator coil is supported by the actuator body opposite the actuator arms. The actuator coil is configured to interact with one or more fixed magnets in the HDA, typically a pair, to form a voice coil motor. The printed circuit board assembly provides and controls an electrical current that passes through the actuator coil and results in a torque being applied to the actuator. A crash stop is typically provided to limit rotation of the actuator in a given direction, and a latch is typically provided to prevent rotation of the actuator when the disk dive is not in use.
Each HGA includes a head for reading and writing data from and to the disk. In magnetic recording applications, the head typically includes an air bearing slider and a magnetic transducer that comprises a writer and a read element. The magnetic transducer's writer may be of a longitudinal or perpendicular design, and the read element of the magnetic transducer may be inductive or magnetoresistive. In optical and magneto-optical recording applications, the head may include a mirror and an objective lens for focusing laser light on to an adjacent disk surface.
The HGA includes a flexure that includes a tongue to which the head is adhered. The adhesive must cure after the head is aligned within close proximity to the tongue. Light-curable adhesives may be used in this application, however the space between the head and the tongue is narrow and does not easily allow the entry of adequate light for adhesive curing.
Thus, there is a need in the art for an improved flexure design that facilitates increased access for UV light to reach the slider bonding adhesive during assembly.

Head-gimbal assembly including a flexure tongue with stand-offs arranged to facilitate lateral light entry


A leak collection chamber is provided inside the housing of a fuel dispenser. The leak collection chamber collects any leaked fuel from fuel handling components inside the fuel dispenser so that the fuel does not leak to the environment. The leak collection chamber can be removed from the fuel dispenser for evacuation. The control system inside the fuel dispenser can determine the liquid level inside the leak containment chamber and generate signals and alarms if the liquid level exceeds a threshold liquid level value and/or the rate of increase in liquid level exceeds a threshold liquid level increase value. The control system can alert service personnel and/or other systems of the leak collection chamber liquid level. Further, the control system and/or other systems shut down the submersible turbine pump that services the fuel dispenser with fuel in response to catastrophic leak condition.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, fuel dispensers 10 are installed in service stations on islands 14. The islands 14 are footprints that are designed to receive a fuel dispenser housing 12. The islands 14 are typically constructed out of cement slabs and have pre-run fuel piping conduits that are run underneath the ground to submersible turbine pumps (not shown) that are coupled to underground storage tanks (not shown) containing fuel. The fuel is pumped from the underground storage tanks to the fuel dispensers 10 via the fuel piping conduit.
As shown in FIG. 1, the fuel piping conduit consists of a main fuel piping conduit 16 that carries fuel underneath each of the fuel dispensers 10. A separate main fuel piping conduit 16 is provided for each grade of fuel stored in underground storage tanks. The main fuel piping conduit 16 is typically double-walled piping to meet regulatory requirements for secondary containment of any leaks that may occur. The main fuel piping conduit 16 contains an inner piping 17 inside that carries the fuel. An interstitial space is formed between the space of the inner piping 17 and the outer piping 18 to provide secondary containment of any leaks that occur in the inner piping 17.
Fuel is directed to individual fuel dispensers 10 by a branch piping conduit 19 that is fluidly coupled to the main fuel piping conduit 16. The branch piping conduit 19 is typically connected to the main fuel piping conduit 16 in a perpendicular fashion, and a fitting 20 is provided at the junction point where the branch piping conduit 19 connects to the main fuel piping conduit 16. The branch fuel piping conduit 19 is then connected to a shear valve 22 located in the island. During installation, field service personnel connects the outlet 24 of the shear valve 22 to the internal fuel piping conduit 26 in the fuel dispenser 10 so that the fuel dispenser 10 has access to fuel pumped from the underground storage tank.
The internal fuel piping conduit 26 is further fitted to fuel dispenser components, such as valves and meters for example, where such fittings introduce the potential for leaks. If a leak occurs in the conduit 26 or at fittings or other fuel dispensing components, regulations require that these leaks are contained. This secondary containment is provided today in the form of a fuel dispenser sump 28 underneath each fuel dispenser 10. The main fuel piping conduit 16 is run into the fuel dispenser sump 28 through fitted connections 30 provided on the fuel dispenser sump 28. Typically, the main fuel piping conduit 16 enters the fuel dispenser sump at connection 29 and the outer piping 16 is terminated thereby leaving on the inner piping 17 inside the fuel dispenser sump 28. Once the inner piping 17 leaves the fuel dispenser sump 28 on the other side, a connection 29 is made to provide double-walled piping 16 until the main fuel piping conduit 16 reaches the next fuel dispenser sump 28.
The branch fuel piping conduit 19 is connected to the main fuel piping conduit 16 via the fitting 20, as previously described. If a leak occurs at the fitting 20 or in the branch fuel piping conduit 19, the leak will be contained in the fuel dispenser sump 28. There are also other points for potential leaks for which the fuel dispenser sump 28 provides secondary containment. One such point is at the fitting 20 that connects the main fuel piping conduit 16 and the branch fuel piping conduit 19, where a potential for a leak exists at the point of the fitting 20. The fitting 20 is not provided with an outer wall or secondary containment that will capture any leaks like that of the main conduit fuel piping 16. The branch fuel piping conduit 19 is also not double-walled piping. Because of the leak potential at the fitting 20 between the main fuel piping conduit 16 and the branch fuel piping conduit 19, and because the branch fuel piping conduit 19 is not double-walled piping, secondary containment contains any leaks that may occur at the fitting 20 and/or in the branch fuel piping conduit 19.
One problem that results from use of a fuel dispenser sump 28 is that the sump will also collect rainwater or other debris that runs into the fuel dispenser 10 from the outside ground. This causes the fuel dispenser sump 28 to fill up even if a leak has not occurred. The fuel dispenser sump 28 is provided with a liquid detection sensor 32 so that service personnel can be alerted when the fuel dispenser sump 28 contains liquid. When significant liquid is detected in the fuel dispenser sump 28 and/or upon the detection of a significant leak and collection of such leak in the fuel dispenser sump 28, the fuel dispenser sump 28 must be emptied by service personnel since it is not known whether the liquid is fuel. Fuel cannot be allowed to overflow the fuel dispenser sump 28. Each time the fuel dispenser sump 28 contains a significant amount of liquid, whether it be leaked fuel, rainwater or other debris, a service visit must be made to empty the fuel dispenser sump 28 thereby causing significant and ongoing servicing expense. The service visit is further complicated by the fact that the fuel dispenser sump 28 is located beneath ground underneath the fuel dispenser 10 and not easily accessed by service personnel for evacuation.
Therefore, there exists a need to provide a fuel dispenser that does not require a fuel dispenser sump below ground to provide secondary containment for leaks. In this manner, the fuel dispenser will easier to service and less costly.


A brushless motor control apparatus calculates the number of rotations of an engine based on a cycle of zero-cross points of the phase voltage induced to a sub-coil of a three-phase brushless motor. When the number of rotation of the engine is smaller than the first number of rotations, before it becomes impossible to detect the zero-cross points, the control state of the three-phase brushless motor is changed from the state of phase control by a phase control regulator unit with respect to the AC output voltages to the state of interphase short circuit of motor coils by a short regulator unit. When the number of rotations of the engine exceeds the first number of rotations and the phase voltage becomes the voltage level such that the zero-cross points can be detected, the control state is changed again to the state of phase control by the phase control regulator unit.

Generally, as systems for drive-controlling three-phase brushless motors (hereinafter, simply referred to as "motors") to be used as starter motors and alternate current power generators of internal combustions (engines), sensor drive control circuits have been known. In a sensor drive control circuit, multiple hole devices for detecting the position of a rotor (on the permanent magnet side) in a three-phase brushless motor are mounted around the rotor. However, the sensor drive control circuit requires that multiple hole devices be provided in the motor and requires that a magnet or the like for detecting the position of the rotor be mounted separately from the rotor as needed, thereby interfering with miniaturization and cost reduction of the motor. Additionally, the precision of detecting the position of the rotor occasionally varies depending on the mounted state of the hole device. For this reason, implementation of a sensorless drive control circuit that detects the position of a rotor without using a sensor such as a hole device has been strongly demanded.
For example, there is a battery charging device that: generates a rectangular wave synchronized with zero-cross points of the AC output voltage of one of the three phases of a three-phase brushless motor (brushless motor that functions as an AC power generator), which is detected by a sub-coil Su in the three-phase brushless motor; generates, based on that rectangular wave, rectangular waves synchronized with the two other phases; and then, based on those rectangular waves (rotor position detection waveforms), rectifies and phase-controls the AC output voltage of the three-phase brushless motor (three-phase AC power generator) (see Patent Document 1).
Additionally, similarly, there is a brushless motor control apparatus that: includes a sub-coil Su that detects the AC output voltage of one of the three phases of the three-phase brushless motor; generates a rectangular wave synchronized with zero-cross points of the AC output voltage of the one phase detected by that sub-coil Su; generates, based on that rectangular wave, rectangular waves synchronized with the two other phases; estimates the position of a rotor based on those rectangular waves (rotor position detection waveforms); and drive-controls the brushless motor (see Patent Document 2).
Further, there is a related control device for a hybrid vehicle (see Patent Document 3). An object of the control device for the hybrid vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 3 is to ensure a desired degree of silence while increasing the precision of detecting the position of a magnetic pole.

Brushless motor control apparatus and brushless motor control method

SHINDENGEN ELECTRIC MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.


A utility cart having box construction and mobile support such as a set of caster wheels, holds a vertical shaft which engages one or more trays in positions above the cart. The trays are movable to selected positions vertically on the shaft and also are rotatable about the shaft so as to be placed conveniently for reaching tools and parts on the trays from a work position. Because the trays may be positioned laterally to one side of the cart, and are designed to be laden with heavy objects and tools, the cart further provides an outrigger leg attached to the vertical shaft at the floor. This leg is movable with the shaft so that by swinging a tray outboard of the cart, the outrigger leg is also positioned to stabilize the utility cart.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to utility carts, and more particularly to an improved cart having outrigger supports for stabilization when, or example, a tool laden convenience tray is cantilevered to one side of the cart.
2. Description of Related Art
The following art defines the present state of this field:
Combs et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,132 describes a tool storage system that is comprised of a framework, one or more pivot pins, a plurality of swinging arms, and an attachment assembly for each swinging arm. The framework is configured to attach to the front, top, or end of a conventional tool cabinet or to be constructed as part of a custom tool cabinet. The pivot pins are connected to the framework in a manner that permits their removal. Each swinging arm is connected to an attachment assembly which is pivotally mounted to one of the pivot pins, thereby permitting the swinging arms to pivotally swing from a storage mode to a ready access position. Each swinging arm comprises a magnetic material to which tools may be secured by magnetic attraction. Since the swinging arms swing into a position for ready access, tools may be magnetically secured to both the front and back of each swinging arm. For large and/or heavy tools, two or more adjacent swinging arms may be used to secure the tools. Also, each swinging arm may be secured in the storage mode by a latch.
Rea, U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,160 describes a sewings work station which has a plurality of work positions. The sewing station includes a horizontal top having a first work surface adapted to support a first sewing machine, a second work surface at an angle to the first work surface adapted to support a second sewing machine, and a bottom surface. A plurality of vertically adjustable legs support the top and include leg adjusters adapted to simultaneously adjust the length the legs equal amounts, whereby the top may be positioned at different operators. In the preferred embodiment, the sewing station further includes an articulated arm having a fixed end attached to the station and a free end movable between positions in front of the first and second work surfaces, and a chair mounted on the free end of the arm.
The prior art teaches utility carts of various types and configurations. However, the prior art does not teach a utility cart having a rotationally mounted tray and a means for countering the off-center weight of the cantilevered tray which is positionable lateral to the cart. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.


A gas venturi tube assembly for a barbecue grill which can be utilized in a wide variety of gas barbecue grill burner elements and base portions. A venturi tube and gas intake member telescope together for retentive adjustment. There are internal adjustable securing mechanisms provided between the venturi tube and the gas intake member so that communication between the gas supply and the burner element can be made irrespective of the placement of the burner element on the floor of the barbecue grill base and the distance from the gas supply. The internal adjustable securing mechanisms include an internal cavity in the gas intake member and a biased member extending from the venturi tube for placement in the internal cavity. In a preferred manner, the internal cavity is provided by a corrugated flexible section in the gas intake member, and the biased member is provided by a spring member extending through a wall of the venturi tube.

This invention relates to a gas venturi tube for a burner element in a barbecue gas grill. More particularly, it relates to a flexible and internally adjustable gas intake assembly for a gas burner element so that proper connection can be made between the burner element and a gas supply nozzle irrespective of the vertical or horizontal or vertical and horizontal distance the burner element is supported from the grill floor in relation to the gas supply.
Various barbecue grill bases have floors for the burner element located at various positions on the floor and located vertically and/or horizontally from the gas supply nozzle. Accordingly, it is necessary to construct each gas intake pipe and venturi tube to match the particular distance from the burner element and the gas supply nozzle so that the burner element is in communication with the gas supply pipe. Cost savings can be effected if a venturi tube is fabricated so as to fit in a suitable manner the many burner elements in a barbecue base portion and provide proper and adjustable connection with a gas supply. It is also highly desirable if the adjustable connection provided by the venturi tube affords a secure fitment.
The state of the art for retentive and adjustable gas delivery systems for barbecue grills is represented in U.S. Pat. No. RE 32,133. In RE 32,133, which is commonly assigned, an adjustable securing means such as represented by screw 51 and dimples 50 are provided on the venturi tube 24 and a gas intake tube 55. Also, there is disclosed shear tubes 75 and 76 as well as threads 71 for this same purpose. Concerning other prior art, in German Pat. No. 25 24 492 there is described a gas cooking unit wherein a gas connection can be made with flexible coiled tubing or telescoping tubes. This particular unit is of the range and oven type, and the gas connection is for a one-time installation. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,692 there is a slidable venturi tube which is internally retained in a flexible tube. However, there is no internal adjustment.
The prior art does not provide an adjustable venturi tube assembly wherein retentive adjustment can be made internally of the assembly. Such internal adjustment is desirable not only from an aesthetic standpoint, but also because it can obviate the use of tools. The additional retentive feature provides for a positive attachment without further undesired movement during subsequent use.
It is an advantage of the present invention to provide a venturi tube for a burner in a gas barbecue grill which can operatively provide an adjustable and positive connection between various gas burner elements in grill base floors and gas intake nozzles which are spaced horizontally and/or vertically from the burner.
It is another advantage of this invention to provide an adjustable venturi tube assembly of the foregoing type wherein retentive adjustment is made internally of two telescoping tubes.
It is still another advantage of this invention to provide an adjustable venturi tube assembly of the foregoing type which allows for adjustment without tools.
It is yet another advantage of the present invention to provide an adjustable venturi tube assembly of the foregoing type which can be manufactured and assembled with few parts and in an economical manner.

Adjustable tube assembly for a gas barbecue grill


A rear pre-crash safety system of a vehicle comprising a judgement logic adapted to issue at least one collision warning signal in response to a detected radar signal reflected by an object approaching the vehicle from behind depending on a radar cross section, RCS, of the approaching object and depending on a velocity of the approaching object relative to the respective vehicle.

A wide range of technologies has been designed to ensure the safety of passengers of a vehicle. The focus of passive safety systems has been to design a car body which is adapted to absorb the potentially high energy which is generated by a collision with another object. These passive safety systems comprise for instance seat belts and airbags. Increasingly, advanced active pre-crash safety systems are used in vehicles. With these active safety systems, other vehicles, obstacles, pedestrians or any other kinds of objects in the vehicle's path and/or vehicle's vicinity are detected to trigger a reaction of the vehicle, in particular to avoid a collision with the other object. The rear pre-crash safety system can use a radar signal reflected by another object approaching the vehicle from behind to trigger an activator such as a hazard light warning the driver of the approaching vehicle. Accordingly, conventional rear pre-crash systems can issue warning signals in case that another object is approaching the vehicle from behind. However, in many scenarios unwanted rear pre-crash system, RPCS, warning signals are issued or generated by the rear pre-crash system. For instance, in a stop and go traffic scenario, a motorcycle that does pass through small gaps between vehicles triggers an unwanted RPCS warning signal although no collision with the approaching motorcycle will happen.

Rear pre-crash flashing hazard lamp system


A human IFN-γ inducing polypeptide and its nucleotide sequence was isolated, purified and characterized. Pharmaceutical compositions containing this novel IFN-γ inducing polypeptide or active fragments thereof are formulated and monoclonal antibodies are raised against this polypeptide or antigenic fragments thereof. The polypeptide can be used in a method for treating diseases susceptive to treatment with IFN-γ, and methods for enhancing the cytotoxicity of NK cells or for inducing the formation of LAK cells, such as to treat tumors and malignant pathologies.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polypeptide and fragments thereof which induce interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production by immunocompetent cells, a pharmaceutical composition containing same, and a monoclonal antibody specific for this polypeptide. The present invention also relates to a DNA encoding the IFN-γ production inducing polypeptide or peptide, methods of using the polypeptide or fragments thereof, pharmaceutical compositions, or monoclonal antibodies.
2. Description of the Related Art
Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) is a protein which is known to have antiviral, antioncotic, and immunoregulatory activities, and which is produced by immunocompetent cells stimulated with antigens or mitogens. Because of these biological activities, IFN-γ was expected to be used as an antitumor agent and was tested in clinical trials as a therapeutic for treating malignant tumors in general, including brain tumors. IFN-γ preparations, which are now commercially available, are roughly classified into two groups, natural IFN-γ polypeptides produced by immunocompetent cells and recombinant IFN-γ polypeptides produced in Escherichia coli transformed with a DNA which encodes for natural IFN-γ. In the clinical trials, either natural IFN-γ polypeptide or recombinant IFN-γ is administered to patients as an exogenous IFN-γ.
Natural IFN-γ polypeptides are usually produced by culturing established immunocompetent cells in nutrient culture media supplemented with IFN-γ inducers to produce IFN-γ polypeptides, and then purifying the produced IFN-γ polypeptides. It is known that the type of IFN-γ inducer used in the nutrient culture media greatly influences the production yield of IFN-γ polypeptide as well as the ease of IFN-γ purification and the safety of the final IFN-γ preparations. Generally, mitogens such as concanavalin A (Con A), lentil lectin from Lens culinaris, pokeweed pectin from Phytolacca americana, endotoxin and lipopolysaccharide can be used as IFN-γ inducers. However, these mitogens have problems with the molecular variety and quality of the preparation, which depend on the origin of the mitogen and purification methods used, as well as on production of mitogens with constant IFN-γ inducibility in satisfactory yields. In addition, most of these mitogens induce unfavorable side effects when administered in vivo, with some even showing toxicity. As a result, it is not practical to use such mitogens to induce IFN-γ production by direct in vivo administration to a patient.
Recently, some pharmaceuticals which contain as an effective ingredient a cytokine, such as interferon-α, interferon-β, TNF-α, TNF-β, interleukin 2, and interleukin 12, as well as IFN-γ, were developed or are being explored for actual use. These pharmaceuticals can be used as an antitumor agent, antiviral agent, antiseptic or immunoregulatory agent and, if necessary, they can be used together with other medicaments.
Unlike chemically-synthesized pharmaceuticals, the aforesaid pharmaceuticals have the characteristic that they can be administered to patients for a relatively long period of time without inducing serious side effects. However, they also have the drawback that their therapeutic effects are relatively low, and they cannot substantially abate or cure diseases when used alone; the results vary depending on the types of diseases and symptoms to be treated. Accordingly, these pharmaceuticals are now used as a supplement to chemically-synthesized agents in the treatment of serious diseases, such as malignant tumors, to prolong the patient's life.

Interferon-γ inducing polypeptide, pharmaceutical composition thereof, monoclonal antibody thereto, and methods of use

Kabushiki Kaisha Hayashibara Seibutsu Kagaku Kenkyujo


The present invention is to provide a display panel, a multi-layer display element, and a method of fabricating same, which can readily align alignment positions of individual display panels with each other even though common alignment marks are provided on each of display panels. A display panel includes a pair of substrates faced to each other as a display material layer is sandwiched between the substrates, a plurality of pixels provided in a plane almost in parallel with a substrate surface between the substrates, and a plurality of alignment marks formed in different shapes and linearly arranged on at least one of the pair of the substrates at a predetermined interval for alignment in placing the display panels in layers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-layer display element having a plurality of display panels placed in layers, and a method of fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the future, it is expected that electronic paper rapidly spreads, which can hold display images with no power supply and electrically rewrite a display content. Electronic paper is under development with the aim of realizing ultralow power consumption enabling memory display even though a power supply is turned off, reflective display easy on the eyes with no fatigue, and a flexible, low-profile display body with flexibility like paper. As the applications of electronic paper, electronic books, electronic newspapers, and electronic poster are proposed.
Depending on the differences of display types, electronic paper is categorized into an electrophoretic type, a twisting ball type, an electrochemical type, and a liquid crystal type. The electrophoretic type is a type in which charged particles are migrated in the air or in a liquid. The twisting ball type is a type in which charged particles tinted into two colors are rotated. The electrochemical type is a type using a display element having a structure in which a display material is sandwiched between electrodes, the display material being colored, faded or changed in color by an electrochemical reaction when an electric field is applied. A liquid crystal display element is a non-self-luminous display element having a structure in which a liquid crystal layer is sandwiched between a pixel electrode and a counter electrode.
The liquid crystal type is predominantly advantageous in color representation for electronic paper, which uses a liquid crystal display element (a liquid crystal display). In the liquid crystal type, a cholesteric liquid crystal type is advantageous, which uses a liquid crystal composition forming a cholesteric phase. This liquid crystal composition is referred to as cholesteric liquid crystals or chiral nematic liquid crystals. Hereinafter, it is referred to as "cholesteric liquid crystals". In the cholesteric liquid crystal type, the voltage to be applied to liquid crystals is controlled to switch the states of liquid crystals between the interference reflection state (planar state) in which light at a predetermined wavelength is selectively reflected in a liquid crystal layer according to the helical pitch of liquid crystal molecules and the transmissive state (focal conic state) in which the liquid crystal layer loses the selectivity of the reflection wavelength to transmit most of the incident light. Because these two states are stably held for a long time after the voltage is removed, the cholesteric liquid crystal type can maintain images with no power supply. In addition, as to the colorization of displayed images, in the cholesteric liquid crystal type, liquid crystal display panels in three colors can be used as the panels are laid on one another. Thus, in the cholesteric liquid crystal type, a black light absorbing layer is provided on the rear side, whereby when all the liquid crystal display panels are turned into the transmissive state, the screen can be displayed black, whereas when a liquid crystal display panel in necessary color is turned into the interference reflection state, the screen can be displayed in color.
In addition, also in the electrochemical type, because the states can be switched between the transparent state of transmitting the incident light and the reflective or absorbing state, display panels are laid on one another for use as similar to the cholesteric liquid crystal type, whereby color representation is allowed.
On the other hand, except the liquid crystal type and the electrochemical type, the other types do not allow the light transmissive state. Therefore, when color representation is conducted in the other types, it is necessary that a color filter is arranged on the display surface, the color filter being applied with three colors, red (R), green (G) and blue (B), for example, in blocks, and each pixel is divided into three sub-pixels. On this account, in these other types, the lightness is one-third as compared with that of the cholesteric liquid crystal type. Therefore, among reflective display elements with no provision of a backlight unit or front light unit, multi-layer display elements using the cholesteric liquid crystal type or the electrochemical type in particular can obtain bright display, and these elements are predominantly advantageous in regard to color representation.
In the multi-layer display element having a plurality of display panels placed in layers, in placing display panels in individual colors in layers, it is necessary to align the positions of the individual display panels in the in-plane direction and bond the panels together so as not to misalign the alignment positions of the pixels of the display panels. When the positions of the display panels in the in-plane direction are displaced, the alignment positions of the pixels are misaligned to cause color shift or the degradation of brightness, which leads to a reduced sharpness of the edges of text and images. On this account, it is difficult to obtain excellent display quality.
In order to align (match) the alignment positions of display panels with each other, generally, alignment marks are formed on each of display panels, and an operator enhances and visually recognizes the marks with a microscope, for example. At this time, the positions of the display panels are aligned with each other such that the positions of the alignment marks have a predetermined relation between the display panels. However, when alignment marks in the same shape are formed on each of the display panels, it is difficult to distinguish between a plurality of the alignment marks laid on each other which alignment mark corresponds to which one of upper and lower display panels. On this account, the operator slightly moves any one of the display panels and determines that the moved alignment mark corresponds to the display panel moved by the operator. Therefore, extra work is required to suffer working efficiency. Moreover, also in the case in which alignment marks are imaged by a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) camera to subject the taken image to image processing for detecting the positions of the alignment marks, it is difficult to distinguish between the alignment marks laid on each other, and it is not easy to match alignment positions with each other.
In order to solve the problem that it is difficult to distinguish between alignment marks laid on each other, it is possible to efficiently match alignment positions with each other when alignment marks are formed in different shapes for each of display panels.
In addition, in the multi-layer display element, because each of the display panels has a structure in which electrode substrates are paired and attached to each other, each display panel has some thickness. On this account, when the thickness of two display panels placed in layers is increased, it is difficult to visually recognize alignment marks at the same time, which leads to a degraded position accuracy of alignment positions, or to longer work hours required for alignment work.
Patent Document 1 (JP-A-2003-295148) discloses a method of improving the visibility of alignment marks in order to solve the problem that it is difficult to visually recognize the alignment marks of two display panels placed in layers at the same time. FIG. 17 is a plan view schematically depicting a liquid crystal display element 400 as disclosed in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. 17, in the liquid crystal display element 400, a dummy terminal forming area 418 is provided on each of transparent substrates 401 of a plurality of liquid crystal display panels 413, the dummy terminal forming area 418 is formed at the position corresponding to a terminal forming area of the adjacent liquid crystal display panel 413, and an alignment mark 419 is formed in the terminal forming area and the dummy terminal forming area 418 for use in placing the panels in layers.
In addition, not shown in the drawing, Patent Document 2 (JP-A-2001-343916) discloses a method of forming alignment marks in concentric circular shapes. In both of the methods, because the alignment marks are formed of a transparent electrode material, the contrast becomes low to cause insufficient visibility.
In order to solve the problem of insufficient visibility, Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent No. 2548560) discloses a method in which alignment electrodes 518 and 519 are also formed outside a display area E of display panels 513, voltage is applied to the electrodes 518 and 519 formed outside the display area E to produce or erase color for providing contrast to the areas surrounding the electrodes when the display panels 513 are placed in layers, and thus alignment marks are provided. FIG. 18 is a plan view schematically depicting a previous liquid crystal display element 500 disclosed in Patent Document 3. As shown in FIG. 18, in the liquid crystal display element 500, one or more of terminals of the alignment electrodes 518 are formed as adjacent to a terminal group of display electrodes, the terminals of the alignment electrodes 518 having a width narrower than that of the terminal group of the display electrodes, and the alignment electrodes 518 are extended into a seal to indicate alignment marks with the display electrodes 519 faced outside an original display area E.
The method of forming the alignment electrodes outside the display area of the display panel for providing alignment marks is superior in visibility as compared with the case of forming alignment marks with a material for forming a transparent electrode. However, because it is necessary to apply voltage to the electrodes, a circuit for voltage application has to be wired to the terminals of the electrodes, which decreases working efficiency in preparing the display panel.
In addition, in the method of forming the alignment marks in the area of a single electrode substrate where the electrode substrates of the display panel are not laid on each other beside the terminal forming area, and in the method of forming the shapes of the alignment marks in concentric circular shapes, the shapes of the alignment marks are different for individual display panels. On this account, a necessity occurs to change processes of forming alignment marks in preparing the individual display panels. Particularly, in a multi-layer liquid crystal display element in which a plurality of liquid crystal display panels for displaying different colors is placed in layers, the difference of the liquid crystal panels is only liquid crystals to be sealed between substrates, and the liquid crystal panels are allowed to have the same configuration and layout of the other members, such as electrode substrates, sealing wall materials, and end sealing materials. Thus, suppose that a process of forming alignment marks can be made common to all the display panels, fabrication efficiency will be improved dramatically.

Display panel, multi-layer display element, and method of fabricating the same


The present disclosure relates to systems and processes for environmental and condition monitoring of containerized assets. One illustrative system includes containers that are configured to enclose assets that are potentially hazardous and/or potentially sensitive to electromagnetic (EM)/radio frequency (RF) radiation or emissions. The assets may also be sensitive to various environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, shock and vibration. An exemplary system uses sensors to measure and track these environmental conditions inside a container for up to multiple years. An illustrative system may also use sensors to measure attributes of the asset. An illustrative system is configured to archive and report on the collected data. An illustrative system includes the ability to issue a warning when an asset may have been compromised. Additionally, the collected data may be used in predictive life analyses. More particularly, the collected data may be analyzed and compared to thresholds for container assets to reach deductive or inductive conclusions about the probability of damage, maintenance needs, or replacement needs.

A need exists in the prior art for a system having the capability of monitoring environments associated with assets within a containment shell (i.e., container) that is both highly sensitive and highly reliable. Such a desired system would include the ability to continuously and autonomously measure the container environment for extended time periods. In addition, the desired system would illustratively include the ability to measure attributes of the asset. The desired system would also illustratively interpret and archive measured data and transfer the information to remote locations.
Because the containerized assets are expected to function properly after long-term dormant storage, the exemplary system should capture the actual environmental conditions that occur within the container. This is of particular interest with respect to sealed containers. These monitored environmental conditions may include temperature, humidity, vibration, and shock. The monitored environmental conditions are illustratively selected to address sensitivities of the containerized asset. For example, excess humidity can precipitate corrosion. The exemplary system may also monitor asset attributes, such as outgassing or elongation. Each exemplary container should be individually monitored since the conditions experienced by each container are unique. In some situations, the environment outside the container may also need to be monitored.
In certain illustrative embodiments, each container may be individually monitored to facilitate maintenance of individual container assets and/or the deactivation of a container and its asset due to exposure to environmental conditions outside of its predefined allowable ranges. Moreover, individual container monitoring could identify a variety of issues. For example, monitoring each individual container in a group could identify any existing thermal hot spots. In another example, individual container monitoring could identify locations where vibration levels generated by nearby equipment are potentially damaging to a container asset.
The exemplary system may further address deficiencies in certain existing systems such as inadequate data storage, insufficient data acquisition rates, and/or the introduction of electromagnetic (EM) or radio frequency (RF) radiation into the container. The exemplary system may have the ability to acquire environmental data, collected from a container that holds a highly sensitive and reactive asset, without introducing EM or RF radiation into the container. Such an exemplary system would not create EM interference and the system components, located inside the container, would not interfere with the highly sensitive and reactive asset.
Another consideration for a desired system is that highly precise devices, stored in containers for multiple years, should function properly without periodic maintenance. Such devices may include components whose calibration could be adversely impacted by environmental factors such as high temperature or shock impulses.
A desired system may also be preferably configured so that environmental conditions associated with each container are monitored continuously and the sensor readings archived. It may also be desired to use the archived data when making maintenance decisions and when estimating the remaining useful life of an asset. The archived data could support these functions by showing whether the asset experienced benign, moderate, or extreme environmental conditions or the data could be used in a prognostic model. Another useful aspect of a desired system may be that archived data can be provided to a vendor of the containerized asset to support warranty determinations.
In connection with sealed containers, environmental conditions (e.g., humidity and temperature) measured external to a container may not accurately represent internal conditions. For example, prior art maintenance methods have inferred degradation of an asset, stored within a container, based on the number of days the ambient temperature exceeds a threshold temperature. For situations where there is a substantial difference between internal and external conditions, this method may result in replacement of a still viable asset or the retention of a degraded asset.

Remote environmental and condition monitoring system

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


The present invention relates to mononucleoside phosphate compounds that have the benefits of a dinucleotide pharmaceutical. These mononucleoside phosphates can be made from a mononucleotide that has been modified by attaching a degradation resistant substituent on the terminal phosphate of a polyphosphate mononucleotide. By attaching this degradation resistant substituent, the stability from degradation matches or exceeds those of certain dinucleotides.

Epithelial tissues comprise a layer or layers of cells that cover free and enclosed surfaces throughout the body, including cutaneous, mucous, lumenal, serous, and glandular spaces. All epithelial layers contain two specialized domains: an apical domain that faces the mucosal (or lumenal) space and a basolateral membrane that faces the serosal (or ablumenal) space. Thus an important function of all epithelia is to provide an appropriate barrier function to separate and to control many physiological processes between these two spaces. In the lung, for example, the airways epithelia serve many functions, including providing a barrier between the lung mucosa and blood supply, to coordinate the hydration of the airways, to regulate blood-borne immune responses in the airway mucosa, and to clear the airways of toxins and pathogens. Epithelial cells are ubiquitous throughout the body, and are found in the entire respiratory and digestive tract, reproductive system and sensory organs (eye, ear, nose and skin). Epithelial cells have evolved to serve many homeostatic functions that are specific to their location throughout the body. One such specific function is found in the mucociliary clearance (MCC) system. Mucous secretions are normally removed via the MCC. MCC relies on the integrated action of three components: 1) mucus secretion by goblet cells and submucosal glands; 2) the movement of cilia on epithelial cells which propels the mucus across the luminal surface; and 3) ion transport into and out of luminal epithelial cells which concomitantly controls the flow of water into the mucus. It is now known that nucleoside phosphates such as uridine 5′-triphosphate (UTP) modulate all of the components of the MCC system. First, UTP has been shown to increase both the rate and total amount of mucin secretion by goblet cells in vitro (M. Lethem, et al., Am J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol. 9, 315–22 (1993)). Second, UTP has been shown to increase cilia beat frequency in human airway epithelial cells in vitro (D. Drutz, et al., Drug Dev. Res. 37(3), 185 (1996)). And third, UTP has been shown to increase Cl− secretion, and hence, water secretion from airway epithelial cells in vitro (S. Mason, et al., Br. J. Pharmacol. 103, 1649–56 (1991)). In addition, it is thought that the release of surfactant from Type II alveolar cells in response to UTP (Gobran, Am. J. Physiol. 267, L625–L633 (1994)) contributes to optimal functioning of the lungs and may assist in maximizing MCC. UTP has been shown to increase intracellular Ca++ due to stimulation of phospholipase C by the P2Y2 receptor (H. Brown, et al., Mol. Pharmocol. 40, 648–55 (1991)).
The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) lies in the back of the vertebrate eye and forms a barrier that separates the retina from the choroidal blood supply. Although anatomically an epithelial tissue, the RPE also functions in a glial-like capacity in maintaining homeostatic retinal function. For example, a critical function of the RPE is to maintain and regulate the hydration of the subretinal space, the extracellular volume that exists between the retina and the RPE. (Mannor, pp. 3–12, in The Retinal Pigment Epithelium, Eds. M. F. Marmor and T. J. Wolfensberger, Oxford University Press, New York, (1998)) This function is achieved by the regulated transport of fluid, ions, and metabolites between the subretinal space and the choroidal blood supply. (Marmor, pp. 420–438, in The Retinal Pigment Epithelium, Eds. M. F. Marmor and T. J. Wolfensberger, Oxford University Press, New York, (1998); Pederson, pp. 1955–1968, in Retina, Ed. S. J. Ryan, Mosby, St. Louis, (1994)). Like all epithelia, the RPE contains two functionally and anatomically distinct membranes: an apical membrane that faces the retina, and a basolateral membrane that faces the choroidal blood supply. In the normal retina, fluid is absorbed across the RPE in the direction of the subretinal space to the choroid. This active absorption of fluid by the RPE, often referred to as the "RPE pump," plays a critical role in maintaining proper attachment of photoreceptors to the apical membrane of the RPE by pumping fluid out of the retinal spaces. (Marmor, pp. 1931–1954, in Retina, Ed. S. J. Ryan, Mosby, St. Louis, (1994); Hughes, et al., pp. xvii, 745, in The Retinal Pigment Epithelium, Eds. M. F. Marmor and T. J. Wolfensberger, Oxford University Press, New York, (1998)).
Glaucoma is a disease complex characterized primarily by an increase in intraocular pressure. Sufficiently high and persistent intraocular pressure may result in damage to the optic disc at the juncture of the optic nerve and retina, resulting in irreversible blindness. There are three types of glaucoma: primary, secondary, and congenital. Primary glaucoma is subdivided into narrow angle (acute congestive) and wide-angle (chronic simple) types, depending on the configuration of the angle of the anterior chamber where re-absorption of the aqueous humor occurs. Effects on the volumes of the various intraocular vascular beds, such as those of the iris and ciliary body and on the rate of secretion of the aqueous humor into the posterior chamber may contribute secondarily to the lowering of the pressure or, conversely, may produce a rise in pressure preceding the fall. In narrow angle glaucoma, the aqueous outflow is enhanced by freeing of the entrance to the trabecular space at the canal of Schlemm from blockade by the iris, as a result of the drug-induced contraction of the sphincter muscle of the iris. (Taylor, pp. 123–125, in The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 7thEd, Eds., A. G. Gilman, L. S. Goodman, T. W. Rall, and F. Murad, MacMillan Publishing Company, New York, (1985))
In wide-angle, or chronic simple, glaucoma, the entry to the trabeculac is not physically obstructed; the trabeculae, a meshwork of pores of small diameter, lose their patency. Contraction of the sphincter muscle of the iris and the ciliary muscle enhances tone and alignment of the trabecular network to improve re-absorption and outflow of aqueous humor through the network to the canal of Schlemm (Watson, Br. J. Opthalmol. 56: 145–318 (1972); Schwartz, N Engi. J. Med., 290: 182–186 (1978); Kaufman, et al., Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology 69: 149–192 (1984)).
Human joints are lubricated by fluid secreted from synovial membranes, which line internal, non-articular joint surfaces. The lubricating properties of synovial fluid have been attributed to a surfactant consisting of surface active phospholipid (SAPL), the mucinous glycoprotein lubricin, hyaluronic acid (hyaluronan), and water. Hyaluronan is a critical constituent component of normal synovial fluid and an important contributor to joint homeostasis. Hyaluronan imparts anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive properties to normal synovial fluid and contributes to joint lubrication, buffering load transmission across articular surfaces and providing a continually replenished source of hyaluronan to articular tissues. Joint lubrication is compromised in osteoarthritis (OA).
Studies suggest that activation of P2Y receptors by extracellular nucleotides elicit responses from inflammatory cells (such as mast cells, eosinophil, leukocytes, neutrophils) consistent with a pro-inflammatory effect. Extracellular nucleotide-induced stimulation of leukocytes and subsequent adhesion to endothelium has been shown to play an important role in inflammatory diseases. Extracellular nucleotides stimulate P2Y receptor on human polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) with the pharmacological profile of the P2Y2 receptor.
Allergy is a state of hypersensitivity caused by exposure to a specific antigen (allergen) resulting in harmful immunologic reactions on subsequent exposures. The first encounter with an allergen sensitizes the body via the lymphocytes, resulting in IgE coating of mast cells and basophils. Subsequent exposure results in the development of the "early phase" of the allergic reaction and occurs within seconds or minutes of exposure to an allergen. The early phase is also known as the immediate hypersensitivity reaction. In the allergic reaction, hypersensitivity is a condition in a previously exposed person, in which tissue inflammation is caused by an immune reaction upon re-exposure to an allergen sensitizer. In half of occurrences, the allergic reaction develops into a "late phase," which occurs about 4 to 6 hours after the exposure. In the late phase reaction, tissues become red and swollen due to the collection of eosinophils, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and other cells. Preferably the nucleotide receptor is a P2Y purinergic receptor, such as the P2Y2 receptor. Activation of such receptors by P2Y agonists trigger the elevation of intracellular calcium levels and activation of signaling pathways leading to prevention and/or reversal of the symptoms and manifestations of early and late phases of allergic reactions and inflammatory diseases. Previous work has demonstrated the presence of P2Y receptors in glial and neuronal cells of the mature nervous system (Abbracchio and Bumstock, Jpn J. Pharmacol, 78:113–45, 1998). P2Y receptors belong to a class of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR) that activate a variety of intracellular signaling pathways. Although features of P2Y receptor signaling in many cell types are well known, the physiological roles of P2Y receptors in the nervous system are not well-characterized. In central, peripheral and sensory nervous systems, P2Y receptor activation profoundly affect glia, a cell type that plays important roles in nervous system development, function, and survival. Previous work has suggested a role for P2Y receptors in neurotransmission, neuronal-to-glial cell-cell signaling, alterations of gene expression, neuritogenesis, and interactions with growth factors in an additive or synergistic manner (Abbracchio and Burnstock, Jpn J Pharmacol, 78:113–45, 1998).
There is an unmet medical need for new therapeutic nucleotides that have good storage stability and/or in vivo stability that can be used for the treatment of epithelial and retinal diseases with minimal side effects. Nucleotides, defined here as a nucleoside base with one or more phosphate groups attached at the furanosyl primary hydroxyl group, can act via receptors (e.g. P2Y), and ion channels (e.g. P2X). The therapeutic utility of nucleotides arises from their actions as either agonists or antagonists of receptor (P2) function. Two classes of therapeutic nucleotides have emerged recently—mononucleotides (e.g. nucleoside tri- and diphosphates) and dinucleotides (dinucleoside polyphosphates). Mononucleotides, such as uridine triphosphate and adenosine triphosphate (UTP and ATP) are potent ligands of P2 receptors (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,292,498 and 5,628,984). However these mononucleotides have poor chemical and metabolic stability making them less attractive as drug candidates due to required refrigeration and short in vivo half-life. Dinucleotides, such as diuridine tetraphosphate and diadenosine traphosphate (Up4U and Ap4A), show an improvement in chemical and metabolic stability while retaining activity at various P2 receptors (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,635,160; 5,837,861; 5,900,407; 6,319,908; and 6,323,187).
Despite the therapeutic improvements made by the use of dinucleotides and their in vivo and storage stability, the difficulty and expense of their synthesis requires further improvement for use in the treatment of epithelial and retinal diseases with minimal side effects.

Compositions for treating epithelial and retinal tissue diseases


A cable management assembly, and method related thereto, including a panel having an interface portion. The interface portion having a plurality of discrete openings, including first and second shaped apertures. The assembly further including cable management devices having securing structure including a flexible tab and a locating element. The securing structure being configured to mount the cable management devices at selected vertical and horizontal locations on the panel. The cable management assembly being configured to mount between two adjacent telecommunication racks or to an end of a telecommunication rack.

Telecommunications systems utilize cables, such as fiber optic cables or copper twisted pair cables, for interconnecting pieces of telecommunications equipment or components. The systems commonly include telecommunication racks that hold a variety of different pieces of telecommunications equipment. Often thousands of cables are used to interconnect the various pieces of telecommunications equipment mounted on the racks.
Because of the large number of cables associated with telecommunications equipment, cable management is crucial. Cable management involves efficiently routing cables to minimize the occupied space, and routing cables in an orderly manner so as to reduce the likelihood of cable tangling. Ease of cable organization is also a factor related to effective cable management.
Cable management is also important in preventing damage to the cables. Unnecessary or excessive bending of fiber optic cables, for example, is undesirable. Bending of fibers can cause attenuation and loss of signal strength. As the fiber bends, the fiber can also break, resulting in complete loss of signal transmission through the fiber.
In general, conventional arrangements for managing cable can be improved.

Cable management assembly, system and method


The invention relates to word line selection logic circuits for a semiconductor memory device composed of a plurality of memory blocks. Word line selection logic circuits are composed of groups of word line blocks, and semiconductors for switches operated by an output signal from a block selection decoder to activate a selected word line block. The switches are assigned to each block, and one of the word lines within the memory blocks is selected by supplying the activated word line block with an output signal from a row decoder which ensures improvement in access time and high density.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an integrated semiconductor memory device divided into a plurality of memory blocks, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device including memory blocks that have in a matrix array of plurality of memory cells and a decoding means suitable for the selection of memory cells.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Well known circuits for semiconductor memory devices are disclosed in pages 264-265 of the ISSCC Journal, published on 1987. This art of semiconductor technology forms the basis for the technological improvement represented by the present invention.
It is known in the art, as illustrated by a schematic block diagram of FIG. 1, to divide an integrated semiconductor memory device into a plurality of memory blocks to allow effective access to one memory cell in a high capacity memory. Such as arrangement reduces the delay required to access from main word line to block word line because memory cells are divided into a plurality of memory blocks. A certain memory cell is selected when a memory block selected among the divided plurality of memory blocks which ensures an improvement to the access time and power consumption by the memory device.
In the prior art form of a memory shown in FIG. 1, reference numerals 1, 2 . . . i each identify a memory block and each such block includes an array of memory cells arranged in the form of matrix. Each memory block is selected by a block selection signal BSWL.sub.1, BSWL.sub.2, . . . or BSWL.sub.i outputted from block selection decoder 10 in response to an input signal. A word line WL.sub.1, WL.sub.2 or WL.sub.n in memory blocks is selected by row selection signal MWL.sub.1, MWL.sub.2 . . . MWL.sub.n outputted from row decoder 11 in response to a row address input signal. In a high capacity memory circuit, when a memory cell array is divided into a plurality of memory blocks, word line selection logic circuits 12 are required and take the form of NOR logic or NAND logic circuits for decoding the divided blocks. NOR logic circuits 13 are illustrated in FIG. 1.
Such a logic circuit includes a plurality of transistors, and, more particularly, a NOR or NAND logic circuit requires four to six transistors to form the logic of the circuit. Therefore, when high capacity memory cells are fabricated, the chip area required to form the required logic circuits for selective access to the memory cells is increased and the speed at which the logic circuits operate is slower as compared with, for example, an inversion logic circuit. Moreover, the input gate capacitance of the logic circuits connected to each word line WL.sub.1, WL.sub.2 . . . WL.sub.n within the memory blocks cause the problem of deterioration to the high speed performance.

Semiconductor memory device having word line selection logic circuits


A machine for fastening a compression ring on an object to be fastened by shrinking the ring in which segmental actuating slide members are movable within a housing along circular paths with a constant radius about a center, and in which segments on the inside of the slide members are operable to move a limited distance in the radial direction; the segmental slide members are provided with internal surface portions of non-constant radial distance from a center, and the segments are provided with surface portions for abutment with the non-concentric surface portions on the inside of the slide members; an actuating mechanism operatively connected with the slide members causes the latter to close and thereby forces the segments to reduce the inside diametric dimension thereof which in turn causes compression of a shrink-ring held thereat.

Various clamping devices are known in the prior art for fastening, for example, hoses or axle boots onto nipples or axle stubs. So-called open hose clamps which are made from band material and adapted to be mechanically interconnected before tightening the same are usually provided with means for tightening the clamp, such as a screw or bolt, a worm drive or a so-called "Oetiker" ear as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,012. On the other hand, endless clamping rings made from tubular stock are also known to be used for the same purpose. These endless clamps are tightened, for example, also by the use of a so-called "Oetiker" ear as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,614,304 or with a machine for shrinking the ring whereby such a machine may be hydraulically, pneumatically, mechanically or magnetically actuated. However, many of these types of machines are very expensive and therefore out of reach for the ordinary after market. Nor are many of such machines of the portable type as needed, for example, for demonstration purposes of the use of such shrinkable clamping or compression rings.
The endless types of clamps or compression rings are manufactured, for example, by sawing-off, punching-off or cutting-off ring-like segments from tubular members and have been used, for example, in the automotive industry with the use of so-called Magnaform machines which electromagnetically shrink the rings. Apart from costs, these machines are very noisy in operation.
Crimping tools are also known in the art for crimping various devices, such as with electrical cable connection, in the oil industry for connecting pipe sections, etc. These crimping tools normally include oppositely directed tapering surfaces on segments of ring-like parts for engagement with correspondingly shaped surfaces on projections of the parts to be connected.

Hans Oetiker AG Maschinen-und Apparatefabrik


The present invention provides compositions useful as a barrier layer in, for example, packaging products. The compositions generally comprise a blend of (i) a polyester resin, preferably an aromatic polyester resin such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and (ii) a polyamide material (e.g., MXD6). The blend optionally may further comprise (iii) an oxygen scavenging material. The present invention also provides containers (e.g., containers formed by expansion of preforms) having a multilayered body-forming portion including: a core layer comprising the aforementioned blend; and inner and outer layers of a formable polymer composition. The present invention also provides methods of making such containers.

Within the packaging industry, there is a progressive change towards the use of containers of plastic material. This relates to both containers for beverages, including carbonated beverages, and containers for foods. As far as foods are concerned, there is an express desire in the art also to be able to employ containers of plastic material for the storage of preserved foods. In all of these fields of application, the insufficient barrier properties of the plastic material—and in particular its insufficient capacity to prevent the passage of gases, for example oxygen and CO2, vaporized liquids such as water vapor etc. entail that the shelf-life and durability of the products stored in the containers will be far too short.
A number of proposals have been put forward in the art to solve the above problem, but the proposed techniques have failed to meet established demands of cost in combination with barrier properties in order that containers of plastic material may successfully be employed within the above-outlined sectors. Examples of solutions proposed in the art include:                laminates in which two or more layers of plastic material are combined with one another and in which the material in each layer possesses properties which entail that, for instance, gas penetration, light penetration of moisture penetration are reduced;        constructions in which, for example, a metal such as aluminum is encapsulated between the plastic materials or, for instance, forms the inner surface of the container; and        constructions in which a barrier material other than metal is applied interiorly or in layers between the plastic material. Solutions are also known in the art in which plastic materials of different types are mixed and thereafter molded to form containers. Thus, for example, it is previously known to produce containers of plastic material in which the plastic material consists of a mixture of PET and polyamide. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,034,252; 5,281,360; 5,641,825; and 5,759,653. Unfortunately, these attempts have yielded commercially unsatisfactory results.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that what is needed in the art is improved plastic containers having even greater barrier properties for gases such as oxygen and CO2. Such containers and materials and methods for preparing the same are disclosed and claimed herein.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Multilayered package with barrier properties