Described is a process of producing a concentrated liquid biocide formulation. Mixed together are (a) bromine chloride or bromine and (b) an aqueous solution of alkali metal salt of sulfamic acid having a pH of at least about 7, in amounts such that (i) the active bromine content of the solution is at least about 100,000 ppm (wt/wt), and (ii) the atom ratio of nitrogen to active bromine from (a) and (b) is greater than 1 when bromine is used and is greater than 0.93 when bromine chloride is used. Use of bromine chloride as the source of the active bromine in the process is preferred because in the resulting aqueous compositions, all of the bromine of the bromine chloride is made available as active bromine in solution. In other words, the chlorine of the bromine chloride is converted in the process to dissolved alkali metal chloride salt, thereby liberating all of the bromine as the active bromine content of the biocidal composition.

Bromine-based biocides have proven biocidal advantages over chlorination-dechlorination for the microbiological control of cooling waters and disinfection of waste treatment systems. The water treatment industry recognizes these advantages to be cost-effective control at higher pH values, almost no loss in biocidal activity in the presence of ammonia, and effective control of bacteria, algae and mollusks.
A common way of introducing bromine based biocides into a water system is through the use of aqueous NaBr in conjunction with NaOCl bleach. The user feeds both materials to a common point whereupon the NaOCl oxidizes the bromide ion to HOBr/OBrxe2x8ax96. This a activated solution is then introduced directly into the water system to be treated. The feeding of the two liquids in this fashion is necessary because the HOBr/OBrxe2x8ax96 mixture is unstable and has to be generated on-site just prior to its introduction to the water. Furthermore, the feeding, and metering of two liquids is cumbersome, especially as the system has to be designed to allow time for the activation of bromide ion to occur. Consequently many biocide users have expressed the need for a single-feed, bromine-based biocide. Elemental bromine and molecular bromine chloride have been considered to meet these demands. Both are liquids at room temperature and can be fed directly to the water system, where immediate hydrolysis occurs to yield HOBr.
Br2+H2Oxe2x86x92HOBr+HBrxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
BrCl+H2Oxe2x86x92HOBr+HClxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(2)
Properties of bromine and bromine chloride are compared in Table 1.
It can be seen that certain characteristics of these materialsxe2x80x94especially their corrosiveness, high vapor pressures and fuming tendenciesxe2x80x94necessitate care and skill in their handling and use. Early efforts to overcome the deficiencies of these materials comprised complexing bromine with excess bromide ion in the presence of strong acid and stabilizing the resultant solutions with ethanolamine. The resultant solutions of ethanolammonium hydrogen perbromide contained up to 38% by weight elemental bromine. See in this connection, Favstritsky, U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,915; and Favstritsky, Hein, and Squires, U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,716.
These solutions permitted introduction of bromine to a water system using a single feed. As in the case of bromine and bromine chloride, the ethanolammonium hydrogen perbromide hydrolyzed in water to release HOBr. The vapor pressures of these solutions were lower than elemental bromine and bromine chloride. Nevertheless, the solutions still possessed measurable vapor pressures, and thus tended to produce undesirable reddish-colored vapors during storage and use.
An economically acceptable way of stabilizing high concentrations of aqueous solutions of bromine chloride is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,652 to Moore, et al. The solution is prepared from bromine chloride, water and a halide salt or hydrohalic acid. These solutions were found to decompose at a rate of less than 30% per year and in cases of high halide salt concentration, less than 5% per year. Moreover, solutions containing the equivalent of 15% elemental bromine could be prepared. Unfortunately, the relatively high acidity of these solutions and their tendency to be corrosive and fuming impose limitations on their commercial acceptance.
Many solid bromine derivatives such as BCDMH (1,3-bromochloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin) are limited in the amount of material that can be dissolved in water and fed as a liquid to the water treatment system. For example, the solubility of BCDMH in water is only around 0.15%. Another limitation of such derivatives is that at neutral pH, HOBr rapidly decomposes, eventually forming bromide ions. Thus, the ability to store and transport these aqueous solutions is greatly limited and of questionable commercial feasibility.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,558,503 to Goodenough et al. describes certain aqueous bromine solutions stabilized with various stabilizing agents and various uses to which such solutions can be put. The compositions described in the patent comprise an aqueous bromine solution having from about 0.01 to about 100,000 parts per million by weight of bromine values wherein the molar ratio of bromine to nitrogen present in the bromine stabilizer ranges from about 2.0 to 1 to about 0.5 to 1. The stabilizer used is biuret, succinimide, urea, a lower aliphatic mono- or disubstituted urea containing from about 2 to about 4 carbon atoms in each substituent group, sulfamic acid, or an alkyl sulfonamide of the formula RSO3NH2 where R is a methyl or ethyl group. The solution also contains sufficient hydroxide additive to provide a pH in the solution ranging from about 8 to about 10, the hydroxide additive being an alkaline earth hydroxide or an alkali metal hydroxide.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,654 to Dallmier et al. discusses the preparation of aqueous alkali metal or alkaline earth metal hypobromite solutions by mixing an aqueous solution of alkali or alkaline earth metal hypochlorite with a water soluble bromide ion source to form a solution of unstabilized alkali or alkaline earth metal hypochlorite. To this solution is added an aqueous solution of an alkali metal sulfamate having a temperature of at least 50xc2x0 C. and in an amount that provides a molar ratio of alkali metal sulfamate to alkali or alkaline earth metal hypobromite of from about 0.5 to about 6 whereby a stabilized aqueous alkali or alkaline earth metal hypobromite solution is formed. The Dallhmier et al. patent teaches that much higher levels of available halogen for disinfection were attained by this approach as compared to the Goodenough et al. approach. But the Dallmier et al. patent acknowledges that in their process, the stabilization must occur quickly after the unstable NaOBr is formed.
This invention involves a new process of forming concentrated aqueous solutions of biocidally active bromine and in so doing, provides novel and eminently useful concentrated aqueous biocidal solutions of bromine and bromine chloride.
In one of its embodiments this invention provides a process of producing a concentrated liquid biocide composition which comprises mixing (a) bromine chloride or bromine with (b) an aqueous solution of alkali metal salt of sulfamic acid (preferably the sodium salt), the solution having a pH of at least about 7, e.g., in the range of 7 to about 13.5, and preferably in the range of 7 to about 12. The amounts of (a) and (b) used are such that (i) the content of active bromine in the solution is at least 100,000 ppm (wt/wt) and (ii) the atom ratio of nitrogen to active bromine from (a) and (b) is greater than 1 when bromine is used, and greater than 0.93 when bromine chloride is used. It is preferred, however, to utilize an atom ratio of nitrogen to active bromine from (a) and (b) that is greater than 1 even when using bromine chloride in the process. In a preferred embodiment the aqueous solution of alkali metal salt of sulfamic acid used in the process is preformed by mixing together in water, (i) sulfamic acid and/or an alkali metal salt of sulfamic acid, and (ii) alkali metal base in proportions such that an aqueous solution of alkali metal salt of sulfamic acid is formed having a pH of at least 7. If sulfamic acid itself is used as the starting material, it is used initially as a slurry in water with which the alkali metal base is mixed.
When introducing the bromine chloride or bromine into the aqueous solution of alkali metal salt of sulfamic acid, it is desirable to maintain the desired pH of the resulting solution at 7 or above by also introducing into the solution (continuously or intermittently, as desired) additional alkali metal base, such as by a co-feed of an aqueous solution of alkali metal base.
It is preferred to employ bromine chloride as the source of the active bromine in the above process because in the resulting aqueous compositions, all of the bromine of the bromine chloride is made available as active bromine in solution. In other words, the chlorine of the bromine chloride is converted in the process to dissolved alkali metal chloride salt, thereby liberating the bromine as the active bromine content of the biocidal composition. Thus the more expensive component of the bromine chloridexe2x80x94viz., brominexe2x80x94is fully utilized in forming active bromine in the aqueous biocidal composition, and concurrently the less expensive componentxe2x80x94the anionic chlorine in the bromine chloridexe2x80x94makes this beneficial result possible.
By utilizing bromine or bromine chloride with caustic in the stabilized bromine composition, higher levels of active halogen are achievable, compared to the levels obtained by the addition of sodium hypochlorite to sodium bromide. The process and the compositions formed also have about twice the content of active bromine as the most concentrated solutions produced pursuant to the Goodenough, et al. patent. Moreover, even at the high levels of active bromine that exist in the compositions of this invention, it has been found possible to provide biocidal compositions that maintain these high levels of active bromine for at least a two-month period, and that do not exhibit a visible or offensive vapor or odor during this period.
In another embodiment, alkali metal dichlorohypobromite, M[BrCl2] (M=alkali metal) is preformed by pre-mixing bromine chloride with aqueous sodium chloride, and the bromine chloride is used in this form to provide the active bromine content of the resultant solution. The preferred alkali metal dichlorohypobromite is sodium dichlorohypobromite.
Another embodiment of this invention is an aqueous biocide composition comprising water having in solution therein (i) an active bromine content derived from bromine chloride of at least about 100,000 ppm (wt/wt), (ii) an alkali metal salt of sulfamic acid (preferably the sodium salt), and (iii) an alkali metal chloride (preferably sodium chloride), wherein the relative proportions of (i) and (ii) are such that the atom ratio of nitrogen to active bromine is greater than 1, and wherein the pH of the composition is at least 7, e.g., in the range of 7 to about 13.5, and preferably in the range of 7 to about 12. In a less preferred embodiment (i) is bromine (Br2) and (iii) is an alkali metal bromide (especially sodium bromide).
In each of the embodiments of this invention, the atom ratio of nitrogen to active bromine is preferably in the range of about 1.1 to about 1.5. Still higher ratios can be employed, if desired.
The above and other embodiments of this invention will be still further apparent from the ensuing description and appended claims.
A general procedure for preparing the compositions of this invention using sulfamic acid involves, as a first step, forming a slurry of sulfamic acid in water. Typically the pH of this slurry is below 1 pH unit. Sodium hydroxide at 50% concentration is then added until the solid is completely dissolved. Additional 50% NaOH is added until the desired pH is reached. Bromine or bromine chloride is then added at a rate to allow the bromine to dissolve and react with the sulfamic acid without forming a pool of halogen on the bottom of the reactor. On a laboratory scale, a convenient rate of addition is approximately two drops per second. Sodium hydroxide (e.g., 25% or 50%) is co-fed to the reactor to maintain the desired pH (e.g., in the range of 7 to about 13.5, and it may be possible to operate even at a pH in the range of 13.5 to 14. It has been found that stable solutions containing as much as 26% active bromine (11.5% on an active chlorine basis) can be prepared by the process of this invention.

Concentrated aqueous bromine solutions and their preparation


A latch for a Compact PCI board, which incorporates inject and eject and engage and disengage functions, has a low profile shape, whereof a fold-down handle operates through a total arc of 90 degrees. Enhanced electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) is provided, by more efficient EMC shielding and by reduced electromagnetic force (EMF) radiation pass-through. The latch, in its inject/eject operation, undergoes a two-phase motion, which utilizes a rotary motion to insert/extract the board from electrical connection, and utilizes a linear motion to engage/disengage the latch pawl from the chassis (keeper). A separate alignment pin block, normally carrying a lead guide pin and a seating guide pin, is independent of the structure for the base of the latch. This permits the alignment pin block to be mounted to the inside of the faceplate and the latch to be mounted to the outside of the faceplate. By so doing, the cumulative (aggregate) area of the opening(s) through the faceplate is reduced, which thereby increases the EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) of the design by reducing EMF radiation pass-through.

The present invention relates to latches and levers, specifically ejector latches and ejector levers which may be adapted for use to secure and release computer-type boards in racks and cabinets, such as large boards known as peripheral component interconnect (PCI) boards. These boards are used to hold such electronic components as processor circuits, banks of switches, banks of transducers, transformers and other components and modules. Such PCI boards are generally larger than PC boards (personal computer boards) and can be generally square or rectangular in shape; and are generally sized from six (6) inch to ten (10) inches on a side. Compared to the much larger boards, previously used in the computer, the switching circuit, and the telecommunications industries, these boards have become known as compact PCI boards. It important to be able to easily insert such a module carrying PCI board with a positive snap-in connection and positive snap-out release. Moreover, it is important to have an insertion aid and/or a pull-out aid, such as a handle or a hold. This snap-in and snap-out operation has been implemented with ejector latches.
However, these latches must also comply with the general industry standards for this type of latch, including the standards for mounting on a faceplate on the front of a board, and the engagement with the chassis mounted flange, which acts as combination guide block and keeper. These standards are defined as a subset of IEEE1101.1 and IEEE1101.10 specifications known as Compact PCI (PICMG 2.0) standards. Many inject/eject latches are in the marketplace and meet these standards. Examples are those sold by manufacturers such as Rittal, Schroff, Elma and Bivar. As manufactures are using higher frequency circuits on compact PCI boards, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) is becoming an increasing concern. The existing prior art ejector latch configuration requires a large cutout in the aluminum faceplate normally mounted to the outside edge of a compact PCI board. This large cutout often is a source of electromagnetic radiation. Furthermore, such prior art compact PCI board latches often do not have a low profile and generally have a limited degree of movement and mechanical leverage.
FIG. 1 shows a typical example of a prior art compact PCI board 21 with a pair of prior art inject/eject latches 23 mounted on its outboard edge faceplate 25. Chassis connectors 27 have wire leads 29 into the board 21. Each latch 23 includes a base/alignment pin block 31 that carries a larger leading guide pin 33 and a smaller seating guide pin 35.
FIG. 2 shows a perspective side view of the prior art pin 33 of FIG. 1 showing the single structure combination housing 37 having a claw-shaped end pawl 37a and a thumb handle 37b. The base/alignment pin block 31 is a casting with a number of openings and shoulders. A spring biased release button 39 is shown in FIG. 3, which is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 taken as shown in FIG. 2. The spring 41 biases the thumb release button away from the pawl 37a to have a projection shoulder 39a extend through the opening in the back of the housing 37 to prohibit the rotation thereof and to keep the pawl 37a locked in position.
This prior art device has a high profile and its faceplate mounting with relatively large cutout results in a relatively large amount of EMF signal leakage (electromagnetic frequency radiation).
The IEEE Compact PCI specification defines the location, with respect to a chassis, of the faceplate in its fully inserted and fully extracted positions, where fully extracted is defined as being loose for removal. It also defines the area of the chassis to which a latch is to interact when inserting and extracting (ejecting) a board.
An object of this invention is to meet these IEEE requirements for a latch for Compact PCI board installations, which allows for more efficient EMC shielding.
A second object of this invention is to provide a latch that needs a smaller cutout in the PCI board faceplate.
An third object of this invention is to provide such a latch that has a low profile when folded closed.
A further object of this invention is to provide such a latch with a greater degree of rotation and a two-phase operation.
An even further object of this invention is to implement such a two-phase operation by having the ejector successively operating first in a rotary motion and then secondly in a linear motion.


This invention provides processes for maintaining a desired particle size distribution in an oxygenate to olefin reaction system. In one embodiment, the invention comprises replacing lost catalyst fines with less active co-catalyst particles. By adding less active co-catalyst particles to the reaction system, desirable fluidization characteristics and hydrodynamics can be maintained without affecting the overall (or primary catalyst) performance and product selectivities. The invention is also directed to a population of catalyst particles having a desirable particle size distribution well-suited for realizing ideal fluidization and hydrodynamic characteristics.

Light olefins, defined herein as ethylene and propylene, serve as feeds for the production of numerous chemicals. Olefins traditionally are produced by petroleum cracking. Because of the limited supply and/or the high cost of petroleum sources, the cost of producing olefins from petroleum sources has increased steadily.
Oxygenates such as alcohols, particularly methanol, dimethyl ether, and ethanol, are alternative feedstocks for the production of light olefins. Alcohols may be produced by fermentation, or from synthesis gas derived from natural gas, petroleum liquids, carbonaceous materials, including coal, recycled plastics, municipal wastes, or any organic material. Because of the wide variety of sources, alcohol, alcohol derivatives, and other oxygenates have promise as an economical, non-petroleum source for olefin production.
In an oxygenate to olefin (OTO) reaction system, an oxygenate in an oxygenate-containing feedstock contacts a molecular sieve catalyst composition under conditions effective to convert at least a portion of the oxygenate to light olefins, which are yielded from the reaction system in a reaction effluent. As the feedstock contacts the molecular sieve catalyst compositions at high weight hourly space velocities and under elevated temperature and pressure conditions, a portion of the catalyst compositions can break up, e.g., attrite, to form one or more smaller attrited catalyst particles. Some catalyst attrition particles are very small in size and are referred to as catalyst fines. Due to their relatively high surface area to mass ratios, a portion of the catalyst fines in the reaction system may become undesirably entrained with the reaction effluent and exit the reaction system therewith. Conversely, due to their relatively low surface area to mass ratios, larger particles tend to be selectively retained in OTO reaction systems. The selective retention of larger particles is particularly a problem for highly attrition resistant particles.
The build up of large catalyst particles in an OTO reaction system produces two undesirable effects. First, in a large particle rich reaction system, the circulating fluid bed will not operate as well, particularly with regard to circulation of catalyst within the standpipes and also with regard to gas distribution within a fluidized bed. Second, the large particles that are selectively retained in the reaction system will tend to lose their effectiveness, e.g., activity and selectivity, with time. That is, the build up of large particles in the reaction system is undesirable because the larger particles will tend to decrease the overall effectiveness of the collection of catalyst particles contained in the reaction system.
One conventional technique for removing undesirably-sized catalyst particles includes non-selectively removing a fraction of all of the catalyst particles in the reaction system to make room for the addition of fresh catalyst. This technique for removing undesirably-sized catalyst particles is inefficient, however, because a significant portion of the desirably-sized catalyst particles are removed from the reaction system with the undesirably-sized catalyst particles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,321 to Hettinger, Jr. et al. discloses the combination of a magnetic separator, a catalyst classifier, and/or a catalyst attriter, which wears off the outer layers of catalyst, yields more active catalyst of lower metal content with closer control of average particles size, and narrows particle size distribution providing improved fluidization properties and better activity and selectivity. The process is especially useful when processing high metal-containing feedstocks.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,573,559 to Friedman discloses replacing a bed of fluidized catalyst, which has become reduced in activity during use, with fresh fluidized catalyst, the average particle size of both catalysts being in the range of 40-400 mesh. The average size of the fresh catalyst differs from that of the partially spent catalyst by at least 10-mesh size and preferably 25 mesh. The fresh catalyst is introduced into the reactor under conditions such that the reaction temperature is not substantially increased, and at the same time catalyst is withdrawn from the reactor at a portion below the top level of the bed. The catalyst withdrawn is separated by particle size into fresh catalyst, which is returned to the reactor, and deactivated catalyst, which is regenerated. According to the '559 patent, the complete replacement of catalyst can be accomplished under normal operating conditions in from 20 to 48 hours.
In view of the importance of maintaining desirably-sized catalyst particles in reaction systems, particularly in OTO reaction systems, improved processes are sought for maintaining a desired particle size distribution in an OTO reaction system.

Fines co-feed for maintaining efficient reactor hydrodynamics


A nanocomposite comprises a nanostructure, and a copolymer adsorbed to the nanostructure and containing at least one ionic monomer unit and a different monomer unit from the ionic monomer unit; the ionic monomer unit selected from the group consisting of a zwitterionic monomer unit and a cationic monomer unit which are represented by the following formula (1):

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nanocomposite, and specifically relates to a nanocomposite comprising a nanostructure and a polymer adsorbed to the nanostructure. The present invention further relates to a dispersion comprising the nanocomposite.
2. Related Background Art
Carbon-based nanofillers represented by a carbon nanotube (CNT) are excellent in thermal conductive properties, electrical conductive properties, mechanical properties and the like. Accordingly, addition of such a nanofiller to a solvent, a resin, a metal and a ceramic has been actively examined to provide these materials with the aforementioned properties. Moreover, boron nitride-based nanofillers, represented by a boron nitride nanotube and a BCN nanotube obtained by replacing some carbon atoms in a carbon nanotube with a nitrogen atom and a boron atom, are also excellent not only in thermal conductive properties and the like, but also in electrical insulating properties unlike the carbon-based nanofillers. Hence, the boron nitride-based nanofillers attract attention as a function-providing material. However, these nanofillers are likely to aggregate by the van der Waals force, and dispersibility thereof is extremely low in a solvent and in a resin. This brings about a problem that the nanofillers can insufficiently exert the above properties.
In this aspect, various methods have been proposed to improve the dispersibility of carbon nanotubes in a solvent.
For example, International Publication No. WO2002/016267 (Literature 1) discloses a composition comprising a carbon nanotube coated at least in part with at least one polymer. The polymer is exemplified by hydrophilic polymers such as polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polystyrene sulfonate, and polyethylene glycol. Moreover, International Publication No. WO2002/076888 (Literature 2) discloses a powder in which a hydrophilic polymer is adsorbed on a carbon nanotube. The polymer is exemplified by gum arabic, carrageenan, pectin, and the like. Further, Valerie C. Moore, et al., Nano Lett., 2003, volume 3, pp. 1379-1382 (Literature 3) discloses a single-walled carbon nanotube dispersed in an aqueous medium using various surfactants. As an ionic surfactant, an anionic surfactant such as sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, a cationic surfactant such as cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, and the like are disclosed. By thus using the hydrophilic polymer or the ionic surfactant together with the carbon nanotube, the dispersibility of the carbon nanotube in water tends to be improved. However, even with use of such a hydrophilic polymer or ionic surfactant, it has been difficult to obtain a dispersion of a carbon nanotube having a high concentration and excellent dispersion stability.
Additionally, Petar Petrov, et al., Chem. Commun., 2003, pp. 2904-2905 (Literature 4) discloses a composite comprising a carbon nanotube and a polymer containing a pyrenyl group that can be physically adsorbed to the carbon nanotube. The polymer adsorbed to the carbon nanotube tends to improve dispersibility of the carbon nanotube in an organic solvent. Nevertheless, dispersibility of this composite in an aqueous solvent is insufficient.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-37537 (Literature 5) discloses a carbon nanocomposite in which a vinyl-based polymer having a pyrenyl group-containing side chain and a polyethylene glycol-side chain is adsorbed to a carbon nanostructure. It is disclosed that this carbon nanocomposite exerts excellent dispersibility not only in an organic solvent such as chloroform but also in water. However, the carbon nanocomposite does not have a sufficient dispersibility in hot water.
In addition, Xinlu Li, et al., Carbon, 2006, Volume 44, pp. 1334-1336 (Literature 6) discloses that it is effective to add a carbon-based nanofiller such as a carbon nanotube to a battery cathode material in order to improve electronic conductivity of the battery cathode material. Dispersibility of the carbon-based nanofiller in the cathode active material needs to be improved in order to exhibit excellent battery performance. However, the addition and mixing of the carbon-based nanofiller by a conventional dry method have a limitation in the improvement.
In this connection, Jiajun Chen, et al., Electrochemistry Communications, 2006, volume 8, pp. 855-858 (Literature 7) discloses a method for producing a composite where a carbon-based nanofiller is dispersed in an active material, comprising: dissolving a raw-material compound of the active material containing, for example, Li Co, Ni, Mn, Fe and P, in a dispersion comprising the carbon-based nanofiller and an aqueous solvent; and subjecting the mixture to a hydrothermal reaction at a temperature of 150 to 200° C., followed by a heat treatment (for example, 500° C. or higher) in an inert gas. However, even by use of this method, dispersibility of the carbon-based nanofiller in the active material is insufficient. Further improvement in the dispersibility of a carbon-based nanofiller in a high-temperature aqueous solvent during a hydrothermal reaction has been demanded.

Nanocomposite and dispersion comprising the same

Abstract: (in the formula (1), R1, R2, and R3 each independently represent any one of a hydrogen atom and a monovalent organic group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, Y1 represents any one of a carbonyl group and an arylene group, Y2 represents any one of —O— and —NH—, n is 0 or 1, R4 represents a divalent organic group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and X represents any one of a zwitterionic group and a cationic group).


A fastening device and a method of fastening a component part in an oil pan are described. For easy and still secure mounting, the invention provides a fastening device that consists of a base part and, disposed thereon, of at least one holding part for establishing a preferably reversibly releasable, substantially shape-mating connection with a component part, the base part being connected to the oil pan, the holding part being a constituent part of the base part and the holding part being bendable over a fold region.

Fastening devices for mounting a component part in an oil pan are known. WO 02/46584 A1 discloses for instance a metal oil pan with integrated oil filter in which the oil filter is mounted in the oil pan through a fastening means. In one embodiment, the shell of the oil filter is, for this purpose, fastened directly to the oil pan by means of rivets. Alternatively, in a second embodiment, rivets, to the ends of which fastening straps for fixing by clamping the housing of the filter in the oil pan are attached, are inserted. These embodiments have the disadvantage that a plural number of work steps are needed to establish the connection between the oil pan and the oil filter. Further, since holes for inserting the rivets must be made, potential tolerances with regard to the attachment points can only be accommodated at high expense because of the form of the oil filter or the oil pan.

Fastening device and method for fastening a component part in an oil sump

IBS Filtran Kunstatoff-/Metallerzeugnisse GmbH


The invention describes a color-developing composition that contains at least four major components: (1) a leuco dye or a combination of leuco dyes, (2) an electron-withdrawing color-developer agent or a combination of color-developers that can form colored complexes with the leuco dyes, (3) a separator or combination of separators that when present in sufficient amounts, can prevent the formation of the colored complexes between the color-developer and leuco dyes, all contained within (4) an encapsulation matrix that includes at least one film-forming and one aqueous-insoluble polymer. All of the foregoing components are dissolved together in a volatile organic solvent medium to form a homogeneous solution that can be applied as an ink on substrates, which can be incorporated as part of absorbent articles or personal care products.

Many products, including consumer, health care, and professional products, are more effectively used by an end user when the product includes a feature that can communicate or signal to the user a particular condition or indicate the relative level or degree of use. An example is a visual indicator that causes the product to change color or appearance. Color indicators can either indicate a change in condition or a degree of use through a change from "no color" to "color" (or vice versa) or through a change from one color to a different color.
Exemplary conditions that could be monitored using a color indicator include physical conditions such as the presence of moisture and chemical conditions such as a change in pH. Exemplary consumer products that could be more effective and deliver more benefits to end users by incorporating a suitable color indicator include absorbent articles, facial tissues, bath tissue, paper towels, household cleaning items and personal cleaning wipes. Exemplary professional products that could be more effective and deliver more benefits to end users by incorporating a suitable color indicator include products for medical use, safety garments, industrial cleaning products and nonwoven materials.
Color indicators are well known and are available in various forms. Desirable performance attributes include durability and good retention (i.e. the color indicator remains where intended and does not leach out into other components of the product within which it is being used). Depending on the product application, it may also be desirable to have the structure in which the color indicator is used to be wettable, but water insoluble. For purposes of applying the color indicator to a component of a product, it may also be desirable to have a color indicator that can be applied in liquid form at room temperature. When the color indicator is in a liquid form at room temperature, the color indicator can be printed (just like an ink composition) onto the desired component of a product.
Examples of the color indicators that have been already incorporated into consumer products include diapers that have wetness sensors. Some of the wetness sensors used in diapers change color to indicate wetness while others lose color in response to wetness (i.e. the color fades or disappears when it is dissolved by water). The concept of incorporating a color-changing composition into a wearable article (such as a disposable diaper) is known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,159,532 issued to Klofta et al. (hereinafter "the '532 patent") is directed to wetness indicating compositions having improved colorant retention and durability for use with wearable articles. The wetness indicating compositions of the '532 patent have a first binding agent and a second binding agent. The first binding agent immobilizes a colorant when the colorant is in its initial color state and the second binding agent immobilizes the colorant when the colorant is in its final color state. The component materials used in the examples provided in the '532 patent are solid at room temperature as indicated by the description that they need to be melted by heating in order to combine them. While the wetness indicating compositions of the '532 patent are capable of changing color in response to a stimulus, they are not capable of being applied to an article in liquid form at room temperature.
While the color-changing compositions known in the art provide certain benefits, there remains a need for a film-forming composition that can be applied to a substrate. There also remains a need for a composition that is durable, has good retention and that shows rapid and dramatic color change when the composition is used in a product. When the purpose of the composition is to detect the presence of wetness, there remains a need for a composition that is water-resistant and water-insoluble. Further, there remains a need for a composition that can be applied, such as by printing, at room temperature so that the composition can be applied to a substrate without heating.


Systems, methods, and other embodiments associated with programmable application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) fault injection are described. One example ASIC includes a serializer de-serializer (SERDES). The example ASIC may also include logics to process data in the ASIC. At least one of the logics either receives data from the SERDES and/or provides data to the SERDES. The example ASIC may also include an embedded fault injection logic (EFIL) to control injection of a fault to a path (e.g., data, control) associated with at least one of the logics. The example ASIC may also include an embedded set of multiplexers (ESOMs) controlled by the EFIL. The ESOMs are controllable by the EFIL to inject a fault signal to the data path.

An application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) is an integrated circuit that has been customized for a particular use. That particular use may be a complex process that needs to be tested. Conventionally, testing the complex process may have been difficult. An ASIC may be, for example, an integrated circuit designed solely to run in a network switch, network router, or other networking device. In these applications, and others, the ASIC may include diagnostic software designed to detect errors in data streams provided to and/or processed by the ASIC. Conventionally it has been difficult, if possible at all, to determine whether the diagnostic software is operating correctly. And yet, unless the diagnostic software can be tested, the diagnostic role of the network device may be unverified.
ASICs may be tested either in software or as hardware. Typical software simulations of ASICs may include hardware description language (HDL) based simulations where the ASIC itself exists only in software. This testing solution does not test an actual physical device. Typical hardware simulations require a protocol analyzer to be attached to the ASIC data lines to inject or force data faults. The protocol analyzer may also read the results of the data faults. However, this may be difficult when the ASIC being tested is embedded in a circuit board or integrated in a chip. While techniques may exist to determine whether the ASIC hardware is operating properly, conventionally it has been difficult, if possible at all, to determine whether diagnostic processes embedded on the ASIC are operating properly.


To achieve the above-mentioned objective, an automated teller machine service system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an automated teller machine (ATM) including a near-field communication (NFC) tag, a mobile terminal including a NFC chip and an input/output device for processing a deposit or withdrawal, and a server configured to receive transaction information for processing the deposit or withdrawal from the mobile terminal and, in a case in which the transaction information is identical to previously-saved information as a result of comparing the two pieces of information, transmit deposit/withdrawal authorization information to the ATM, wherein, when the NFC chip is brought into contact with the NFC tag, the ATM transmits a deposit/withdrawal application running command to the mobile terminal, and the mobile terminal receives the command and then runs the application to transmit the transaction information to the ATM or the server.

A conventional automated teller machine (ATM) is configured of a processing device formed of a computer or the like configured to process a task related to a deposit or withdrawal, a display device configured to output information related to a deposit or withdrawal, and an input device through which information such as an account number or a password may be input. In a case in which a general touch panel display is used as the display device, it is common for the display device to also serve as an input device.
Various slots such as a card slot, a bankbook slot, and a cash slot are present at a front surface portion of the ATM. In a case in which cash is withdrawn using such an ATM, a bankbook or a cash card is inserted into a slot of the ATM, and whether to perform a deposit or withdrawal, a transaction amount, and a password are input through the input device of the ATM for the processing device to check the input pieces of information through communication with a server, and then to dispense cash through the cash slot. In this way, cash withdrawal is proceeded.
Since the display device and the input device are exposed to the outside of the ATM in the above process, content input to the ATM may be easily identified by surrounding people, and a card used during a deposit or withdrawal may also be recognized. Therefore, in a case in which a cash card or a bankbook is stolen, cash may be easily withdrawn with input of a password obtained as listed above, and loss due to theft is prone to occur.
Further, since a bankbook or a cash card has to be carried at all times for a deposit or withdrawal, there are many problems including an inconvenience of not being able to use an ATM in a case in which one does not have a bankbook or a cash card at hand.

System and method for providing automated teller service using mobile terminal


A depth measurement apparatus calculates depth information on a subject in an image by using a plurality of images having different blurs taken under different imaging parameters, and includes a region segmentation unit that segments at least one of the images into regions based on an image feature amount, wherein in each of the regions pixels are presumed to be substantially equal in depth to the subject, and a depth calculation unit that calculates a depth for each region resulting from the segmentation by the region segmentation unit and serving as a processing target region for depth calculation, and sets the calculated depth as the depth of the processing target region.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for measuring depth information on a subject in an image by using image information.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as a method for acquiring the depth of an imaging scene from an image acquired by an image pickup apparatus, a depth from defocus (DFD) method is proposed. In the DFD method, a plurality of images having different blurs are acquired by controlling imaging parameters of an image pickup optical system, and the correlation value of the mutual blurs is calculated on a per pixel basis in the plurality of images. In a case where only one pixel is used in depth calculation, the spread of the blur becomes obscure or the depth calculation becomes unstable due to a noise, and hence the correlation value is calculated with surrounding pixels included in the calculation. Finally, by using the relationship between the blur caused by the image pickup optical system and a subject depth, depth information on the subject is calculated based on the calculated correlation value of the blur. The DFD method has advantages that the depth can be calculated using one image pickup system, and a depth map can be calculated because the DFD method allows the calculation of the depth for each pixel.
However, there has been a problem that a processing time is significantly increased when the number of pixels for depth calculation is increased. In addition, in a case where the depth calculation is performed by using the surrounding region of the pixel for depth calculation, there has been a problem that accuracy is reduced when a plurality of depths are present in the surrounding region used in the depth calculation.
In view of the above problems, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2010-117593, the number of redundant depth measurement points is reduced by segmenting an input image into regions and changing the density of the depth measurement point according to the importance of the region. With this, an increase in processing time is suppressed. In this operation, the importance is determined by using a facial recognition function and the region segmentation is performed.
An example of a region segmentation method that does not use the facial recognition function is described in "R. Achanta, et al., 'SLIC Superpixels', EPFL Technical Report no. 149300, June 2010". In this document, the region segmentation is performed by setting the center point in each region resulting from the region segmentation and determining which center point of the surrounding region a target pixel is close to by using a pixel depth from the center point and a depth in a color space as parameters.
However, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2010-117593, although an increase in processing amount is prevented by performing the region segmentation and changing the number of depth measurement points according to the importance of the region, in a case where the depth map of all pixels is needed, all pixels have to be measured so that the processing amount cannot be suppressed.
In addition, although the number of depth measurement points is changed according to the importance of the region, the shape of the region is rectangular, and hence there is a problem that depth measurement accuracy is reduced in a case where objects having different depths are included in the rectangular region.

Depth measurement apparatus, image pickup apparatus, and depth measurement program


A barrier for terminating the edge of a semiconductor die such as a dynamic random access memory device is disclosed. The barrier reduces contamination of the dielectric layers such as TEOS and BPSG from mobile ions which are inherent in fabrication materials. While the barrier can be formed at many points in the die fabrication process, its formation is preferably incorporated into the Metal1 mask, thereby preventing the need for an additional mask step. The barrier, if formed with the Metal1 mask, would therefore be formed from the material of the Metal1, conventionally tungsten, a tungsten alloy, or other metals.

Many types of semiconductor devices are made using similar manufacturing procedures. A starting substrate, usually a thin wafer of silicon or gallium arsenide, is doped, masked, and etched through several process steps, the steps depending on the type of devices being manufactured. This process yields a number of die on each wafer produced. Each die on the wafer is given a brief test for full functionality, and the nonfunctional die are mechanically marked or mapped in software. This brief test is only a gross measure of functionality, and does not insure that a die is completely functional or has specifications that would warrant its assembly in a package.
If the wafer has a yield of grossly functional die which indicates that a good quantity of die from the wafer are likely to be fully operative, the die are separated with a die saw, and the nonfunctional die are scrapped while the rest are individually encapsulated in plastic packages or mounted in ceramic packages with one die in each package. After the die are packaged they are rigorously electrically tested. Components which turn out to be nonfunctional or which operate at questionable specifications are scrapped or devoted to special uses.
Semiconductor devices, and specifically memory devices such as dynamic random access memories (DRAMs), function by having the ability to store a charge on a storage node. A typical DRAM cell is illustrated as shown in the FIG. 1 cross section. The transistor cell comprises source 10, drain 12, and channel 14 regions implanted into a substrate 16 of semiconductor material. In the cross section of FIG. 1, a portion of the gates 18 are formed over field (thick) oxide 20, and a portion of the gates 18 are separated from the channel 14 by gate (thin) oxide 22. Not shown in the FIG. 1 cross section is that each gate has a portion overlying the field oxide and a portion overlying the gate oxide. The storage node 24 contacts the transistor source 10, and the digit line 26 contacts the transistor drain 12.
To write a "0" to the storage node, for example, the digit line is grounded, the access gate is turned on, and any charge drains from the storage node across the channel to the drain. Conversely, to store a "1" on the storage node, the digit line is brought to +5 V, the access gate is turned on, and a charge flows from the drain to the source across the channel to charge the storage node to +5 V.
To read the cell, the digit line is brought to a reference voltage (for example 2.5 volts) which is monitored by a sense amplifier, and the access gate corresponding to the cell of interest is turned on. If the storage node is storing a low, the voltage on the digit line decreases, which is detected by the sense amplifier. Similarly, if the storage node is storing a high, the voltage on the digit line increases slightly, which is detected by the sense amp. Other methods of reading from and writing to the cell are also possible.
A voltage adjust implant to the channel region determines the potential between the storage node and the digit line which is required to trip the transistor, referred to as the threshold voltage (V.sub.t). A threshold voltage of 2 V, for instance, would require a potential of 2 V between the digit line and the storage node to trip the transistor. If the V.sub.t is too low, the transistor will turn on during normal voltage differences such as voltage spikes. If low enough, the transistor can stay on all the time, which will result in a functional short between the digit line and the storage node. Conversely, if V.sub.t is too high, the transistor will not trip, thereby resulting in a functional open between the storage node and the digit line. During the voltage adjust implant of an N-type enhancement mode device, positive ions such as boron are implanted into the channel region to increase the trip voltage, while negative ions such as arsenic decreases the trip voltage. The opposite is true for P-type and depletion mode devices, in which negative ions increase V.sub.t, while positive ions implanted in the channel region decrease the trip voltage. Note that the invention herein is described in terms of an N-type device, but its use with P-type devices is also possible by one of skill in the art.
One problem which can adversely affect device yields is contamination of the device from mobile ions, referred to as pseudoinjection. Mobile ion contamination, for example by sodium ions, can result from various process steps used during the manufacture of the semiconductor device and occurs when ions enter the substrate or other features thereby changing the conductivity of the feature. The ions are known to be more mobile at elevated temperatures. One type of mobile ion contamination occurs during elevated temperatures as the device is operating, for example during a device reliability test at elevated temperatures (burn-in) or during operation in the enclosed space of a computer housing. This can result in N-channel inversion, which effectively turns an enhancement device into a depletion device.
These positive ions have been found to travel easily through layers of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and layers of borophosphosilicate glass, (BPSG) which are commonly used as dielectric layers during the manufacture of semiconductors, and may have the ability to travel through other materials as well. An N-type enhancement device which has contamination of the gate oxide from positive ions will have a lowered V.sub.t because of a biased gate above the channel region, thereby resulting in the problems described above.
Contamination of other dielectric features can result in other problems which are known in the art of semiconductor manufacture. Contamination can result at the periphery of a semiconductor die when a BPSG, TEOS, or other oxide layer is exposed during separation of the die during the wafer saw step, thereby resulting in failed bits or other features around the periphery of the die.
One method of preventing mobile ion contamination during this step is to terminate the oxide features along the saw kerf as shown in FIG. 2. A die incorporating this method of oxide termination comprises the use of passivation layers such as oxide 30 and nitride 32 around the periphery near the saw kerf 34 to prevent mobile ions from entering the BPSG 36 or the TEOS 38. One problem with terminating the oxide in this manner is that it adds a mask step which increases the cost of the process and can be misaligned, thereby requiring an increase in the size of the die to allow for misalignment. In addition, the oxide passivation 30 extends out about 5 microns (.mu.) past the edge of the active area 40, and the nitride extends out about 5.mu. past the oxide 30 thereby increasing the size of each die which is contrary to design goals.
A semiconductor device which has reduced susceptibility to mobile ion contamination which does not require an additional mask step and does not increase the die size would be a desirable structure.

Feature for a semiconductor device to reduce mobile ion contamination


Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to systems and methods for improving functional hearing. In one aspect, the system may include a housing configured to fit within an ear of a user. The housing may include a speaker, an amplifier, a transmitter, and a power supply. Additionally, the housing may include a memory storing instructions and at least one processor configured to execute instructions. The instructions may include receiving an audio input and amplifying the audio input. The instructions may include outputting the amplified audio input from a speaker. The instructions may include converting the audio input into a visual representation of the audio input and transmitting the visual representation to at least one display.

Hearing aid devices have been used to help individuals with hearing loss or hearing impairment. A typical hearing aid system 100 is illustrated in FIG. 1. As illustrated in FIG. 1, an individual may speak and produce sounds, illustrated at 120. A hearing aid 130 may collect the sounds 120, amplify the sounds 120, and output the amplified sounds, illustrated at 140. A user 150 of a hearing aid is presented with amplified sounds 140.
While this is beneficial to many users, typical hearing aids 130 are not useful in all situations. For example, in a noisy environment, a typical hearing aid 130 may merely amplify all noise, making it hard for a user to distinguish spoken words from amplified background noise. Some hearing aid devices may attempt to "selectively" amplify noise (e.g., via the sound frequency), however, amplification alone does not improve speech recognition or provide any feedback loops to help a user retrain the brain and central nervous system (CNS) to recognize audio signals or retain functional speech recognition.
A need exists for a hearing aid system that is useful in situations where single person speech is not the only audio signal and that provides a visual representation of spoken words or other sounds.

Systems and methods for improving functional hearing


The present invention relates to a container for liquid which is able to retain the liquid therein for drinking purposes at a temperature close to its original temperature for a period of time. The design of the top or lid makes it easy to insert, and the new single straight spring arm design utilize a thicker spring arm, will assure vertical tension it needs keep the liquid from spilling out, and it eliminates the need for a gasket to seal the top or lid. The improved exterior shape will make silkscreen process easier.

1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates generally to containers for liquids which permit the liquids to remain hot or cold while it is retained in the container and further permit the user to drink the liquid from the container. The present invention further relates more particularly to removable sealing means on a container which assist in retaining the liquid in the container so that liquid will be restricted somewhat from spilling should the container accidentally be knocked over.
2. Description of The Prior Art
In general, containers which keep a liquid contained therein at almost their original temperature for several hours are known in the prior art. These containers are called vacuum bottles and are comprised of two walls enclosing a vacuum chamber therebetween and fitted with a metal outer case. The vacuum bottle is completely sealed at its opening by means of a screw cap or cork. Liquid is conventionally dispensed from the vacuum bottle into a cup. While it is possible for one to drink directly from a vacuum bottle, it is not commonly done since the opening is not intended to function as a drinking lip and liquid can easily spill out during the drinking process.
Conventional glasses, cups and mugs are commonly used to hold liquids for various purposes. However, their tops are completely open. As a result, the liquid can be retained at its original temperature for only a short period of time. In addition, if the container should accidentally be tipped, the liquid contained therein will spill out.
The inventor, Gary Ross, is also the inventor of inventions disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,218 issued on Apr. 15, 1986 for "Safety Mug For Liquids Which Permits The Liquid To Retain Its Temperature While It Is In The Mug And Further Retain The Liquid If the Mug Is Tipped", and also the U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,636 issued on May 28, 1991 for "Safety Mug For Liquids With Improved Top Which Permits The Liquid To Retain Its Temperature While It Is In The Mug And Further Retain The Liquid If the Mug Is Bumped". The present invention is an improvement in the mug body exterior contour surface to facilitate ease of the silkscreen process to place decals and words on the mug surface and further is an improvement in the top which provides better sealing and more efficient insertion and to eliminate the need for a gasket to seal the top.

Safety mug for liquids with improved lid which permits the liquid to retain its temperature and improved exterior body contour to facilitate designs silkscreened on the mug


The present invention relates to an olefin-based copolymer having novel crystalline properties and capable of providing a molded article with further improved strength and impact strength when compounded with other resins, and a method for preparing the same. The olefin-based copolymer is an olefin-based copolymer comprising an ethylene repeating unit and an α-olefinic repeating unit. The olefin-based copolymer comprises polymer fractions defined by three different peaks at a predetermined temperature when analyzed by cross-fractionation chromatography.

In the early 1990s, Dow Chemical Company disclosed [Me2Si(Me4C5)NtBu]TiCl2 (Constrained-Geometry Catalyst, hereinafter abbreviated as CGC) in U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,802, and the superiority of CGC in the copolymerization reaction of ethylene and alpha-olefin compared to existing metallocene catalysts known in the art may be largely summarized into two points as follows:
(1) A polymer having a high molecular weight while exhibiting high activity even at a high polymerization temperature is produced, and
(2) copolymerizability of alpha-olefin haying high steric hindrance such as 1-hexene and 1-octene is highly superior.
In addition to these, the copolymer produced by using the CGC catalyst is known to have excellent mechanical properties, such as strength, because the content of a portion having a low molecular weight is lower than that of the copolymer prepared by using a conventional Ziegler-Matta catalyst.
Due to the advantages of the olefin-based copolymer such as ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer obtained by using a metallocene catalyst such as the CGC catalyst, application of such metallocene olefin-based copolymers to various fields and uses has been attempted recently. As an embodiment of such olefin-based copolymer, several attempts have been made to apply an olefin-based elastomer, which is mainly a random copolymer of an ethylene-alpha-olefin, to various uses for replacing rubber materials and the like.
However, the conventional olefin-based copolymers, particularly olefin-based elastomers have basically a single crystal structure. Therefore, it is known that it is not easy to simultaneously achieve required properties such as compatibility with other resins, strength and impact strength. For example, when existing olefin-based copolymers or olefin-based elastomers are compounded with polypropylene or the like to obtain a molded article exhibiting excellent impact strength and strength, it is necessary to use an olefin elastomer having a relatively low density in order to improve the impact strength of the molded article. However, since these low density olefin-based elastomers exhibit a relatively low strength, they have drawbacks such as difficulty in achieving excellent strength of the overall molded article thereof.
Accordingly, there is a continuing demand the development of a novel olefin-based copolymer capable of providing a molded article which simultaneously improves various physical properties such as strength and impact strength, even when used singly or compounded with other resins.

Olefin-based copolymer and process for preparing same


A fuel cell automobile basically comprises a fuel cell, a cooling system, and a coolant pipe unit. The fuel cell is disposed under a floor panel of a vehicle. The cooling system is configured and arranged to regulate temperature of the fuel cell using a coolant. The cooling system includes at least one cooling system component part that is disposed in a front portion of the vehicle. The coolant pipe unit extends between the fuel cell and the cooling system component part. The coolant pipe unit has a generally horizontal portion disposed in a space under the floor panel and a slope portion extending and sloping continuously upwardly from the horizontal portion to the cooling system component part above the floor panel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel cell automobile having a fuel cell mounted, for example, below a floor panel of the vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a layout technology for the fuel cell automobile for efficiently arranging the parts that cool the fuel cell and the parts that deliver the fuel to the fuel cell in a space under the floor panel of the fuel cell automobile.
2. Background Information
In a fuel cell system, heat is generated when the fuel cell (fuel cell stack) generates electricity. In order to dissipate the generated heat, the fuel cell is typically cooled using a coolant together with a radiator or other heat exchanger.
When the fuel cell is mounted under the floor or floor panel of the vehicle, it is necessary to circulate the coolant between the fuel cell located under the floor and the radiator located in a front portion of the vehicle.
Meanwhile, in order to secure as much space as possible inside the cabin or vehicle interior, it is desirable to keep the height of the floor panel as low as possible. It is not an easy task to secure sufficient mounting space and a suitable layout under the floor for parts related to the coolant piping and parts for delivering other fluids (e.g., hydrogen, oxygen, and other fuels and oxidizing agents) used for the fuel cell while also keeping the floor height low.
It is also necessary to minimize the accumulation of air inside the piping that can occur when coolant is added (poured into) to the radiator. The accumulation of air inside the piping can also occur during operation of the vehicle. The accumulation of air inside the piping, too, makes it difficult to both secure sufficient space in the cabin and achieve a suitable layout for the piping and related parts for the fuel cell.
As a solution to these issues, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-182379 discloses a fuel-cell-equipped electric automobile having a fuel cell mounted under a floor of a vehicle. In such fuel-cell-equipped electric automobile, a fuel cell system box is provided under the floor of the vehicle and the fuel cell, temperature regulating equipment, humidifying equipment, etc., are housed inside the fuel cell system box. The purpose of the fuel cell system box is to ensure sufficient space in the vehicle interior including both the cabin and the luggage compartment.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved fuel cell automobile that can secure sufficient space in the cabin and achieve a suitable layout for the piping and related parts for the fuel cell. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.


A unit for smoothly switching from auto-drive to manual drive for a vehicle provided with an auto-drive mode. To perform auto-drive, an auto-drive ECU controls steering wheel, brake, and accelerator actuators in accordance with signals from a route recognition/obstruction check sensor, a GPS and the like. When an interface (switch) for switching to the manual drive is operated, the auto-drive ECU evaluates running stability/instability in accordance with signals from various running safety devices and sensors for detecting a variation in vehicle state, and if the vehicle is in an instable state, prohibits a shift to the manual drive, even when the vehicle is running on a straight road.

a) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an auto-drive control unit for vehicles, and more particularly to unit for controlling mode changeover from auto-drive to manual drive.
b) Description of the Related Art
A conventional automatic driving system is known that controls vehicle speed and steering angle based on information from various sensors and switches between an auto-drive mode and a manual drive mode by a changeover switch when necessary. There is, however, a significant problem in determining when the changeover shall be made as a driver is required to operate the steering wheel with high driving skill immediately after changing mode changes if the auto-drive mode is switched to the manual drive mode when the vehicle's running is not stable. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 3-282713 discloses a technology where switching from the auto-drive mode to the manual drive mode is prohibited when the vehicle is running on a curved road.
However, conditions where a vehicle's running is not stable are not limited to curved roads, but also include a straight roads. For example, running becomes unstable due to significant disturbances when a vehicle running on a straight road is exposed to a side wind, a vehicle is running on uneven road surfaces, or a vehicle is running across rain puddles. If auto-drive is switched to manual drive under such conditions, the driver may be required to unexpectedly operate the steering wheel.


A process is disclosed for the preparation of 3-hydroxyalkanals having 3 to 12 carbon atoms, in particular 3 or 4 carbon atoms, by hydration of the underlying 2-alkenals with water in a homogeneous phase in the presence of an acid catalyst. The previously known hydration using mineral acids or carboxylic acids as catalyst results in low volume/time yields and/or low selectivities. These disadvantages can be avoided by using in the present invention, as catalyst, a dissolved acid-base buffer which results in a pH of from 2 to 5 in the reaction mixture; the acid component and corresponding base of which are present in a total quantity of from 0.5 to 40% by weight in the reaction mixture. The preferred buffers composed of a lower monobasic carboxylic acid and a tertiary amine can easily be recycled.

The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of 3-hydroxyalkanals having 3 to 12 carbon atoms, in particular 3 or 4 carbon atoms, by hydration of the underlying 2-alkenals with water in a homogenous phase in the presence of an acid catalyst.
2-Alkenals of the general formula H.sub.2 C.dbd.CR--CHO in which R stands for hydrogen or alkyl, in particular acrolein and methacrolein, may be hydrated with water in the presence of acid catalysts (according to U.S. Pat. Nop. 2,434,110) to form the corresponding 3-hydroxyalkanals. 3-Hydroxypropionaldehyde (HPA) is obtainable from acrolein and may in turn be hydrogenated to produce 1,3-propanediol which is becoming increasingly important as monomer unit for polyesters and polyurethanes.
In the process according to U.S. Pat. No. 2,434,110, acids homogeneously dissolved in the reaction mixture, such as sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid, oxalic acid, acid salts or acetic acid, are used as catalysts. Sulfuric acid was found to be the preferred catalyst in the prior art. The disadvantage of this process lies in the low yields and low selectivities.
Further processes have been developed to improve the selectivity of hydration of acrolein. Although suitable selectivities can be obtained by using carbon dioxide as catalyst (see British Patent 1,185,615), the long reaction time required considerably reduces the volume/time yield of this process.
Lastly, heterogeneous catalysts may be used, namely weakly acid ion exchangers containing carboxyl groups; see U.S. Pat. No. 3,536,763. In practice it was found that conventional ion exchangers containing carboxyl groups are limited in their activity and therefore required long reaction times. An improvement in volume/time yield combined with high selectivity was obtained by using ion exchangers containing phosphonic acid groups; see DE-OS 39 26 136.
As an alternative to using heterogeneous catalysts, there is a desire to find catalyst systems capable of operating in the homogeneous phase for hydration of the 2-alkenals with high selectivity as well as a satisfactory volume/time yield. Preferred catalyst systems should also be easily recoverable in the course of obtaining a secondary product from 3-hydroxyalkanals, such as in particular the alkane-1,3-diols obtainable from 3-hydroxyalkanals by hydrogenation. The reaction mixture from the hydration stage is normally only freed from unreacted 2-alkenal while 3-hydroxyalkanal is converted into a secondary product without being first isolated.

Process for the prepartion of 3-hydroxyalkanals


A method and apparatus for extending a database management system to operate with diverse object servers. The apparatus comprises a federated coordinator for accepting client commands and translating client commands into relational database commands and object server commands, a plurality of object servers coupled to the federated coordinator, each object server for storing and retrieving data objects identified by object data surrogates in response to the object server commands from the federated coordinator, and a relational database management system coupled to the federated coordinator for storing and retrieving object data surrogates and for transforming relational database commands into an answer set comprising an answer set data surrogate.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to database management systems, and in particular to a federated database management system that provides users and application developers with large object processing and retrieval capabilities within an SQL-based operating environment.
2. Description of Related Art
Large-scale integrated database management systems provide an efficient, consistent, and secure means for storing and retrieving vast amounts of data. This ability to manage massive amounts of information has become a virtual necessity in business today.
At the same time, wider varieties of data are available for storage and retrieval. In particular, multimedia applications are being introduced and deployed for a wide range of business and entertainment purposes, including multimedia storage, retrieval, and content analysis. Properly managed, multimedia information technology can be used to solve a wide variety of business problems.
For example, multimedia storage and retrieval capability could be used to store check signature images in a banking system. These images may then be retrieved to verify signatures. In addition, the authenticity of the signatures could be confirmed using content-based analysis of the data to confirm that the customer's signature is genuine. However, practical limitations have stymied development of large multimedia database management systems.
Multimedia database information can be managed by ordinary relational database management systems (RDBMS), or by object-oriented database management systems (OODBMS). Each of these options present problems that have thus far stymied development.
Object-oriented database management systems are unpopular because they require a large initial capital investment and are incompatible with existing RDBMSs. Further, maintaining two separate data repositories in a RDBMS and a OODBMS is inconsistent with the database management philosophy of maintaining a secure consistent central repository for all data. RDBMSs such as the TERADATA.RTM. system are vastly more popular than OODBMS. However, existing RDBMSs cannot effectively handle large multimedia objects. Also, although RDBMS database features and functions apply equally well to alphanumeric or multimedia data types, multimedia objects introduce new semantics problems, and require new strategies for manipulating and moving extremely large objects, which would otherwise overwhelm RDBMS computational capacity and the I/O capability of the computer implementing the RDBMS.
Accordingly, there is a need to extend existing RDBMSs to efficiently manipulate and move extremely large objects, especially multimedia objects. Further, because multimedia data may be available from a wide variety of sources and may be specialized to handle different types of data, there is a need for the extended RDBMS to accommodate multiple and different object servers in a single database context. The present invention satisfies this need by providing an object-relational database management infrastructure which allows a RDBMS to be extended to support very large multimedia objects and database applications and a federated coordinator for translating client commands and database queries into object server commands for a wide variety of object servers.

Method and apparatus for extending a database management system to operate with diverse object servers


An envelope detection apparatus dynamically controlled in response to an input signal and an envelope detection method thereof are provided. The envelope detection apparatus includes an envelope detector configured to output an envelope of an input signal. The envelope detection apparatus further includes a detection band determination unit configured to determine a detection band based on the input signal. The envelope detection apparatus further includes a detection band controller configured to control a detection band of the envelope detector based on the determined detection band.

1. Field
The following description relates to an envelope detection apparatus dynamically controlled in response to an input signal and an envelope detection method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
An envelope detection apparatus detects an envelope of an input signal, namely, an envelope of an amplitude modulated input signal. The envelope detection apparatus includes a detection band. That is, when the input signal passes through the envelope detection apparatus, the envelope detection apparatus performs frequency filtering (for example, low-pass filtering), thereby outputting an envelope from the detection band.

Envelope detection apparatus dynamically controlled in response to input signal and envelope detection method thereof

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology


The present invention is directed to compositions and methods useful for the amplification of nucleic acid molecules by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Specifically, the invention provides compositions and methods for the amplification of nucleic acid molecules in a simplified one- or two-step RT-PCR procedure using combinations of reverse transcriptase and thermostable DNA polymerase enzymes in conjunction with sulfur-containing molecules or acetate-containing molecules (or combinations of such sulfur-containing molecules and acetate-containing molecules), and optionally bovine serum albumin. The invention thus facilitates the rapid and efficient amplification of nucleic acid molecules and the detection and quantitation of RNA molecules. The invention also is useful in the rapid production and amplification of cDNAs which may be used for a variety of industrial, medical and forensic purposes.

The present invention is in the fields of molecular and cellular biology. The invention is particularly directed to compositions and methods useful for the amplification of nucleic acid molecules by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Specifically, the invention provides compositions and methods for the amplification of nucleic acid molecules in a simplified one- or two-step RT-PCR procedure using combinations of reverse transcriptase and thermostable DNA polymerase enzymes in conjunction with sulfur-containing molecules or acetate-containing molecules (or combinations of sulfur-containing molecules and acetate-containing molecules) and optionally bovine serum albumin. The invention thus facilitates the rapid and efficient amplification of nucleic acid molecules and the detection and quantitation of RNA molecules. The invention also is useful in the rapid production and amplification of cDNAs (single-stranded and double-stranded) which may be used for a variety of industrial, medical and forensic purposes.
Reverse Transcription of RNA
The term xe2x80x9creverse transcriptasexe2x80x9d describes a class of polymerases characterized as RNA-dependent DNA polymerases. All known reverse transcriptases require a primer to synthesize a DNA transcript from an RNA template. Historically, reverse transcriptase has been used primarily to transcribe mRNA into cDNA which can then be cloned into a vector for further manipulation.
Avian myoblastosis virus (AMV) reverse transcriptase was the first widely used RNA-dependent DNA polymerase (Verma, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 473:1 (1977)). The enzyme has 5xe2x80x2-3xe2x80x2 RNA-directed DNA polymerase activity, 5xe2x80x2-3xe2x80x2 DNA-directed DNA polymerase activity, and RNase H activity. RNase H is a processive 5xe2x80x2 and 3xe2x80x2 ribonuclease specific for the RNA strand for RNA-DNA hybrids (Perbal, A Practical Guide to Molecular Cloning, New York: Wiley and Sons (1984)). Errors in transcription cannot be corrected by reverse transcriptase because known viral reverse transcriptases lack the 3xe2x80x2xe2x86x925xe2x80x2 exonuclease activity necessary for proofreading (Saunders and Saunders, Microbial Genetics Applied to Biotechnology, London: Croom Helm (1987)). A detailed study of the activity of AMV reverse transcriptase and its associated RNase H activity has been presented by Berger et al., Biochemistry 22:2365-2372 (1983).
Another reverse transcriptase which is used extensively in molecular biology is reverse transcriptase originating from Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MLV). See, e.g., Gerard, G. R., DNA 5:271-279 (1986) and Kotewicz, M. L., et al., Gene 35:249-258 (1985). M-MLV reverse transcriptase substantially lacking in RNase H activity has also been described. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,797.
PCR Amplification of RNA
Reverse transcriptases have been extensively used in reverse transcribing RNA prior to PCR amplification. This method, often referred to as RNA-PCR or RT-PCR, is widely used for detection and quantitation of RNA.
To attempt to address the technical problems often associated with RT-PCR, a number of protocols have been developed taking into account the three basic steps of the procedure: (a) the denaturation of RNA and the hybridization of reverse primer; (b) the synthesis of cDNA; and (c) PCR amplification. In the so-called xe2x80x9cuncoupledxe2x80x9d RT-PCR procedure (e.g., two-step RT-PCR), reverse transcription is performed as an independent step using the optimal buffer condition for reverse transcriptase activity. Following cDNA synthesis, the reaction is diluted to decrease MgCl2 and deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) concentrations to conditions optimal for Taq DNA Polymerase activity, and PCR is carried out according to standard conditions (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,683,195 and 4,683,202). By contrast, xe2x80x9ccoupledxe2x80x9d RT-PCR methods use a common or compromised buffer for reverse transcriptase and Taq DNA Polymerase activities. In one version, the annealing of reverse primer is a separate step preceding the addition of enzymes, which are then added to the single reaction vessel. In another version, the reverse transcriptase activity is a component of the thermostable Tth DNA polymerase. Annealing and cDNA synthesis are performed in the presence of Mn++, then PCR is carried out in the presence of Mg++ after the removal of Mn++ by a chelating agent. Finally, the xe2x80x9ccontinuousxe2x80x9d method (e.g., one-step RT-PCR) integrates the three RT-PCR steps into a single continuous reaction that avoids the opening of the reaction tube for component or enzyme addition. Continuous RT-PCR has been described as a single enzyme system using the reverse transcriptase activity of thermostable Taq DNA Polymerase and Tth polymerase and as a two-enzyme system using AMV-RT and Taq DNA Polymerase wherein the initial 65xc2x0 C. RNA denaturation step was omitted.
Attempts to streamline the process of RT-PCR have not been easy, and several reports have documented an interference between reverse transcriptase and thermostable DNA polymerase Taq when used in combination in a single tube RT-PCR resulting in low sensitivity or lack of results. For example, there has been at least one report of a general inhibition of Taq DNA polymerase when mixed with reverse transcriptases in one-step/one tube RT-PCR mixtures (Sellner, L. N., et al., Nucl. Acids Res. 20(7):1487-1490 (1992)). This same report indicated that the inhibition was not limited to one type of RT: both AMV-RT and M-MLV-RT inhibited Taq DNA polymerase and limited the sensitivity of RT-PCR. Under the reaction conditions used in the Sellner et al. studies (67 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.8, 17 mM (NH4)2SO4, 1 mM xcex2-mercaptoethanol, 6 xcexcM EDTA, 0.2 mg/ml gelatin), the degree of Taq polymerase inhibition was found to increase with increasing RT concentration, up to a ratio of approximately 3 units of RT:2 units of Taq DNA polymerase beyond which Taq polymerase was rendered completely inactive.
Other reports describe attempts to develop conditions for one-step RT-PCR reactions. For example, the use of AMV-RT for one-step RT-PCR in a buffer comprising 10 mM Tris-HCl, (pH 8.3), 50 mM KCl, 1.5 mM MgCl2, and 0.01% gelatin has been reported (Aatsinki, J. T., et al., BioTechniques 16(2):282-288 (1994)), while another report demonstrated one-step RT-PCR using a composition comprising AMV-RT and Taq DNA polymerase in a buffer consisting of 10 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.3, 50 mM KCl, 0.01% gelatin and 1.5 mM MgCl2 (Mallet, F., et al., BioTechniques 18(4):678-687 (1995)). Under the reaction conditions used in the latter report, substitution of M-MLV-RT (RNase H+ or RNase Hxe2x88x92 forms) for AMV-RT showed the same activity in the continuous RT-PCR reaction.
The present invention is generally directed to compositions and methods useful for one-step/one-tube RT-PCR, preferably using M-MLV-RT, or its RNase H-deficient (xe2x80x9cRNase Hxe2x88x92xe2x80x9d) derivatives, in combination with one or more DNA polymerases, preferably in the presence of sulfur-containing molecules or acetate-containing molecules (or combinations of sulfur-containing molecules and acetate-containing molecules) to relieve the inhibition of PCR often observed when using compositions comprising two or more enzymes having reverse transcriptase activity.
In particular, the invention is directed to methods for amplifying a nucleic acid molecule comprising (a) mixing an RNA template with a composition comprising a Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MLV) reverse transcriptase, which is preferably substantially reduced in RNase H activity and which is most preferably SuperScript I or SuperScript II, in combination with one or more DNA polymerases and one or more sulfur-containing molecules, such as one or more sulfur-containing buffers, wherein the concentration of sulfur is at least 18 mM, to form a mixture; and (b) incubating the mixture under conditions sufficient to amplify a DNA molecule complementary to all or a portion of the RNA template. In a related aspect, the invention is directed to such methods wherein one or more acetate-containing molecules, such as one or more acetate-containing buffers, is substituted for or combined with the one or more sulfur-containing molecules or buffers in step (a) of the above-described methods, wherein the concentration of the one or more acetate-containing molecules is about 1 mM to about 500 mM. In preferred such methods, the DNA polymerases used are thermostable DNA polymerases, and most preferably Tne, Tma, Taq, Pfu, Tth, VENT, DEEPVENT, Pwo, Tfl, or a mutant, variant or derivative thereof, most preferred in this aspect of the invention is Taq DNA polymerase.
In other preferred aspects of the invention, the DNA polymerases may comprise a first DNA polymerase having 3xe2x80x2 exonuclease activity, most preferably a DNA polymerase selected from the group consisting of Pfu, Pwo, DEEPVENT, VENT, Tne, Tma, Kod, and mutants, variants and derivatives thereof, and a second DNA polymerase having substantially reduced 3xe2x80x2 exonuclease activity, most preferably a DNA polymerase selected from the group consisting of Taq, Tfl, Tth, and mutants, variants and derivatives thereof. In additional preferred aspects of the invention, the unit ratio of the reverse transcriptase to the DNA polymerases is from about 0.2:2 to about 500:2, and in particularly preferred such aspects the ratio is from about 0.5:2 to about 250:2 or greater than about 3:2.
In other preferred aspects of the invention, the concentration of the one or more sulfur-containing molecules is at least 18 mM, and more preferably about 20 mM to about 50 mM. The invention is also directed to such methods wherein the source of the sulfur-containing molecules is a buffer or a sulfur-containing salt which may be ammonium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, TRIS-sulfate, or manganese sulfate, as well as other sulfur-containing buffers and salts that will be familiar to one of ordinary skill.
In other preferred aspects of the invention, the concentration of the one or more acetate-containing molecules is about 1 mM to about 500 mM, and more preferably about 5 mM to about 250 mM, about 10 mM to about 200 mM, about 25 mM to about 150 mM, about 50 mM to about 100 mM, or about 60 mM. The invention is also directed to such methods wherein the source of the acetate-containing molecules is a buffer or an acetate-containing salt which may be ammonium acetate, magnesium acetate, TRIS-acetate, or manganese acetate, as well as other acetate-containing buffers and salts that will be familiar to one of ordinary skill.
The invention is also directed to such methods wherein the mixture further comprises one or more nucleotides, preferably deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates (most preferably dATP, dUTP, dTTP, dGTP or dCTP), dideoxyribonucleoside triphosphates (most preferably ddATP, ddUTP, ddGTP, ddTTP or ddCTP) or derivatives thereof. Such nucleotides may optionally be detectably labeled (e.g. with a radioactive or nonradioactive detectable label).
The invention is also directed to such methods wherein the mixture further comprises one or more oligonucleotide primers, which are preferably an oligo(dT) primers, random primers, arbitrary primers or target-specific primers, and which is more preferably a gene-specific primer.
The invention is also directed to such methods wherein the incubating step comprises (a) incubating the mixture at a temperature (most preferably a temperature from about 35xc2x0 C. to about 60xc2x0 C.) and for a time sufficient to make a DNA molecule complementary to all or a portion of the RNA template; and (b) incubating the DNA molecule complementary to the RNA template at a temperature and for a time sufficient to amplify the DNA molecule, preferably via thermocycling, more preferably thermocycling comprising alternating heating and cooling of the mixture sufficient to amplify said DNA molecule, and most preferably thermocycling comprising alternating from a first temperature range of from about 90xc2x0 C. to about 100xc2x0 C., to a second temperature range of from about 40xc2x0 C. to about 75xc2x0 C., preferably from about 65xc2x0 C. to about 75xc2x0 C. In particularly preferred aspects of the invention, the thermocycling is performed greater than 10 times, more preferably greater than 20 times.
The invention is also directed to such methods wherein the amplification is not substantially inhibited.
The invention is also directed to methods for amplifying a nucleic acid molecule comprising (a) mixing an RNA template with a composition comprising a Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MLV) reverse transcriptase, which is preferably substantially reduced in RNase H activity, in combination with one or more DNA polymerases (most preferably selected from the group consisting of Tne, Tma, Taq, Pfu, Tth, VENT, DEEPVENT, Pwo, Tfl, and mutants, variants and derivatives thereof), one or more sulfur-containing molecules and one or more potassium-containing molecules, to form a mixture; and (b) incubating the mixture under conditions sufficient to amplify a DNA molecule complementary to all or a portion of the RNA template. In a related aspect, the invention is directed to such methods wherein one or more acetate-containing molecules, such as one or more acetate-containing buffers, is substituted for or combined with the one or more sulfur-containing molecules or buffers in step (a) of the above-described methods.
The invention is also directed to methods for amplifying a nucleic acid molecule comprising (a) mixing an RNA template with a composition comprising a Moloney murine leukemic virus (M-MLV) reverse transcriptase and one or more DNA polymerases, wherein the unit ratio of the reverse transcriptase to the DNA polymerases is greater then 3:2, to form a mixture; and (b) incubating the mixture under conditions sufficient to amplify a DNA molecule complementary to all or a portion of the RNA template.
The invention is also directed to compositions comprising a Moloney Murine Leukemic virus (M-MLV) reverse transcriptase, one or more DNA polymerases and one or more sulfur-containing molecules (wherein the sulfur concentration is at least 18 mM) or one or more acetate-containing molecules (wherein the acetate concentration is about 1 mM to about 500 mM), or combinations of one or more sulfur-containing molecules and one or more acetate-containing molecules at the above concentrations.
The invention is also directed to compositions comprising a Moloney Murine Leukemic virus (M-MLV) reverse transcriptase, one or more DNA polymerases, one or more potassium-containing molecules and one or more sulfur-containing molecules (wherein the sulfur concentration is at least 18 mM) or one or more acetate-containing molecules (wherein the acetate concentration is about 1 mM to about 500 mM), or combinations of one or more sulfur-containing molecules and one or more acetate-containing molecules at the above concentrations.
The invention is also directed to compositions comprising a Moloney Murine leukemic virus (M-MLV) reverse transcriptase and one or more DNA polymerases, wherein the unit ratio of the reverse transcriptase to the DNA polymerases is greater than 3:2.
Other preferred embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in light of the following drawings and description of the invention, and of the claims.

Compositions comprising a M-MLV reverse transcriptase and a DNA polymerase and use thereof


Compositions and methods for systemic administration of DNA encoding bone morphogenic proteins for promotion of osteogenesis are disclosed. The compositions and methods of the invention may be utilized for fracture repair. The invention further discloses compositions and methods for systemic administration of bone morphogenetic proteins for promotion of osteogenesis. These compositions and methods may be used in bone fracture healing and repair. These composition of the invention may be further utilized in increasing bone mineral density.

The present invention relates to the field of tissue repair. More particularly, the present invention relates to compositions and methods for systemic administration of sequences encoding osteogenic proteins. The invention also includes methods and compositions for the systemic administration of osteogenic proteins for promotion of osteogenesis. The compositions and methods promote osteogenesis and therefore uses include fracture healing and repair and acceleration of fracture healing. These methods and compositions may also be used for the treatment of osteoporotic bone and or the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.

Compositions and methods for systemic administration of sequences encoding bone morphogenetic proteins