Techniques for generating a static representation of time-based media information. A static representation is generated that comprises a timeline representing the duration of the time-based media information. Occurrences of one or more events that occur in the time-based representation are indicated along the timeline in the static representation. The static representation may be printed on a paper medium.

The present application relates to the field of time-based media information, and more particularly to techniques for generating a representation of time-based media streams that may be printed on a paper medium.
An increasing amount of information is now available in electronic form. The information may be stored as electronic (or digital) documents. The electronic information may include time-based media information such as audio streams, video streams, animation information, etc. that is captured over a time period. Example of time-based media information includes multimedia information that may include information of one or more different types such as audio information, video information, animation information, etc.
Several different applications and tools are available today for outputting time-based media information to a user. For example, several proprietary and/or customized multimedia players, video players, televisions, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and the like are available for outputting time-based media information. Examples of media players include RealPlayer™ provided by RealNetworks™, Microsoft Windows Media Player™ provided by Microsoft Corporation™, QuickTime™ Player provided by Apple Corporation, Shockwave™ multimedia player, and others. These players generally run on a computer system and output the time-based media information via output devices coupled to the computer such as a monitor, a speaker, and the like.
While retrieving time-based media information in digital form is adequate for many applications, the dynamic nature of the output makes it unfeasible for other applications. For example, the capability to easily review time-based media information is commonly needed today. Conventionally, to search for a particular content within time-based media information, one has to actually playback the time-based media information to find the desired content. For example, a user has to playback audio recording of a radio talk show to determine when a particular guest speaker spoke during the show. There is presently no easy way for a user to search through a time-based media information segment to easily identify features of interest from the time-based media information.
Further, it is a well-known fact that many users find it easier to comprehend and review information when the information is printed on a paper medium. However, techniques for generating static representations of time-based media information that can be printed on a paper medium. Techniques are thus desired that are capable of providing a static representation of time-based media information suitable for printing on a paper medium.

Techniques for generating a static representation for time-based media information


A variable valve device includes: a drive shaft member rotating synchronously with a crankshaft provided in an internal combustion engine; a cam shaft member including a cam lobe and rotatably provided about the drive shaft member; a drive arm portion provided in the drive shaft member and rotating together with the drive shaft member; a control sleeve provided with an eccentric hole into which the drive shaft member is inserted, and arranged to vary a position of a central axis of the eccentric hole; and a first rotary member including a first member connected to the drive arm portion and a second member connected to the cam shaft member, and rotating along an inner circumferential wall surface of the eccentric hole.

Conventionally, there is known a variable valve device for variably controlling an working angle of a cam driving an intake valve or an exhaust valve installed in an internal combustion engine. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a variable valve device for varying the working angle by using a non-constant velocity universal joint.


A cathode ray tube, comprising a front panel glass having a fluorescent screen; a glass envelope sealed with the front panel; a film having a conductive layer and an insulating layer superposed on the outer side of the front panel glass; a plurality of ground electrodes soldered on the film by using a soldering iron which has an ultrasonic wave generator; and a conductive layer connected with the ground electrodes electrically through the insulating layer, and a method for manufacture of the same.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cathode ray tube and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
The panel of a cathode ray tube is produced by molding molten glass. During the molding process, the surface of the panel becomes rough, so it is necessary to polish the surface of the panel before supplying it for use. In the process of production of a cathode ray tube, this polishing step accounts for 20 to 30 percent of the time and cost involved in making the panel. Therefore, rationalization of this polishing step is necessary in order to meet with demands for reductions in the cost of manufacturing cathode ray tubes.
The increasing size of cathode ray tubes and the increasing flatness of their panels have in addition been accompanied with thicker designs of their panels in order to secure their requisite anti-implosion performance. When panels are made thicker, however, their weight undesirably increases.
In view of this situation, there have been proposed the method of adhering functional glass to the surface of the panel by an adhesive (polypropylen glycol PPG laminate method) and the method of adhering a transparent functional film to the surface of the panel by an adhesive so that there are not that great demands on the precision of polishing of the panel surface and further the thickness can be kept thin.
In the former PPG laminate method, the final polishing of the panel is eliminated, but taping and other complicated steps are involved. The latter method is therefore considered more promising.
In both methods, however, there are problems with preventing charges from forming at the panel surface.
The following two methods are known for preventing charges. Each has its own problems, however.
The first method calls for spraying the face of the panel with an alcohol solution of silicon alkoxide in which has been dispersed a conductive filler such as indium tin oxide and tin antimony oxide, baking this at a relative high temperature (150.degree. to 200.degree. C.), and thereby forming a conductive layer on the surface of the panel. The conductive layer formed by this method is extremely difficult to salvage after baking when a defect is found in the coating. Further, when touched by the hand, it picks up fingerprints or other dirt and therefore causes a deterioration in the quality of the reproduced image. This dirt is also hard to remove by wiping with a dry or wet cloth etc.
The second method calls for adhering by an adhesive to the outer surface of the panel of a cathode ray tube a panel comprised of a sheet of glass molded to the radius of curvature of the outside of the panel and formed on its surface with an anti-reflection film comprised of a transparent conductive layer made of indium tin oxide etc. and multilayer optical thin film comprised of titanium dioxide, silicon dioxide, etc. This method is now being used for some cathode ray tubes, but has problems in terms of suitability for mass production and further increases the manufacturing costs.
Further, it has been considered to include the transparent conductive layer in the functional film adhered to the surface of the panel. Effective and simple means for grounding this conductive layer have been sought.

Cathode ray tube and method of manufacturing the same


An apparatus for encapsulating cells is disclosed. According to one embodiment, the apparatus includes an indirect-pumping dispenser for dispensing a cell suspension into an encapsulation solution through an outlet of the dispenser. The apparatus also includes a dipping mechanism that is attachable to the outlet of the dispenser. The dipping mechanism is adapted to dip the dispenser outlet in the encapsulation solution to allow the cell suspension dispensed thereat to come into contact with the encapsulation solution.

The invention relates to an apparatus for encapsulating cells, more specifically, for encapsulating cells, such as animal cells, to form small capsules.
The encapsulation of living cells, such as animal cells including human cells, is of great significance in biotechnology and medicine, for example for immobilization purposes (see, for example, Uludag, H. et al., Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews 42 (2000), 29-64). For instance, body cells such as hepatocytes in microcapsules composed of ultrathin, semipermeable membranes can have applications, for example, in hybrid bioartificial liver-assisted devices. Such applications involve containment of encapsulated hepatocytes in a bioreactor that is implanted in patients with liver failure (see Chia et al., Tissue Engineering 6(5): 481-95). Another application is the encapsulation of islet cells for the production of insulin (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,866 for example). To mention a third example, erythropoetin producing kidney cells have been suggested for the treatment of anemia.
Encapsulation of cells in polymers, such as alginate, through an alginate-gelation complex coacervation method has been extensively studied. In this method, alginate, which is a glycuranan extracted from the brown seaweed algae, can be chelated by calcium to form a gel. Early results obtained with an alginate-polylysine system were inconsistent and thus inconclusive because of the uncontrollable purity of the alginate, and the incorporation of cells within the formed external membrane. Consequently, a two-step encapsulation scheme was used. The calcium alginate gel droplets were incorporated into larger alginate gel spheres and then reacted with a poly-amino acid such as poly-L-lysine to form a semi permeable membrane. Sodium citrate was then added to liquefy the interior to form microcapsules. Unfortunately, sodium citrate had adverse effect on the bioactivity of hepatocytes, and the water-soluble alginate and polylysine were found to be not particularly biocompatible as individual polymers. As a result, other alternatives, such as collagen, have been investigated to see if they are better substrates for cellular functions than alginate.
Manual encapsulation involves extrusion of a charged stream of cell mixture or suspension into an encapsulation solution of an opposite charge. Manual encapsulation works but the size of capsules produced is inconsistent and the process is time consuming.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,866 discloses an apparatus that is adapted to form microspheres by individually enveloping falling droplets of a polyanion solution with a collapsing annular sheet of a polycation solution while the sheet is traveling downwardly at the same velocity as the droplets. The apparatus includes an oscillator to produce the droplets and a means for deflecting a certain number of droplets to obtain an optimum ratio of polyanion droplets to polycation to produce uniform spheres.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,458,296 discloses a device that is adapted to divide an immobilization mixture into equal parts by superimposition of an external vibration. The device includes a metal ring having a through hole. The metal ring is mounted downstream from a nozzle with the nozzle axis extending through the through hole. The metal ring is connected to a high-voltage source that produces an electrical field between the metal ring and the nozzle. During use, an encapsulation mixture comprising an immobilization matrix and cells or substances is conveyed through the nozzle in such a way that a free laminar jet is produced. By virtue of a vibration being superimposed on the free jet, the free jet is broken up into drops of equal size. When the fluid penetrates into the electrical field, a charge flux occurs in the direction of the nozzle so that the separated drops have an electrostatic charge. This charge causes mutual repulsion of the drops. Consequently, the small radial displacements between the drops are increased and the single-strand chain of drops is expanded to form a cone of drops. These drops fall into a hardening bath to form particles. The charges of the drops are removed by grounding of the hardening bath.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,649,384 discloses a method and a system for the encapsulation of viable biological material with a polymeric material to form a gelled capsule, which preferably can be transplanted into genetically dissimilar hosts. The method includes an electrostatic mixing process for producing encapsulated cell clusters with at least two polymeric coatings. The system includes a spinning disc atomizer. Biological material is encapsulated in a first alginate layer and the resultant capsules are suspended in a liquid carrier medium such as a saline solution. An electrostatic charge is applied to the carrier medium which is then introduced into an alginate solution, and the resultant suspension is atomized and gelled to form a second alginate layer.
However, there remains a need for an alternative system that allows encapsulation of cells in a controlled, reproducible and economical manner.

Agency for Science, Technology + Research


Methods are provided for forming a xanthone derivative via reacting a 2-substituted benzaldehyde with a phenol derivative to form the xanthone derivative.

Direct acylation of phenolic C—H bond usually attracts much attention since phenols are one of the most important aromatic compounds in nature and industry. Two major categories of pathways can be followed in this transformation, namely, the most well-known powerful Lewis acid-catalyzed Friedel-Crafts acylation pathway, and the transition-metal-catalyzed C—H activation pathway. However, Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction is usually difficult to control the regio- and/or mono-selectivity if no directing group is present in the benzene ring, and it often suffers from the harsh reaction condition, usage of air/water sensitive Lewis acid and incompatibility with many functional groups. Meanwhile, although transition-metal-catalyzed C—H activation can direct converting carbon-hydrogen bond into carbon-oxygen, carbon-nitrogen, carbon-halide, carbon-sulfur, or carbon-carbon bonds, till now, there is no report about C—H activation in acylation reaction of unprotected phenols. To our knowledge, only one work has been published reporting the acylation of 1-naphthol with benzaldehyde catalyzed by Pd(OAc)2 in the presence of triphenylphosphine. In that paper, Miura and coworkers didn't carry out an in-depth investigation of the reaction scope, and the reaction conditions were not optimized, while they just used this reaction as a control when they synthesized benzofuran-2(3H)-ones.
Xanthones are important structural units in organic chemistry and widely presented in natural products, and their derivatives were reported to show diverse physicochemical and pharmacological properties such as antioxidants, antiinflammatory, antineoplastic, and vasodilator. Albeit many methods are available for their syntheses, most of them either require advanced starting materials, involve multistep transformations, or exotic reaction conditions, more frequently, via the Friedel-Crafts reactions. There were only a few one-step synthesis of xanthones existed in literature. For example, Larock et al. reported the one-pot synthesis of xanthones by the tandem coupling-cyclization of arynes and salicylates. The same group also reported a C—H activation approach where an arylated imidoyl palladium intermediate promoted the intramolecular arylation resulted in xanthone skeletons. Another elegant work from Li group showed that 2-aryloxybenzaldehyde can undergo an intramolecular cross-dehydrogenative coupling reaction to form xanthones smoothly.

Methodology for the synthesis of xanthones


Methylidene mevalonic acid, a material isolated from a fungal extract, and its primary alcohol and carboxylic acid derivatives, are potent herbicides demonstrating a broad spectrum of weed control. These materials are useful for weed control and for the cultivation of organically grown crops.

This invention relates to novel methylidene mevalonate and its derivatives and to the use of these compounds as herbicides.
Organic farming is an increasingly important means of production of food and fiber. As with all types of agriculture, control of weeds and pests is important to the yield and value of the crop. Pest control products suitable for organic farming are generally bio-organic in origin. New pest control products for agriculture, and specifically for organic farming, are important additions to the field. Thus it is highly desirable to discover natural compounds that would allow the organic farmer to more effectively control weeds.

Methylidene mevalonates and their use as herbicides


A high-voltage electrical connector system comprises a bushing with a longitudinal axis, a shoulder, a first end, and a second end, wherein the shoulder is between the first end and the second end; a ring arranged circumferentially around a first outside diameter of the bushing, the ring disposed between the shoulder and the second end, the ring including a channel therein defining a circumferential extension extending axially toward the first end; a ground shield disposed on a second outside diameter of the bushing between the ring and the second end, the ground shield comprising one or more of conductive material and semiconductive material; and an insulative portion adjacent the ring and disposed circumferentially over a portion of the ground shield.

In underground electrical distribution systems that are energized to, e.g., 15 kV to 35 kV, it is common to employ high-voltage connector assemblies of the elbow/bushing variety. The IEEE STD 386 standard covers such electrical connectors. In their earliest and most basic form, bushing inserts had a squared-off shoulder with no venting and no latch indication, where the shoulder of the bushing is the area where the cuff of the elbow fits against the bushing. Oftentimes, bushing/elbow assemblies allow for connection and disconnection when the line is carrying current (i.e., loadmake and loadbreak operations).
FIG. 6 is an illustration of terminator/bushing assembly 600, which is one prior art embodiment. Assembly 600 includes elbow terminator 610 and bushing insert 620. Elbow terminator 610 includes sleeve 612, cuff 611, and probe 613. When latched, sleeve 612 fits over bushing insert 620 such that the inner surface of cuff 611 fits snugly up against shoulder 621, and probe 613 is received into conductive tube 622. In FIG. 6, terminator 610 and bushing insert 610 are not drawn to the same scale.
At 25 kV there have been problems in the industry for many years concerning a phenomenon known as partial vacuum-induced flashover. Rarely, when an operator would pull an elbow off of a bushing, there would be an arc from the exposed conductive insert (of the elbow) to a conductive grounding shield on the bushing. It was discovered that flashover is caused by a decrease in the dielectric constant of the air trapped in the assembly due to a partial vacuum during loadbreak operations. In IEEE STD 386 elbow/bushing assemblies, the cuff of the elbow overlaps the collar of the bushing by about ½ inch, so that the first ½ inch of travel during a loadbreak operation creates a volume inside the elbow-bushing interface connection. The volume of air becomes greater without letting any other air enter the assembly, thereby lowering the pressure of the air. When air pressure is lowered, the dielectric strength of that air is also lowered, as described in Paschen's curve. The lowered dielectric strength of the air leads to lowered resistance and sometimes, arcing.
One prior solution to the flashover problem includes the use of additional insulation in the elbow terminator. Such a solution is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,921, which is incorporated by reference herein. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,921 also shows the use of an insulating layer placed over a grounding shield to prevent flashover.
Yet another approach includes decreasing or relieving the partial vacuum as it occurs. One such solution uses a vented bushing insert, which has slots and grooves on its shoulder to allow air to go underneath the cuff of the elbow and relieve the air pocket that is between the cuff of the elbow and the shoulder of the bushing. One problem with that design is that it only vents one of the cavities in which the vacuum is created, while leaving other small cavities unaddressed, e.g., the areas around the nose of the bushing.
Another problem with vented bushings is that the vents get plugged up with grease. When linemen put elbows and inserts together, they typically use silicone lubricants to slide the two rubber pieces together. It is an interference fit that is very tight, and the lubrication makes the elbows operable over the next twenty to thirty years. Over time, the lubrication thickens up, turns gluey, and will clog up the vents, making the elbow harder to operate, and pulling more vacuum. More vacuum leads to a greater chance of flashover. An example of a vented shoulder is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,939,151.
The difference in performance between the insulated elbow solution and the vented bushing solution led to changes in the IEEE standard for testing bushing elbow assemblies. The OIACWT, (Operating Interface AC Withstand Test) provides a way for testing new elbow/bushing designs. There are two tests in the standard—Option A and Option B. Option A is a partial vacuum test at 27.5 kV, with no lubricant, and Option B is a partial vacuum test with aged lubricant at 30.5 kV.
A beveled insert is the focus of another solution technique. A beveled insert refers to a bushing insert where the shoulder of the bushing is chamfered. Usually, the shoulder of a bushing is a ninety-degree corner per the IEEE STD 386 standard, but in a beveled insert, the corner is at a much shallower angle, e.g., forty-five degrees. The shallower angle keeps the cuff of the elbow from sealing to the shoulder of the bushing, thereby preventing partial vacuum from occurring. In order to further reduce cuff/shoulder sealing, some beveled inserts include flange-like protrusions that extend radially outward from the beveled surface.
Yet another solution includes using a J-ring adjacent to the shoulder of the bushing to relieve the partial vacuum at a short travel distance of the cuff. An example of a J-ring solution is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,083,450, which is incorporated by reference herein. J-ring solutions attempt to prevent cuff-shoulder sealing by changing the geometry of the outside surface of the bushing so that the cuff cannot create a seal during loadbreak. The J-ring design is similar to a counterbore design with an added protrusion, an example of which is labeled 115 in FIG. 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 7,083,450. The protrusion prevents the tip of the cuff from sealing along the bottom shelf of the counterbore. Once the tip of the cuff clears the point of the protrusion, it allows air to flow around the cuff of the bushing, thereby relieving any partial vacuum.
It is important to note that the J-ring design relieves vacuum differently from the other designs. Vented shoulders and beveled inserts hold the cuff outward to allow air to go underneath the cuff, whereas a J-ring design allows the cuff to fall. Typically, J-ring designs do not succumb to grease pack like vented shoulders do. Further, because so much material is taken away from the insert due to the counterbore, the starting volume of trapped air when the elbow is mated to the insert is much greater than that of the beveled insert and the vented insert. Thus, the pressure drop is not as severe, simply because the starting volume in the steady state latched position is so much greater than the general design. Thus, J-ring solutions provide better vacuum-relieving properties than other currently-available solutions.

Electrical connector including a ring and a ground shield


A substrate processing apparatus that accommodates a substrate holder in which a substrate is placed in a processing container and forms a film onto the substrate, includes: a film thickness meter that measures a thickness of the film formed on the substrate; a state analysis unit that analyzes variation of the film thickness from a measurement result output from the film thickness meter at a plurality of measurement points where the film thickness on the substrate is measured; a singular point detection unit that, based on the analysis result, detects a measurement point where a difference from an adjacent measurement point deviates from a predetermined condition, as a singular point; and a singular point correction unit that corrects a measurement result of the singular point so that the difference of the film thickness between the singular point and the adjacent measurement point is within a predetermined condition.

In manufacturing semiconductor devices, various processing apparatuses are used for processings such as film formation, diffusion, annealing, and etching on a substrate. As for such a substrate processing apparatus, there is a heat treatment apparatus that forms a thin film such as an oxide film on a substrate by performing a heat treatment on the substrate.
For example, in a vertical type heat treatment apparatus including a vertical type heat treatment furnace, a plurality of substrates is held in a shelf shape of a substrate holder called a wafer boat, and the wafer boat is carried into the heat treatment furnace to perform a film forming processing. However, the film forming processing on the substrate is performed based on a processing recipe (a set value of processing parameters) including processing conditions such as a pressure, a heater temperature, and a gas flow rate according to, for example, a kind of thin film to be formed or a film thickness, or the like.
The processing recipe is optimized by repeating an operation of adjusting the processing recipe while performing the film forming processing with the wafer boat fully loaded with substrates for adjusting. In the optimization processing of the processing recipe, the film thickness of the thin film formed on the substrate is measured by a film thickness measuring device, and the processing recipe is adjusted so that a difference between the measured film thickness of the measured film thickness data and a target film thickness is eliminated (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-091826).

Substrate processing apparatus, information processing apparatus, and information processing method


A coupling mechanism for connecting a catheter to a medical infusion line includes a catheter hub arranged on the catheter and a coupling piece arranged at an end of the medical infusion line for connecting with the catheter hub. A pin is axially aligned in the insertion direction of the coupling piece or a sleeve configured for receiving the pin and a locking wedge aligned parallel with the axial extension of the pin or a wedge receptacle for a form-fitting connection of the locking wedge. The wedge receptacle is defined by hinged positive locking elements which are able to move apart from each other. Lever arms are arranged at a distance from each other on the catheter hub or the coupling piece. They interact with the positive locking elements when the coupling mechanism is coupled such that the positive locking elements are spread and the locking wedge is consequently released when the lever arms are actuated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coupling mechanism for connecting a catheter to a medical infusion line.
2. Description of the Related Art
In medicine, catheters are used in various fields for administering drugs which have been dissolved or suspended in fluid. Using catheters, medication can be directly administered into the patient's tissue or bloodstream via a puncture site. In order to attach the catheter, it is first necessary to create an entry into the tissue or bloodstream of the patient by means of a puncture. The catheter is then connected to a medical infusion line. In this regard, coupling mechanisms have been designed to permit a fast and secure connection and separation of the catheter and the infusion line.
Such known coupling mechanisms have a catheter hub located on the catheter, on the one hand, and a coupling piece on the infusion line, on the other. For coupling or connecting the line to the catheter, the coupling piece is slid onto the catheter hub, wherein the coupling piece is then appropriately fastened in this position by suitable means, normally by locking. Frequently a coupling cannula in the form of a hollow needle is arranged in the coupling piece. When coupling both the catheter hub and the coupling piece, the cannula serves to pierce the septum located in the catheter hub in order to establish the passage of fluid between the infusion line and the catheter. For this purpose, the coupling cannula is equipped with a sharp (beveled) tip in order to perforate the septum.
It is especially important for self-reliant patients who handle catheters and medical infusion lines on their own such as, for example, insulin patients, to design such coupling mechanisms so that they can be used easily and properly.
This especially requires a secure guidance of the coupling elements (catheter hub and coupling piece) when attaching the coupling mechanism. In this regard, radial forces should particularly be avoided which can lead to, among others, a slipping or detaching of the catheter.
In addition, it is desirable that the patient or other user of the coupling mechanism clearly recognizes the secure locking of the coupling mechanism, for example, by means of an audible sound or tactile sensation.

Coupling mechanism for connecting a catheter to a medical infusion line


A turbomachine including an annular combustion chamber is disclosed. The combustion chamber includes a radially inner wall and a radially outer wall exhibiting symmetry of revolution. An annular chamber end wall equipped with a fuel injection device connects upstream ends of the inner and outer walls. A suspension device suspends the upstream end of the combustion chamber from an outer casing.

The present invention relates to a turbomachine, such as an airplane turbojet or turboprop, equipped with an annular combustion chamber.
A turbomachine annular combustion chamber comprises two, an inner and an outer, coaxial walls exhibiting symmetry of revolution, which are connected at their upstream ends by a rigid annular chamber end wall and at their downstream ends have flanges for attaching to inner and outer casings. It also comprises an upstream annular cowling fixed to the chamber end wall and intended to direct the air flow into or around the combustion chamber. The chamber end wall and the cowling have openings to allow air to enter the chamber and to allow for the insertion of injectors that spray fuel into the combustion chamber.
At the downstream end, the chamber is connected by the outer flange to an outer casing of a turbine section positioned on the outlet side of the combustion chamber.
The way in which this chamber is mounted in the inner and outer casings and the way in which it is attached present a certain number of disadvantages which degrade turbomachine performance.
Specifically, the injectors cannot be positioned relative to the chamber in the optimum way needed for good combustion because of the way in which the chamber is attached. Specifically, the successive fixings of the various parts of the chamber, namely the fixings of the inner and outer walls of revolution to the chamber end wall, then the attaching of the inner and outer flanges to the casings of the turbomachine, lead to a build-up in manufacturing and assembly tolerances of each of the parts and therefore to imprecision in the positioning of the chamber within the casings. As a result, the injectors cannot be attached accurately to the casing and their tips cannot be aligned accurately along the axis of the combustion chamber, which means that the fuel injected into the chamber cannot undergo ideal combustion and turbomachine performance is diminished.

Device for attaching a combustion chamber


A plastic device that temporarily holds a cigar or cigarette for a golfer. The device attaches to a golf bag by a clip (13) (14) that the golfer easily slides on to his or her golf bag FIG. 5. Once attached the golfer simply puts his or her cigar into the cigar clamp (10) pushing down until the cigar fits snugly FIG. 2. If using the cigar holder for a cigarette the golfer would place the cigarette in the v-shaped cigarette slot (11) and push down until it is held in place FIG. 3. The holes in the top of the cigar holder (15) may be used to store golf tee's. The hole behind the cigar clamp (16) may be used to hang a towel.

1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to smoking on the golf course while allowing the golfer to free up his or her hands without having to put his or her cigar or cigarette down on chemically contaminated grass which might be dangerous to the golfers health.
2. Description of Prior Art
After a extensive search, I have found many golf related accessories (297 of which were patented). None of the prior art I uncovered dealt with cigars and cigarettes in the manner of my invention. (To date.)

Cigar and cigarette holder that attaches to golf bag


Methods and systems for modulating a manufactured light source are disclosed. Methods and systems of the present disclosure include sensor assemblies having first and second light sensors to retrieve light spectrum data at a target location, such as from a surface in an interior space at a home, office, or commercial building, that also receives daylight exposure. The first light sensor retrieves the light spectrum data within a spectrum of the manufactured light source. The second light sensor retrieves light spectrum data outside of the spectrum of the manufactured light source, yet within the spectrum of daylight. The light spectrum data is used to define spectral characteristics at the target location, such as a ratio of daylight to the manufactured light source, phase of daylight, and average overall quantity, which are used to maximize light-associated benefits of the spectral composition for the occupants at the target location, such as humans, plants, and animals.

Light has been shown to fundamentally benefit human lives, from safety to wealth-enhancement to well-being. Beyond its obvious applications as a tool for prolonging human activities after dark, the basic cycle of day and night (light and dark) has been found to be a stimulus that regulates circadian rhythms in most if not all living organisms. It is widely accepted that circadian regulation supports health and well-being in humans through the regulation of internal biological processes such as hormones secretion and sleep patterns.
Sensitivity to light by plants and other animal species is different from human visual sensitivity, but light-associated effects in these species are no less profound. In plants, light influences photosynthesis as well as daily and/or seasonal flowering, blooming, morphology, and resistance to pathogens. In animals, light has been shown to influence processes such as milk production by cows and egg laying by chickens.
Manufactured lighting for commercial applications has long been skewed to supporting visual tasks of occupants with a minimum use of energy. However it is widely accepted that daylight is preferable to manufactured lighting, for reasons such as increased light levels, balanced spectral composition, and circadian regulatory effects. Therefore, most modern interior spaces have been designed with lighting conditions that do not adequately support circadian regulation.
Architects aim to increase the availability of daylight in buildings, particularly in those where people spend most of their days, such as offices, schools, and industry buildings. However, there is not much information on how spaces can and should be designed to maximize the well-being of occupants through daylight exposure. Sustainable design practices, such as the United States Green Building Council through their LEED Certification process, require architects and designers to include daylight in buildings in order to achieve certification credits. The availability of daylight in buildings can be calculated in different ways, often using computer programs and databases. While the availability of daylight in a given space can be modeled as a function of time of day as well as seasonally, these values are only calculated and reported for a few instances with the intent to inform design decisions in terms of insolation and shadowing. Additionally, daylight databases are not available for all geographical regions and often are based on statistical information, rather than measured data.
These daylight metrics are at best considered during the design phase of the building and are not monitored once the occupants are in the space. Furniture layout, surface finishes and other changes that happen in the space are known to affect the distribution of daylight across the space and cannot be fully anticipated.
Various photosensor systems attempt to monitor environmental light levels, often with the goal of increasing manufactured light in a space as daylight fades. However, existing photosensor systems do not differentiate between the contributions from manufactured light and daylight. Further, while manufactured light levels may be adjusted to compensate for lost daylight, current photosensor systems cannot adjust the spectral composition of the environmental light to account for changes in the daylight composition throughout the day, and better realize the associated benefits, such as those associated with circadian stimulation.

Method, system, and sensor assembly for determining light composition at a target location


A laser therapy apparatus includes: a laser source including a light source for outputting first laser light; a laser irradiator for subjecting the first laser light to at least one of light-guiding and beamforming to convert the first laser light into second laser light, and radiating the second laser light to the exterior; a second light amount detector for detecting a light amount of second laser light; a pre-use checker for performing a pre-use check at least based on a result of detection by the second light amount detector; a pre-use check detector for determining whether a pre-use check corresponding to the current activation has been performed or not, based on past-activation information and a result of the check by the pre-use checker; and an alarm for, at the current activation, reporting a result of determination by the pre-use check detector.

Laser is used for various kinds of therapy. For example, laser therapy apparatuses are used in photodynamic therapy (hereinafter abbreviated as "PDT").
PDT is a localized therapy which utilizes a photochemical reaction based on a photosensitive substance which abundantly accumulates in cancer cells as well as laser light irradiation. Specifically, in this therapy, a photosensitive substance (e.g., talaporfin sodium) is administered in vivo, and the cancer cells in which the photosensitive substance has accumulated are irradiated with laser light of an excitation wavelength which is specific to that photosensitive substance, thus generating singlet oxygens from the photosensitive substance, and allowing these singlet oxygens to destroy the cancer cells.
For example, a laser therapy apparatus for use in PDT is proposed in Patent Document 1.


A leader tape that is joined at an end portion of a recording tape wound on a reel and that, when pulling out the recording tape, is pulled out by a pullout member of a drive device and conveyed on a predetermined path by guide members of the drive device, wherein recessed portions are formed in a surface of the leader tape that abuts with the guide members, is provided.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a leader tape that is joined to an end portion of a recording tape wound around a reel.
2. Related Art
A recording tape cartridge is known where a recording tape such as magnetic tape is wound around a single reel and the reel is housed inside a case. This type of cartridge is used as a information recording/playback medium for devices such as computers. A leader tape acting as a leader member is fixed to the leading end of this recording tape. The leader tape is pulled out from the recording tape cartridge with a pullout portion provided at a drive device side. This is designed so that the recording tape fixed to this leader tape is wound around a windup reel at the drive device side. (See Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-342203.)
When being wound to the windup reel, the leader tape and the recording tape are guided by plural guide rollers to move on a predetermined tape path. At this time, since the leader tape contacts close to the guide rollers, sliding resistance increases so scratches appear on the side of the leader tape that slides against the guide rollers.


A blanket for use beyond the bed is described. The inventive blanket having a pouch at the foot end (10) for a person to place their feet, keeping them covered and thus keeping them warm. As the occupant (8) moves around, pulls or tugs to get comfortable, their feet remain covered. A particularly preferred embodiment comprises a blanket folded at the bottom (4) to create the pouch, stitched (5) on each side of the pouch to secure it, and reinforced stitching on each top corner (7) and also at the top center (6) of the pouch.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a blanket/throw and it's use beyond the bed, with the addition of a pouch/pocket t contain a person's feet, keeping the feet covered and thus keeping them warm.
2. Description of Prior Art
Blankets are commonly used in other places besides a person's bed. They are used as a person is reading, sitting in a chair, or watching television. Other places would be napping on the couch, or in the stadium at the ballgame.
Blankets being used in these situations share a common problem. When a person turns, pulls or shifts around, the blanket moves exposing the person's feet to the cold. This causes discomfort, frustration and is a distraction from one's activities.
In March of 1876, U.S. Pat. Nos. 174,920 and 175,252 to Milwain discloses designs that are similar but was to keep a person warm while traveling in a horse drawn carriage; however, this design reflects a lap robe with foot pockets and also a rug with foot pockets attached to the carriage. The lap robe to be a bag one might step in, totalling containing a person from the waist down, this restricts easy access to step out of this robe. These designs are also not suitable with our present status for traveling.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,863,256 to Snoddy (1932) shows a baby blanket designed to contain a child and to keep the blanket secure. This was designed around a baby crib and to be used on a mattress, not being applicable beyond that.
Several blankets and sheets have been designed with pockets, but have been focalized for a bed. U.S. Pat. No. 3,521,309 to Evans (1970) represents a crib sheet with additional material sewn on three sides to produce a pocket, in essence a baby sleeping bag designed for a crib. U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,831 to Clark (1977), a bed sheet with a pocket to secure a blanket from being pulled out from under the mattress, U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,123 to Uggerud (1986), a bed tick, which is the sturdy fabric used to cover a mattress, with a pocket for the user's feet; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,156 to Smith (1996), a foot blanket that encases the foot end of the mattress allowing the occupant to place their feet under or over the blanket. All of these patents are focused on designs for foot pockets, but for a bed, or in Milwain's case, a carriage. None of these designs are practical or usable beyond the application of a bed or a carriage.


A processing system comprising a first sub-circuit configured to be powered by a first supply voltage and a second sub-circuit configured to be powered by a second supply voltage. The first sub-circuit comprises a general-purpose input/out register. The second sub-circuit comprises: a storage circuit configured to selectively store configuration data from the general-purpose input/out register; an input/output interface, at least one peripheral and a selection circuits to exchange signals of the peripherals, and the stored configuration data with the input/output interface. A power management circuit is configured to manage a normal operating mode, and a low-power mode during which the configuration data are maintained stored and the first sub-circuit is switched off. The power management circuit activates the low-power mode in response to receiving a command, and resumes the normal operating mode in response to a wake-up event.

Digital processing systems comprising at least one digital processing unit, such as a system-on-chip (SoC), are well-known in the art.
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an exemplary digital processing system 10, such as a SoC, i.e., the processing system of FIG. 1 may be integrated in an integrated circuit, such as a microcontroller or Digital Signal Processor (DSP). In the example considered, the processing system 10 comprises at least one programmable digital processing unit 102, such as a microprocessor, usually the Central Processing Unit (CPU), programmed via software instructions.
A significant number of microprocessor/CPU architectures are known. For example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,889,317 B2 and which is incorporated herein by reference for this purpose, a microprocessor/CPU 102 often comprises:                one or more Arithmetic Logic Units (ALU) configured to implement a plurality of arithmetic logic operations;        a plurality of registers;        a routing circuit, e.g. in the form of multiplexers and demultiplexers, configured to connect the ALU to the registers; and        an instruction decoder configured to drive the routing circuit and the one or more ALUs as a function of the current software instruction, e.g., in order to connect at least one register to the input of an ALU and a register to the output of an ALU, select the arithmetic operation to be performed by the one or more ALUs, exchange data with a memory, etc.
Usually, the software executed by the processing unit/CPU 102 is stored in a program memory 104, such as a non-volatile memory, such as a Flash memory or EEPROM. Generally, the memory 104 may be integrated with the processing unit 102 in a single integrated circuit, or the memory 104 may be in the form of a separate integrated circuit and connected to the processing unit 102, e.g. via the traces of a printed circuit board. Thus, in general the memory 104 is configured to store the firmware/software of the processing unit 102.
Typically, the processing unit/CPU 102 has also associated a volatile memory 100, such as a Random-Access Memory (RAM), for storing temporary results of the calculations. Also the memory 100 may be integrated with the processing unit 102 in a single integrated circuit, or the memory 100 may be in the form of a separate integrated circuit and connected to the processing unit 102
In the example considered, the processing unit/CPU 102 may have associated one or more resources 106 selected from the group of:                one or more General-Purpose Inputs/Outputs GPIO;        one or more communication interfaces IF, e.g. for exchanging data via the communication system 20, such as a Universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART), Serial Peripheral Interface Bus (SPI), Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C), Controller Area Network (CAN) bus, and/or Ethernet interface, and/or a debug interface; and/or        one or more analog-to-digital converters AD and/or digital-to-analog converters DA; and/or        one or more dedicated digital components DC, such as hardware timers and/or counters, or a cryptographic co-processor; and/or        one or more analog components AC, such as comparators, sensors, such as a temperature sensor, etc.; and/or        one or more mixed signal components MSC, such as a PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation) driver.
Accordingly, the digital processing system 10 may support different functionalities. For example, the behavior of the processing unit 102 is determined by the firmware stored in the memory 104a, e.g., the software instructions to be executed by a microprocessor/CPU 102 of a SoC 10, such as a micro-controller or DSP. Thus, by installing a different firmware, the same hardware (SoC) can be used for different applications.
In many applications, the processing system 10 may support a low-power mode in order to reduce the power consumption of the processing system 10. For example, this is particularly important in case of battery powered systems or for implementing a stand-by mode of an electronic system comprising the processing system 10.
For example, FIG. 2 shows a second example of a processing system 10, which for simplicity shows only the relevant parts. Specifically, FIG. 2 shows that a typical processing 10 may also comprise:                an oscillator and reset circuit 114 configured to provide a clock signal CLK and a reset signal RST; and        a power supply circuit 112, such as an electronic converter or linear regulator, configured to generate the supply voltage VDD of the processing system 10 from an input voltage VIN.
Generally, these circuits 114 and/or 112 may be integrated in the integrated circuit/SoC comprising the processing unit 102 or may be (at least in part) external with respect to the integrated circuit/SoC of the processing unit 102. For example, a control circuit of the power supply circuit 112 may be integrated in the integrated circuit/SoC, while larger inductors and/or capacitors of the power supply circuit 112 may be connected externally to the integrated circuit.
For example, typically the oscillator and reset circuit 114 is configured to generate the clock signal CLK of the processing system 10 once the supply voltage VDD is provided, and then generates a reset via the reset signal RST in order to bring the processing system into a reset state. For example, for this purpose, usually the various registers of the processing system 10 are reset, e.g., the registers of the processing unit 102 and the resources 106.
In the example considered, the processing system 10 comprises moreover a power management circuit 116. Specifically, this power management circuit 116 is configured to selectively activate a normal operating mode or a low-power mode. For example, as schematically shown in FIG. 2, the power management circuit 116 may be configured to drive the oscillator and reset circuit 114 in order to reduce the frequency of the clock signal CLK or even switch off the generation of the clock signal CLK, at least of the clock signal provided to the processing unit 102. Accordingly, in the low-power mode, the processing unit 102 may operate with a reduced clock frequency or may be suspended. Conversely, when resuming the normal operation mode, the power management circuit 116 may be configured to drive the oscillator and reset circuit 114 in order to use again a normal (higher) frequency of the clock signal CLK.
Switching-off the clock signal CLK may cause that the processing unit 102 is unable to perform any operation. For this reason, the power management circuit 116 may be configured to resume the normal operation mode (with normal clock frequency) in response to one or more events. For example, typically these events correspond to one or more wake-up signals IRQ provided by one or more of the resources 106, such as a change of a logic level of an input pin or an interrupt generated by another resource P, such as a timer, a comparator, etc. For example, while not shown in FIG. 2, for this purpose one or more of the resources 106, e.g., comprising a sequential logic circuit, may still receive the clock signal CLK or another (typically low-frequency) clock signal, or the wake-up signal IRQ may be generated asynchronously.
Accordingly, usually, the power management circuit 116 may be programmed/configured via the processing unit 102, e.g., by executing one or more software instructions for programing one of more registers of the power management circuit 116. For example, for this purpose, the power management circuit 116 may be connected, similar to the resources 106, to the processing unit 102, e.g. via a bus system 108. For example, often the power management circuit 116 is programmable in order to select the power saving mode and/or select the wake-up sources, which should resume the normal operating mode.
In order to further reduce the power consumption, the power management circuit 116 may also be configured to deactivate the power supply of the processing system 10. However, this may cause the registers of the processing system lose their content.
Accordingly, in order to avoid this loss of information, the processing system 10 may use so called retention flip-flops for the registers, which have to maintain the configuration. Retention flip-flops are well-known in the art, and, e.g., disclosed in United States Patent Application No. US 2018/0159513 A1, the content thereof being incorporated herein by reference for this purpose. For example, typically, retention flip-flops are implemented with a master latch powered via a first supply voltage and a slave latch powered with a second supply voltage, and a control part configured to:                before activating the low-power mode, store the information of the master latch also to the slave latch; and        when exiting the low-power mode, restore the information from the slave latch.
Accordingly, in the low power mode, the supply voltage of the master latch and the control part may be deactivated, while the slave latch still stores the original data.

Processing system, related integrated circuit and method


The invention relates to a switching relay (1), particularly for a starting device for starting an internal combustion engine, having a contact device (5), a relay coil (2), an armature (3), and an actuating rod (4), wherein the actuating rod (4) is displaced by the armature (3) when current is applied to the relay coil (2) and the contact device (5) is actuated by the actuating rod (4), and having a contact ripping device by means of which the armature (3) and the actuating rod (4) are coupled to each other. In order to simplify assembly and disassembly, the contact ripping device is implemented having a latching device in the armature (3).

The invention relates to a switching relay, in particular for a starting apparatus for starting an internal combustion engine, having a contact device, a relay coil, an armature, an actuating rod, with the actuating rod being moved by the armature when current is supplied to the relay coil and the contact device being operated by means of the actuating rod, and having a contact breaking device by means of which the armature and the actuating rod are coupled to one another.
The invention also relates to a starting apparatus having a switching relay of this kind, and also to a mounting method and a removal method for a switching relay of this kind.
A starter motor of the starting apparatus is switched on and switched off by the switching relay. It is known in a switching relay to move the actuating rod with the armature by supplying current to the relay coil and to operate the contact device by means of the actuating rod.
Interruptions or other disturbances in the current supply when current is being supplied to the relay coil can lead to so-called fluttering contacts on the contact device, with the result that at least two contacts which adjoin one another establish a mutual connection, that is to say, as it were, stick to one another. This connection, which is created by a flow of current during fluttering, is called contact welding in the text which follows. In the case of a switching relay without a contact breaking device, the armature, on account of the lack of coupling between the armature and the actuating rod, returns to its inoperative position after the supply of current to the relay coil is switched off, but with the contact device then being operated, that is to say the contacts remaining closed, since the second spring cannot separate the contacts which are stuck to one another, that is to say cannot break the contact weld, since it does not apply a corresponding contact breaking force. Therefore, the switching function of a switching relay without a contact breaking device is disturbed after a contact welding operation. Current continues to be supplied to the starter motor or is supplied for longer, this leading to damage to the starting apparatus, to overheating, in particular to a cable fire, or to destruction of the starter motor if a vehicle battery as a power source is not disconnected in good time.
The risk is reduced with known contact breaking devices which apply a contact breaking force to the actuating rod when the relay is switched off in case a contact welding operation occurs.
DE 199 51 116 A1 describes a switching relay for a starting apparatus, with a coupling element being provided in order to carry along the actuating rod with a limited movement when the armature is moved backward only when a contact welding operation, which occurs under unfavorable conditions, occurs, and therefore the contact weld is broken by a return force of the armature.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,552,638 B2 describes a relay having a spring-assisted armature in which an actuating rod with a head is mounted. The actuating rod is moved axially by the armature against a spring force for closing a contact bridge when current is supplied. In order to break the contact bridge, in addition to the spring force, the head of the actuating rod is pulled along by a shoulder as a mating bearing into the guide in the armature in the event of a contact weld.
DE 102 60 843 A1 (D1) describes a relay, in particular a switching relay for a starter in one particular embodiment. In order to break adhesively bonded or welded contacts, a sufficient amount of kinetic energy is built up by pulsed acceleration of the magnet armature over a distance of the erosion reserve, and therefore an actuating rod is pulled back into the starting position by means of a head part when the head part runs through a distance b) in an annular groove. A relay coil is included in a housing which holds the magnet armature together in a pot-like manner.
DE 67 51 537 U (D3) describes an electromagnetic switch for starter motors of internal combustion engines. The armature has a longitudinal hole in which a bolt is secured by means of a semicircular groove in a bead in the longitudinal hole. From a mounting point of view, provision is made here to first connect the bolt to the armature in an interlocking manner, in order to then secure the bolt in the contact apparatus.
The object of the invention is to develop a switching relay of the type mentioned in the introductory part and a mounting and removal method for a switching relay of this kind in such a way that mounting and removal are simplified and the design of the switching relay is simplified.

Switching relay having contact ripping device


An ink jet print head is capable of creating a state where the direction of ink-drop ejection is not likely to be influenced by air currents generated by the ink ejection, and is capable of printing an image without causing the shifting of dots. To this end, air currents generated by the ejection of ink and the interference among the air currents are reduced by blowing out gas in a direction parallel with the direction of the ink ejection. Accordingly, even with a print head that ejects, at high ejection frequency, ink from multiple ejecting openings formed densely, the advancing direction of the ink drops is unlikely to be deflected. As a consequence, a high-quality, uniform image can be outputted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet print head that ejects ink according to an ink jet method, and also relates to an ink jet printing apparatus that performs printing on a print medium by using the ink jet print head. In particular, the present invention relates to a technique to reduce the generation of air current at the time of the ejecting operation of an ink jet print head that includes an array of plural ejecting opening columns.
2. Description of the Related Art
High-speed output, high-resolution printing, high quality of image, and low noise are some of the properties that are required for the various types of printing apparatuses having recently been developed. Ink jet printing apparatuses are examples of the printing apparatuses that can satisfy the above-mentioned requirements. In the ink jet printing apparatus, ink (printing liquid) drops are ejected from ejecting openings formed in the print head, and made to fly. Then the ink drop is attached on a print medium to form a dot at predetermined positions.
The ink jet printing apparatus is provided with means for generating energy to eject ink. An electrothermal transducing element such as a heater and a piezoelectric element are some of the examples of the above-mentioned energy generating means. Applying voltage to an electrothermal transducing element generates heat rapidly in the electrothermal transducing element to cause film boiling of the ink located nearby. The phase transition of the ink causes foam pressure, which makes the ink ejected, as drops, from the ejecting openings. On the other hand, applying voltage to a piezoelectric element causes a deformation of the piezoelectric element. Pressure generated at the time of the deformation makes the ink ejected, as drops, from the ejecting openings.
Incidentally, increasing demands for higher-speed and higher image quality of printing have caused changes related to the recent ink jet printing apparatuses. Apparatuses have now been developed that have an increased number or density of ejecting openings arrayed in the printing head, a reduced size of the ink drops, and an increased ejection frequency. Now, suppose a case where printing is performed by ejecting ink at high frequency from a printing head with a large number of ejecting openings that are densely arrayed. It is known that, in this case, multiple ink drops ejected at high speed sometimes cause air currents between the print head and the print medium, and that such air currents affect the direction in which the ink drops fly.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for describing a case where the air currents affect the direction in which the ink is ejected. While a print head 100 shown in FIG. 9 moves, relative to a print medium P, in the main-scanning direction indicated in FIG. 9 at a predetermined speed, the print head 100 ejects ink drops 300 from ejecting opening columns 201 and 202 to the print medium P at a predetermined frequency. Each of the ejecting opening columns 201 and 202 includes an array of plural ejecting openings arranged in the vertical direction in the drawing. The ink drops ejected from the ejecting opening columns 201 and 202 at high speed and high frequency generate air currents 11 near the ejecting opening columns 201 and 202. The air currents 11 thus generated interfere with one another, which deflects the advancing direction of the ink drops 300 that would otherwise have been directed perpendicularly to the print medium P. Consequently, dots are printed on the print medium P at positions that are different from their respective originally-targeted positions. The degree of such deflection depends on the magnitude of the air currents, which in turn depends on the actual ejection frequency of the ink ejected from the individual ejecting opening columns 201 and 202, that is, on the data for the printing. Accordingly, the amount of shifting of the dots varies depending on the data for the printing. In the outputted image, the variable amount of shifting causes such recognizable image defects as unevenness in the density.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,997,538 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,398 disclose print heads that blow out gas as the ink is being ejected for the purpose of reducing the harmful effects of the above-described air currents on the outputted image.
FIGS. 10, and 11A to 11C are diagrams for describing the blowing out of gas at the time of printing disclosed either in U.S. Pat. No. 6,997,538 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,398. These documents explain that the air currents that deflect the ejecting direction of the ink are caused by the kinetic energy of the ink ejected at high frequency and at high speed as well as by the movement of the carriage at the time of printing. FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplar configuration to reduce the air currents. In the configuration, a gas blowing-out opening 70 is provided at the front side of the carriage in the direction in which the carriage is advancing. At the time of printing, the gas is blown out in a direction which is perpendicular to the ejecting direction of the ink and which is parallel with the scanning direction of the carriage. However, when plural ejecting opening columns are arranged side by side with one another in the advancing direction of the carriage, the effects obtained by the blowing out of the gas in the configuration of FIG. 10 may possibly differ among the plural ejecting opening columns. Specifically, the stream of the gas blown out is strong around the ejecting opening column located closer to the gas blowing-out opening 70, so that large effects of the blowing out of the gas can be expected. However, the stream of the gas blown out is weak around the ejecting opening column located farther away from the gas blowing-out opening 70, so that only small effects of the blowing out of the gas can be expected. It is certainly conceivable that a larger blowing-out power for the gas is employed in accordance with the necessity of affecting the ejecting opening column that is located farthest away from the gas blowing-out opening 70. In this case, however, the stream of the gas blown out with such a large blowing power may possibly affect, negatively, the ejecting direction of the ink from the ejecting opening columns located closer to the gas blowing-out opening 70.
In contrast to the configuration of FIG. 10, the configuration shown in FIGS. 11A to 11C includes a gas-introduction opening 90 and gas blowing-out openings 71 that are so arranged that the gas is blown out in a direction which is perpendicular to the ejecting direction of the ink and which is parallel to the ejecting opening columns. Multiple gas blowing-out openings 71 are provided at their respective positions each of which is located between two adjacent ones of the ejecting opening columns in the configuration shown in FIGS. 11A to 11C. Accordingly, even when the configuration includes multiple ejecting opening columns, the uneven effects on the plural ejecting opening columns can be avoided.
Both of the above-mentioned Patent Documents describe that the configuration to blow out the gas in a direction perpendicular to the ejecting direction of the ink makes it possible to reduce the air currents that are likely to deflect the ejecting direction of the ink.
Examination conducted by the inventors of the present invention has revealed that a gas blown out in a direction that is parallel with the ejecting direction of the ink, in some cases, stabilizes the ejecting direction of the ink better than a gas blown out in a direction that is perpendicular to the ejecting direction of the ink. In such cases, sufficient stabilizing effects on the ejecting direction of the ink cannot be obtained by a configuration in which the gas is blown out only in a direction that is perpendicular to the ejecting direction of the ink as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,997,538 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,398, and thus no satisfactory improvement in the problem of dot shifting can be observed.

Ink jet print head and ink jet printing apparatus


Novel compositions for the in vitro or in vivo production of specific proteins are provided. The compositions comprise components of vectors, such as a vector backbone, a promoter, and a gene of interest that encodes for the protein of interest, and the transposon-based vectors comprising these components. Also provided are methods of making these compositions and methods of using these compositions for the production of desired proteins in vivo or in transfected cells in vitro.

Proteins have numerous functions, and many provide therapeutic benefits. Proteins act as hormones, antibodies, enzymes, receptor blockers, receptor agonists, growth factors, anti-cancer agents, lipid scavengers, anti-inflammatory compounds, stimulators of bone formation, vascular growth or blood clotting factors. Proteins possess numerous additional biological activities.
The manufacture of therapeutic proteins, is an expensive process. Solid phase synthesis is an expensive and slow process and is useful for small proteins and peptides. Larger proteins require isolation from a biological source, which can be expensive and fraught with purification issues. Many proteins are made through recombinant means. Companies using recombinant techniques to manufacture these proteins are working at capacity and usually have a long waiting list to access their fermentation facilities. A therapeutic course of these proteins can be so expensive that many individuals in need of such therapy cannot afford the therapy and do not receive it. What is needed, therefore, is a new, efficient, and economical approach to make desired proteins in vitro and in vivo.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Production of proteins using transposon-based vectors


Extracting and surfacing information corresponding to individual logical topics from enterprise data stores that are separated across multiple geographic regions. A clustering service creates, by utilizing machine learning toolkits that are agnostic to the region in which data is stored, individual topics that have references to multiple shards of data that are stored in different geographic regions. The clustering service also shards the knowledge base state according to the regions from which pieces of data for the particular logical topic was extracted. For example, a first shard containing information extracted from a first document may be stored in a first region whereas a second shard containing information extracted from a second document may be stored in a second region. Responsive to user activity associated with the topic, a serving platform may identify and reconstitute these shards that are stored in different regions so as to surface the regionally extracted and sharded information on that topic to a user.

Maintaining and disseminating enterprise knowledge is a challenging process faced by modern enterprises. A typical process for maintaining enterprise knowledge may include extracting relevant information from a vast array of different enterprise data sources. The extracted information may then be compiled into suitable format such as a knowledge graph that is usable to surface information as appropriate to recipients across an entire enterprise. A knowledge graph may include a set of topics and corresponding topic descriptions. In some instances, the topic descriptions for a particular topic within the knowledge graph may be generated by compiling pieces of information that are extracted from multiple different enterprise data sources. A serving platform may later serve content from the knowledge graph to users of the enterprise in response to certain types of user activity. For example, the serving platform may respond to a query related to a specific topic by obtaining information on that topic from the knowledge graph and surfacing the information to the user via a user interface.
Some modern enterprises are global in nature and have offices located in multiple different regions of the world. Such global enterprises often have multiple enterprise data sources that are located across these different regions. As a result, processes for maintaining and disseminating enterprise knowledge that are deployed by such global enterprises typically must comply with data sovereignty principles. For example, data is typically subject to the laws and governance structures of the nation within which it is collected. Thus, data that is extracted from some of an enterprises data sources may be subject to different laws than other data that is extracted from other enterprises data sources located in a different region.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.

Extracting and surfacing topic descriptions from regionally separated data stores


Methods and systems are provided for stabilizing a subsurface area such as a buried waste pit for either long term storage, or interim storage and retrieval. A plurality of holes are drilled into the subsurface area with a high pressure drilling system provided with a drill stem having jet grouting nozzles. A grouting material is injected at high pressure through the jet grouting nozzles into a formed hole while the drill stem is withdrawn from the hole at a predetermined rate of rotation and translation. A grout-filled column is thereby formed with minimal grout returns, which when overlapped with other adjacent grout-filled columns encapsulates and binds the entire waste pit area to form a subsurface agglomeration or monolith of grout, soil, and waste. The formed monolith stabilizes the buried waste site against subsidence while simultaneously providing a barrier against contaminate migration. The stabilized monolith can be left permanently in place or can be retrieved if desired by using appropriate excavation equipment. The jet grouting technique can also be utilized in a pretreatment approach prior to in situ vitrification of a buried waste site. The waste encapsulation methods and systems are applicable to buried waste materials such as mixed waste, hazardous waste, or radioactive waste.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to subsurface stabilization techniques useful at hazardous waste sites or other excavation areas. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and systems for achieving subsurface stabilization utilizing nonreplacement jet grouting techniques.
2. Relevant Technology
For about the last 40 years, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has been producing hazardous and radioactive waste that is currently estimated at 4.5 million drums. Various proposals have been made for storage of hazardous and radioactive waste, such as transuranic waste, but there is still a large volume of buried waste material awaiting a safe storage solution.
Hazardous waste pits and other waste sites have come under scrutiny from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because rain and surface water pass through the pits and leach hazardous materials into underground water supplies and otherwise contaminate surrounding environmental areas. Various techniques have been used or proposed in order to control contaminate migration from a buried waste site.
One of these techniques that has been used is termed in situ vitrification (ISV), in which joule heat is passed between electrodes, sufficient to melt the soil substrate and incorporated wastes into a relatively homogenous magma. The resultant melt solidifies to form a glass-like monolith, which can be removed in stone-like form and broken up essentially dust-free if retrieval is desired. The effectiveness of ISV is dependent on the amount of electrically conductive and glass forming materials in the soil/waste substrate.
The ISV technology is estimated to be significantly less expensive than other remediation technologies in remediating buried waste sites containing radioactive materials. Previous studies have shown that ISV, when applied to buried wastes, is 70-90% less expensive than standard "retrieve and treat" technologies. However, the application of ISV to buried waste sites has been hampered by a number of technical issues that have been often perceived as insurmountable.
The primary concern associated with ISV processing of buried wastes has been the presence of sealed containers filled with vaporizable material in the waste. The problem is that the materials in a sealed container will vaporize and build up pressure inside the container. The built-up pressure will suddenly be released from the sealed container when the pressure exceeds the yield stress of the container, causing a pressure surge in the vicinity of the molten melt front that can either cause the melt pool to be ejected from the site or significantly overwhelm the offgas system placed over the site.
Approaches that have been used to remove pressure build up in waste sites include the elimination of sealed container conditions from the waste prior to ISV processing. These approaches include the use of vibratory rods, and the preretrieval, visual sorting, and removal of sealed containers from the waste. These approaches, however, are fraught with contamination control problems, especially for buried transuranic waste scenarios.
The vibratory rod technique utilizes a large I-beam that is vibrationally inserted at designated spacings into the buried waste matrix, destroying adjacent packaging integrity, while compacting the surrounding soil. While the vibratory rod can collapse some large voids in the surrounding soils and destroy the integrity of sealed containers such as gas cylinders in the waste, a high level of soil disturbance occurs, which may result in contamination control problems. In addition, concerns exist about the high level of disturbance associated with fracturing compressed gas cylinders in situ. Other problems are that the energetic vibrations could possibly cause some buried waste materials to rise to the surface upon removing the I-beam from the soil once the vibration process is complete, especially if the amount of soil overburden is not sufficient, resulting in contaminant spread. In addition, the fractured containers in the buried waste matrix may re-seal and cause pressurization buildups, since the voids in these containers are not totally eliminated. Primary concerns with the preretrieval and visual sorting approach are that it eliminates many advantages associated with in situ treatment of the waste by introducing additional costs associated with preretrieval, waste sorting, and contamination control.
A dynamic compaction process has also been proposed as an ISV pretreatment method to collapse voids and destroy sealed container integrity. However, the dynamic compaction process is extremely energetic, and could result in contamination control concerns at many sites. A secondary concern associated with ISV processing of contaminated waste sites is the potential transfer of highly volatile contaminants into the soils surrounding the ISV melt, effectively transferring the contaminants to another location, rather than actually treating the contaminants in situ.
Another prior technique for controlling contaminant migration has been to utilize a vehicle with an arm that has jet grouting capabilities which is used to form underground walls, such as an underground bathtub-shaped wall around a waste pit for containment of waste materials to prevent horizontal migration. Such a technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,782 to Carter et al., which discusses an apparatus for cutting soil and constructing subsurface containment barriers, such as containment walls or basins around and under contaminated soils. An elongated beam includes a cutting assembly having a conduit containing a plurality of jet ports through which high pressure fluid is ejected to impact the soil to be cut. Subsurface containment barriers are formed by a jetted slurry or other suitable material which cuts and mixes with the soil. This technique, however, does not work well in hard soil areas.
Other approaches that have been used include the use of a vibratory rod or auger to make spaced apart holes in a waste pit area and thereafter filling the holes with grout. Such a technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,409 to Manchak, which discusses an apparatus that includes a power operated vehicle that supports a vertically movable frame that may be placed in contact with the upper surface of a hazardous waste impoundment. Cutter-injectors are rotated downwardly from the frame into the impoundment to form a vertically extending zone of particled material that is treated with a detoxifying agent that may be chemical, biological, or heat. The cutter-injectors are sequentially lowered into adjacent areas of the impoundment while rotating to homogenize the hazardous waste material therein to a desired depth. Thereafter, the cutter-injectors are ly moved upwardly while rotating, and simultaneously treatment chemicals for the hazardous waste material are injected therefrom. This system would not work, however, for radioactive waste control such as for plutonium waste since the cutter-injectors are exposed to air when withdrawn.
Also, it is known to put polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes in holes dug in a waste pit area and to pump grouting materials through the PVC pipe.
In each of the above techniques the jet grouting used forms a single point spray in each of the holes, leaving pockets in the treated area without any grout. This results in approximately 60% of the treated area not being stabilized.
Another approach to treating buried waste is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,394 to McLaren et al. This patent teaches a method for disposing of hazardous waste in which chemical components are added to waste materials in a landfill to create alkaline conditions that induce precipitation of calcite. This provides a cementing action around the waste which retards leachate formation and groundwater incursion.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved methods and systems for achieving subsurface stabilization at buried waste sites under a variety of conditions for safe storage of hazardous and/or radioactive wastes, as well as at other sites where excavation activities take place.
In addition, conventional retrieval operations for removing buried waste using conventional remote excavators for either full pit or hot spot retrieval can create considerable dust. The conventional contamination control systems offered to control dust spread and thus contaminate spread have been shown to have only a 70% control over dust spread. A 98% control over dust spread is required during transuranic waste retrieval operations. As a result, there is a need for methods and systems that enhance the control over dust spread in a radioactive environment waste retrieval operation.

Methods and system for subsurface stabilization using jet grouting

Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Company


Integration code usable to cause a computing device to determine which category from a plurality of categories corresponds to an interface of an interface provider is generated based at least in part on output from a machine learning algorithm trained to categorize interfaces. The computing device is caused, by providing the integration code to the computing device, to execute the integration code to cause the computing device to evaluate characteristics of an interface of an interface provider, determine a category of an interface of the interface provider, and interact with the interface in a manner that accords with the category.

In some cases, an application developer may wish to design an application that interacts with one or more interfaces of various service providers. Complicating this aim, however, is that there are numerous types of interfaces serving various purposes with a variety of characteristics and functionality, and some types of interactions are not always possible with all types of interfaces. However, classifying a particular interface in order to determine which types of interactions can be used in the particular interface is complicated, and many users do not have available time or possess devices with large amounts of resources to perform complex interface classification processes and algorithms. Consequently, classifying the interfaces provided by any of a multitude of service providers accurately and in real-time is challenging due to the variations between different interfaces of the service providers.

Real-time interface classification in an application


The present disclosure provides retrotransposons and retrotransposon derivatives and methods for their uses. Specifically, the present invention provides Ty5-6p and derivatives. Ty5-6p and its derivatives integrate preferentially in the genome of eukaryotes in silent chromatin and in regions like silent chromatin. Ty5-6p insertions can be used to regulate the life span of cells, to genetically mark cells, to deliver gene therapy and to identify genes involved in development and in senescence.

The field of this invention is molecular biology, particularly in the area of retrotransposons, nucleotide sequence encoding integrase therefrom, and molecular genetic methods based thereon.
Mobile genetic elements that replicate by reverse transcription are ubiquitous among eukaryotic genomes. These elements, collectively called retroelements, include the retroviruses and two classes of retrotransposons, which are distinguished by whether or not they are flanked by long terminal direct repeats (LTRs) (Xiong and Eickbush 1990). A common step in retroelement replication involves the integration of an element cDNA into the host genome (Brown and Varmus 1989). For the retroviruses and LTR retrotransposons, this step is carried out by a nucleoprotein complex called the integration complex. A key component of the integration complex is the element-encoded integrase protein, which carries out the cutting and joining steps of the integration reaction. Although, in general, no specific sequences are required at the target site for integration, the distribution of LTR retroelements is clearly non-random (Craigie 1992; Sandmeyer et al. 1990).
Examples of retroelement target specificity are provided by the retrotransposons of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. S. cerevisiae has five distinct retrotransposon families, designated Ty1-Ty5, which vary extensively in copy number (from 25-30 Ty1/Ty2 insertions to zero to two Ty5 insertions per haploid genome) (Boeke and Sandmeyer 1991; Zou et al. 1995). A distinctly non-random distribution of Ty1-Ty4 insertions has been revealed from the nucleotide sequences of several S. cerevisiae chromosomes (e.g. chromosome (chr) III (Ji et al. 1993; Oliver et al. 1992)). Most native Ty1-Ty4 elements are found within 1 kb upstream of genes transcribed by RNA polymerase III (pol III), such as tRNA genes. For Ty1 and Ty3, this genomic organization is the consequence of targeted integration; pol III genes are the preferred targets of de novo Ty1 and Ty3 transposition events Chalker and Sandmeyer 1990; Chalker and Sandmeyer 1992; Ji et al. 1993; Devine and Boeke 1996).
Mechanisms that dictate Ty target specificity have been studied in detail for Ty3. Ty3 integration is highly precise, and typically occurs within the first few base-pairs of the start site of pol III gene transcription (Chalker and Sandmeyer 1992). For tRNA genes, mutations in the promoter that abolish transcription also abolish targeted transposition. Biochemical analyses, including in vitro transposition assays, have demonstrated that the pol III transcription factors TFIIIB and TFIIIC are sufficient for targeted integration (Kirchner et al. 1995). Current models suggest that these transcription factors tether the Ty3 integration complex to its target through protein--protein interactions.
Integration sites for several retroviruses tend to be associated with DNase I hypersensitive sites, suggesting retroviruses prefer open chromatin (Craigie 1992; Sandmeyer et al. 1990). The yeast two-hybrid system has recently been used to identify a human protein, Ini1, that specifically interacts with HIV integrase (Kalpana et al. 1994). Ini1 is a homologue of the yeast transcription factor SNF5, which is known to remodel chromatin in yeast to promote transcription. The HIV integrase/Ini1 interaction suggests that retroelements may, in general, recognize specific DNA-bound protein complexes to choose their integration sites.
In striking contrast to the Ty1-Ty4 families, endogenous Ty5 insertions are located in sub-telomeric regions or on chr III adjacent to the silent mating locus HMR (Zou et al. 1995). However, none of the Ty5-related insertions in the S. cerevisiae genome characterized to date are full-length, functional transposable elements. Most characterized Ty5-related insertions in S. paradoxus are incomplete and nonfunctional as well.
The telomeres and the transcriptional silencers flanking HMR direct the assembly of a distinct type of chromatin (silent chromatin) that represses the transcription of adjacent genes (Laurenson and Rine 1992). Silent chromatin is also assembled at HML, a second mating locus on chr III, and transcriptional repression of both HML and HMR prevents the expression of mating type information unless it is copied to MAT, a third, transcriptionally active mating locus. A number of proteins contribute to silent chromatin structure and transcriptional repression at the telomeres and silent mating loci. Among these are proteins involved in DNA replication (the origin recognition complex (ORC); (Bell et al. 1993; Foss et al. 1993; Micklem et al. 1993)), transcription factors (RAPPolII1 and ABF1; (Diffley and Stillman 1988; Kurtz and Shore 1991), histones (H3 and H4; (Kayne et al. 1988; Thompson et al. 1994)), components of acetyltransferases (NAT1 and ARD1; (Mullen et al. 1989) and several proteins that have a specific role in silencing (SIR1-SIR4 and RIF1; Rine and Herskowitz 1987; Hardy et al. 1992)). Chromatin at the telomeres and silent mating loci is analogous to heterochromatin in other eukaryotes (Hecht et al. 1995). In Drosophila melanogaster, a number of transposable elements are associated with heterochromatin (Pimpinelli et al. 1995), including DNA transposons such as the P elements, which preferentially transpose to some heterochromatic sites (Karpen and Spradling 1992). Surprisingly, some heterochromatic transposable elements have evolved apparently essential roles for the cell; the HeT and TART retroelements can serve as D. melanogaster telomeres (Biessmann et al. 1990; Levis et al. 1993).
The present disclosure provides the isolation of a transpositionally active Ty5 element from the yeast, Saccharomyces paradoxus and a Ty5 transposition assay which can be carried out in S. cerevisiae, as well as other applications based on Ty5 and derivatives thereof.

Iowa State University Research Foundation, Inc.


In one embodiment, a method is provided. The method includes receiving first set of data via a communication interface of a data storage system. The method also includes determining whether a primary processing device should be used for performing checksum computations for the first set of data. If the primary processing device should be used, the method further includes providing the first set of data to the primary processing device. If the primary processing device should not be used, the method further includes providing the first set of data to the secondary processing device.

Client devices (e.g., computing devices such as smartphones, laptop computers, tablet computers, etc.), applications, server computers, etc., may store data on data storage devices and/or data storage systems. The client devices, applications, server computers, etc., may access the data to perform various functions, operations, actions. For example, a video analysis application or model (e.g., a machine learning model) may access video data that is stored on the data storage devices and/or data storage systems.

Offloading operations from a primary processing device to a secondary processing device


The OTPK module 40 is essential to the present embodiment. It may be considered to be a software module implemented on the signing entity 20. The OTPK module 40 may be dynamically downloaded for use or implemented as a pre-installed client plug-in. The OTPK module 40 may perform its role without significant intervention from a user when operating as the signing entity 20. The OTPK module 40 may be implemented as a PKCS#11 or CAPI DLL or a Java Applet or ActiveX plugin embedded within the Internet Web Browser. It may be automatically executed when performing secure transactions requiring digital signatures. The OTPK module 40 serves to independently and without additional instruction from a user carry out the steps of generating the asymmetric key pairs comprising the public key and the private key. The OTPK module 40 then contacts the authentication and certification server 50 for authenticating the identity of the signing entity 20. At this point, the user of the signing entity 20 may be prompted for a password or the password may have been entered earlier as part of a 2-factor authentication to the authentication and certification server 50. The private key is then automatically used to generate a digital signature for the signing entity 20. At this point onwards, the private key is then irretrievably deleted such that it cannot be re-used or copied for future use.

Digital signatures for verifying or authorizing of transactions, documents, contracts, prescriptions or others over the internet have become more widely used with the implementation of legislation on a global level accepting its use. Parts of the legislation includes guidelines on the security and authentication aspects of ensuring the legality of the digital signature.
Invariably, the use of PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) has been recognized in this legislation. When considering PKI for digital signatures, all entities involved in the transaction rely on a trusted third party to perform the necessary authentication of identity and trustworthiness of the entities. This trusted third-party is known as the CA (Certificate Authority).
The CA issues to each of the entities a digital certificate containing information such as the entity's name, country of origin, the policies governing the use of the digital certificate, and most importantly the Public Key of the entity.
The digital certificate from the CA asserts that the entity described in the digital certificate is the rightful and sole owner of a Private Key corresponding to the Public Key.
When a transaction needs to be signed by a digital signature, the signing entity uses its private key to digitally sign the transaction. An entity receiving the signed transaction will also receive the digital certificate of the signing entity. By using the public key in the digital certificate, the receiving entity can then verify that the transaction has been digitally signed by the correct party, i.e. the signing entity. The operations of PKI and its applications and limitations are well known and will not be further discussed.
One of the limitations imposed by legislation in ensuring the safe use of PKI, is the legal requirement that requires that the Private Keys of the signing entity is always and only in the possession of the signing entity. This attempts to ensure that other parties may not obtain use the private key of the signing entity to misrepresent his digital signature.
At present, there are several methods of ensuring the possession of the private keys as well as to prevent the theft or loss of the private key.
In one prior art method, smart cards are used. The private key is stored electronically on memory means on the smart card. A smart card reader would then be required to read the data from the smart card. To further ensure privacy, a password would have to be entered into a computer linked to the smart card allowing the private key from the smart card to be used for carrying out cryptographic operations. This method is however expensive and cumbersome to implement as a physical smart card as well as a card reader is required. In the event that the smart card is lost, a new smart card must be issued to the user while the private key of the old smart card must also be invalidated.
Microsoft's CSP (Cryptographic Service Provider) provides an alternative to the smart card. The Microsoft CSP is implemented as a software token that operates like a smart card, and would perform the functions of digitally signing transactions. Access to the Microsoft CSP is also via a password. However, a main concern is that the private key would be stored on a hard disk of a computer having the installed Microsoft CSP. This private key is disadvantageously open to attacks by computer viruses as well as hackers attempting to duplicate it.
Another prior art implementation is the KEON Web passport solution by RSASecurity, Inc. This is a "virtual" smart card solution which relies on a back end server to securely store the private key. When a user requires the use of the private key, the private key is then downloaded from the back end server to the user for his use. While this is considered slightly more secure than the CSP implementation, there is dispute as to whether the private key is "always" in the possession of the user.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved system and method for implementing digital signatures over a network which overcomes or at least alleviates the drawbacks of the prior art systems.

System and method for implementing digital signature using one time private keys