The present invention reduces bounce in the power or ground supply voltages of an integrated circuit chip by gradually turning output drivers both on and off, so there is not a sharp discontinuity in current flow to an external device. Greatest current flow occurs at the middle of a transition period. The gradual turn-off at the end of a transition is achieved by feeding back voltage of the output signal to a device which controls the output driver. As output voltage approaches its final value, the output driver gradually turns off, preventing a sharp transient in the power or ground voltage of the integrated circuit chip.

Current process technology allows an output driver to generate rapid changes in output voltage. Fast transitions are desirable, but can lead to unwanted noise on internal power and ground busses. Since power and ground busses are coupled to internal logic signals, noise on the power and ground busses may cause erroneous states to be generated in the internal logic signals. Fast transitions can also cause ringing on the output pin signal, which may cause erroneous data to appear in a receiving device being driven by the output pin signal.
The fundamental cause of noise on the power and ground busses is due to the transition of the voltage level driving the load. FIG. 1 shows an output driver circuit 101 in combination with an output load device 106 driven through pad 105 and inductive elements 102 and 107 internal to the integrated circuit and additional inductive elements 103 and 108 comprising bond pads and wires connected to positive and negative power supplies, and printed circuit traces 104 and 109 external to the integrated circuit device. When the pad signal is a logical 1, transistor 101a is on, and a current i.sub.TR flows from the positive power supply through trace 104, bond wire 103, integrated circuit power line 102, transistor 101a, pad 105, to load 106. When transistor 101a suddenly shuts off, the induction of elements 104, 103, and 102 causes a voltage buildup, allowing VCC.sub.INT, the internal power supply voltage, to be greater than VCC.sub.EXT, the external power supply voltage. At this point, load 106 is at a positive voltage level, for example 5 volts. When transistor 101b suddenly turns on and current i.sub.TF begins to flow, the inductance of elements 107, 108, and 109 limits current flow and causes a voltage buildup across elements 107, 108, and 109, allowing VSS.sub.ISNT to be greater than VSS.sub.EXT. Opposite variations in VCC and VSS occur due to opposite transitions of transistors 101a and 101b. When multiple transistors equivalent to transistors 101a and 101b switch simultaneously, the voltage variations on the power and ground busses can be unacceptably large, causing erroneous data to be generated internally. Erroneous data can also be generated at the load device in response to a fast transition.
Prior efforts to control power and ground bounce (variation in VCC and VSS voltages) have included a staged turn-on technique, a ramped pre-drive technique and a feedback circuit. These are now discussed.
FIG. 2A shows a prior art circuit for reducing variation in VCC and VSS levels by generating parallel drive signals with different delays in response to an unbuffered output signal. As shown in FIG. 2A, in the staged turn-on technique, the output driver is formed as a number of smaller drivers 203, 205, and 207 placed in parallel between VCC and VSS. Delay devices 204 and 206 cause delays to the driving signal on line 202 so that drivers 203, 205, and 207 switch at slightly different times, causing a more gradual voltage change at pad 208.
FIG. 2B shows a circuit which provides a ramped pre-drive. Weak pre-driver inverter 212 has a relatively small channel width and responds relatively slowly to a switching input signal. Thus driver 214 switches more slowly and therefore causes less bounce in VCC and VSS.
FIG. 2C shows an output driver with feedback to VCC and VSS. Resistors 223 and 225 limit current flow to and from pad 226. The feedback occurs because, for example, when the gate-to-source voltage difference at transistor 224b is high, transistor 224b is hard on. But a high current i from pad 226 through resistor 225 to VSS raises the voltage at the source of transistor 224b, turning transistor 224b partly off. As the voltage on pad 226 approaches the VSS voltage, current through resistor 225 decreases, so the source voltage of transistor 224b decreases, transistor 224b turns more on, and current continues to flow. A similar effect happens with resistor 223 and transistor 224a.
None of these prior art devices eliminates the ground bounce which occurs at the end of a switching transition.


The present invention relates to a solid dispersion comprising cilostazol, and methacrylic acid copolymer S and/or methacrylic acid copolymer L, which is characterized in that cilostazol is retained in an amorphous state in a gastrointestinal tract for a certain period after oral administration.

Cilostazol is 6-[4-(1-cyclohexyl-1H-tetrazol-5-yl)butoxy]-3,4-dihydrocarbostyril as shown in the following formula (1), which exhibits high inhibitory action for platelet aggregation as well as inhibitory action for phosphodiesterase, antiulcer activity, hypotensive action, antiphlogistic action, etc. (Patent Reference 1) and thereby is widely used in clinical use as a drug for treating various ischemic symptoms caused by chronic arterial occlusion such as ulcer, pain and coldness. And, cilostazol has been additionally approved as a medicament having an indication which prevents the relapse after treatment of cerebral infarction (except cardiogenic cerebral infarction).
The cilostazol tablets which are called Pletaal® OD tablets 50′, Pletaal® OD tablets 100′, and Pletaal® powder 20% (OTSUKA PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.) have already been on sale.

Usually, cilostazol is orally administered twice a day for an adult, but it has been desired to develop a new sustained-release formulation of cilostazol which can be absorbed in an intestinal track slowly but for a long time even by one administration, because the main subject of the drug is an elderly patient and it has been necessary to reduce the development of side effects such as headache. In addition, it has been also desired that a new formulation of cilostazol which is little affected by a food because cilostazol is susceptible to a food, for example, the Cmax and AUC of cilostazol administered after meal are 2.3 and 1.4 times higher than those of fasting, respectively.
For the purpose of developing such a sustained-release formulation, there have been a variety of studies to improve the release control and absorption of the poorly-soluble drug, cilostazol in lower gastrointestinal tract (Patent References 2 to 5).
In order to improve the dissolution and absorption of a poorly-soluble drug, in general, various means such as a micronization (nano-particulation), a solubilization with surfactants and oil, and also a solid dispersion method are used.
The solid dispersion method is carried out by dispersing a drug in an inert excipient, in many instances, a drug exists in an amorphous state in the solid dispersion. Thus, the solid dispersion method is often used as an initial method to make an amorphous drug. As a process of preparing a solid dispersion, some methods are known, for example, coprecipitating method, spray drying method, hot-melt method, and hot-melt extrusion method. For a skilled person, the most-used method among them is spray drying method, but the other methods are seldom used.
Patent Reference 6 discloses that a poorly-soluble compound is dispersed in a water-insoluble ionic polymer such as Eudragit® so that a powder of a poorly-soluble compound can be stabilized as an amorphous material. And, Patent Reference 7 discloses a process of preparing a solid dispersion comprising an amorphous compound by coprecipitating or hot-melt extruding a very insoluble imidazolidine derivative referred to as HEP with hypromellose acetate succinate (HPMC-AS).
In general, a compound in an amorphous state is unstable toward water. In particular, a high crystallinity compound in an amorphous state is unstable, which is known to be easily crystallized by the absorption of moisture or by being suspended with water. Thus, it is a big challenge to inhibit the crystallization of a formulation containing such an amorphous compound in a body, in case that the formulation is, for example, a sustained release formulation which stays in a gastrointestinal tract for long time after oral administration.
Cilostazol has an extremely low solubility in water, and has a high crystallinity, thereby it was very difficult to prepare a solid dispersion comprising a stable amorphous cilostazol. Even though a solid dispersion comprising an amorphous cilostazol can be successfully prepared through some effort of process or formula, cilostazol will easily crystallize when suspended in water. Thus, it was very difficult to apply an amorphous cilostazol to a sustained release formulation which contacts to water for a long time.

Solid dispersion comprising amorphous cilostazol


A radiometer includes an integrally mounted digital camera aligned to image the energy zone of the radiometer. When digital photographs are taken they are time stamped and stored in memory. The images may be viewed on a viewer integrated into the radiometer digital camera system or downloaded to a computer for formatting or viewing.

This application claims priority from provisional Patent Application No. 60/364,993 filed Mar. 13, 2002 entitled radiometer WITH DIGITAL IMAGING SYSTEM and Provisional Patent Application No. 60/392,733 filed Jun. 27, 2002 entitled radiometer WITH DIGITAL IMAGING SYSTEM both of which are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.
Radiometers, or infrared thermometers, are used to remotely measure temperatures. The radiometer includes an infrared sensor and infrared optics to form an image of a portion of a remote object, the energy zone, on the sensor. The radiometer calculates the temperature of the imaged energy zone based on the intensity of the infrared radiation focused on the infrared detector.
Various techniques exist to align the radiometer to measure a particular portion, the energy zone, of an object. Some existing techniques include optical alignment systems such as a telescope and laser alignment systems that project a spot into the center of the energy zone and/or a ring on an object that outlines the energy zone.
In an industrial or commercial setting, the results of the measurements might be crucial to safety or product quality and documentation could be required for technical, customer service, marketing or legal purposes.
However, with current systems documentation can be sketchy and a serviceman or technician is required to document the measurements in a separate location.


A foldable golf swing training aid for use by a right-handed golfer and a left-handed golfer. A base receives a golf tee and includes a pair of members pivotally attached to each other so as to allow the base to be foldable. A pair of arms are pivotally attached to ends of the base, respectively, so as to allow the pair of arms to be foldabe. The pair of arms extend perpendicularly to the base in opposite directions to each other when in a use position, and overly associated base members when in the stored position. Indicia aids in positioning the base and the pair of arms relative to the right-handed golfer and the left-handed golfer, and corresponds to numbers of a clock including one, five, six, seven, and eleven.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a golf training aid, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a foldable golf swing training aid for use by a right-handed golfer and a left-handed golfer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous innovations for golf swing training aids have been provided in the prior art that will be described. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they differ from the present invention.
A FIRST EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 3,244,421 to Hanna teaches a golf stance corrector consisting of a first front foot plate, a first elongated member rigidly fixed to and projecting laterally from the foot plate, a second elongated member telescopically associated with the first elongated member and being longitudinally adjustable relative thereto, means for releasably fixing the second member to the first member in a plurality of longitudinally adjusted positions, a second rear foot plate, and laterally adjustable mounting means releasably fixing the second foot plate to the outer end of the second elongated member at any one of a plurality of laterally spaced positions relative to the outer end.
A SECOND EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 3,561,764 to Thomas teaches a panel structure for positioning on the ground in a golf tee area and defining a pair of generally straight visually ascertainable paths inclined approximately 20 to 30 degrees relative to each other and intersecting at one pair of corresponding ends, the panel structure being operative, when a ball is teed up on a first of the paths at a point spaced therealong from the intersecting ends of the paths and the nonintersecing end portion of the first path extends in the intended tee shot direction, to provide a visual guide defined by the second path to assist the golfer in swinging "out and through" when swinging at the teed ball.
A THIRD EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,247 to Taylor teaches a golf ball spotting, putter guiding and back-stroke determining aid for practice use indoors on a carpeting surface or outdoors on a putting green characterized by a pair of structurally unique coplanar flat-faced guide members having confronting spaced parallel straight edges. Assembling and coordinating strap or equivalent means is detachably and adjustably connected to marginal edges of the respective guide members in a manner to define and maintain an open-ended channel-like guideway between the companion straight edges. This guideway is bordered by suitably calibrated ball and putter positioning scales which, in conjunction with an adjustable limit stop abutment, enables the user to better acquire, generally stated, the knowledge and fine points required to determine the back-stroke needed and to thus cause the captive ball to travel a predetermined distance. One guide member is such in construction that the user can retain his basic putting stance and the relationship between the ball and its spotted locale relative to his established lead foot. Specifically, a U-shaped cutout or recess is provided in the one guide member to permit the user's shoes to be properly positioned relative to the ball to be putted. A limit stop member is detachably mounted on either of spaced, parallel planar surfaces of the guide members for providing a gauge to further aid the putter. By permitting attachment of the limit stop member to either of these planar surfaces, the aid can be adapted for either left-handed or right-handed golfers. Advantageously, a plurality of sockets are provided in the guide members for receiving pins provided on the limit stop member to achieve the aforementioned selective mounting of the limit stop member.
A FOURTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 3,934,882 to Whittaker teaches a thin, flat member longer than its width has parallel sides and one end formed at a right angle thereto and notched midway between the sides, the other opposite end being pointed. A visible line is formed on the longitudinal axis and extends from the mid portion of the notch on the one end to the apex of the pointed end. The upper surface of the thin flat member is preferably reflective material which enables a golfer to see whether or not his head is over the ball and improves the golfer's view of club head movement after striking the ball. The notch forms a location for a golf ball. The flat member may be creased along its longitudinal axis to facilitate folding. In use the golf guide forms a visual path for the golf club after the golf ball is hit together with a transverse plane of reference for alignment with the head of a golf club when the golf ball is hit.
A FIFTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,544,160 to Miner teaches a golf putting practice device that includes a pair of elongated rigid strips that are held spaced apart and parallel by a transverse bar to define between their inner longitudinal edges a putter stroke area. A pair of plate members are moveable along each of the rigid strips and include lock elements to fix them at positions along the rigid strips selected by use of measurement indicia on the upper surfaces of the rigid strips. The transverse bar is adjustable to vary the spacing between the parallel strip and a further bar is secured to one of the moveable plate members and extends away from the strips to provide a foot location guide.
A SIXTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,048 to Welch teaches a device for setting a player's stance for the game of golf having an elongated base with two elongated arms extending outwardly from one end of the base. Each arm is pivotally attached to the base and is constructed from two telescoping sections so that the length of each arm is adjustable. A pair of stops are adjustably attached to the base and limit the pivotal movement of the arms while a spring urges the arms against the stops. A foot guide is secured to the free end of each arm and the foot guides are adapted to receive the player's feet. With the player's feet positioned in the foot guides and the other end of the base positioned adjacent a golf ball, the player's stance is set for the golf shot.
A SEVENTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,789 to Hickson teaches a teaching and practice device for improving a golfer's swing and alignment that eliminates sway. An extensible base adapted to be placed upon the playing surface is adjusted to the desired playing width and positioned substantially parallel with the desired target line. The base comprises a pair of axially displaceable brackets that can be moved with respect to each other to dispose the base at a desired length, normally the width of the golfer's shoulders. Each of the base brackets comprises a horizontal portion for contacting the playing surface and an integral vertical portion. The vertical portions comprise elongated slots adapted to be registered with one another to facilitate length adjustments. Foot control arms pivotally associated with the base at its opposite ends firmly contact the outside edges of the golfer's feet and prevent improper leg movement during the golf swing. The arms are disposed in either a folded position, in which they project towards each other and slidably contact the base, or a deployed position in which they angularly project away from the base. The first arm normally assumes an obtuse angle with respect to the base when deployed, and the second arm normally projects at a right angle when deployed. A ball positioner projects outwardly from the base towards the ball between the arms.
AN EIGHTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 338,940 to Pellington teaches the ornamental design for a golf swing guide.
A NINTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,177 to Furbush, Jr. teaches a golf club swing training apparatus that provides for several aspects of training in the game of golf with a single relatively simple device. The swing trainer is collapsible, and thus may be carried within a golf bag or the like for use by an individual golfer. The trainer may be unfolded, whereupon the two guides may be aligned with the intended ball trajectory and the guide connecting links adjusted to provide visual alignment cues to the desired trajectory. Adjustable positioning markers may be adjusted to provide assistance in the placement of the ball, the golfer's left and right foot, and the club swing arc, thus defining the proper placement and positioning for the club swing arc to properly strike the ball to drive it along the desired trajectory. A fence extends upward from each guide, so the swing trainer will be displaced if the club head is too far either side of the desired arc. The ball rests directly upon the ground or a tee rather than upon a mat, in order that the path of the ball will not be affected by contact with an artificial surface. The swing trainer may be inverted for putting practice, thus providing clearance for the putted ball to pass beneath any of the components of the swing trainer. The device may also be used to assist in squaring the stance of a golfer.
It is apparent that numerous innovations for golf swing training aid have been provided in the prior art that are adapted to be used. Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.

Foldable golf swing training aid for use by a right-handed golfer and a left-handed golfer


Method for forming a transparent timepiece component including top and bottom surfaces:                a transparent polymerizable material is chosen;        there is applied to a plate a flexible female mold including a capillary network and having a contact surface which is the negative of the bottom surface, bordered by an edge;        a cavity is delimited by the sealed juxtaposition of the edge with a plate having a contact surface which is the negative of the top surface;        the material is injected through the capillary network to fill the cavity;        the material is polymerized to obtain a rigid component;        the component is removed from the plates by the deformation of this flexible mold.

The substitution of transparent components of mineral origin with transparent components made of moulded plastic material provides a functional alternative at low production cost, and complete independence from certain supply sources of up-market transparent materials.
However, moulded transparent parts are, on the one hand, relatively thick since it is difficult to mould very thin parts with adequate reproducible quality. On the other hand, the wear resistance, and particularly scratch resistance of these known plastic materials is very mediocre. The use thereof for the external components of timepieces—the middle part of the case, bezel or crystal—is thus limited in time.
This low wear resistance also makes it impossible to produce components with sharp angles, which would become blunt too quickly over time on contact with the user, his clothes, and ordinary everyday objects.
EP Patent Application No 0320811A1 in the name of ETA describes a method of making a solid mould for parts of very small dimensions, with shells derived from powder preforms transformed by sintering.
JP Patent Application No 58080587A in the name of SUWA SEIKOSHA describes an improvement to watch cases, in terms of resistance and dimensional precision, by the use of fibre glass treated with acrylic silane and mixed with a synthetic UV hardening resin, such as spirane resin, with a photo-polymerisation initiator agent such as benzophenone. These watch cases are moulded in elastic synthetic rubber or silicon moulds, which are fixed to glass plates and then UV-exposed for 30 seconds to 30 minutes depending on the intensity of radiation.
CH Patent Application No 369407A in the name of LONZA describes the employment of a mixture of polymethylmethacrylate and polyglycol dimethacrylate for manufacturing watch crystals or optical glasses.
EP Patent Application No 0549978A1 in the name of ETA describes a method of assembling a crystal on a watch case made of heat weldable thermoplastic material, with mechanical indexing between the crystal and the case.
US Patent Application No 2004/0241049A1 in the name of Bruce CARVALHO describes the employment of flexible elastomer tools for producing thermoplastic components.
WO Patent Application No 2012/025291A2 in the name of ETA SA describes the employment of silicon based polymers for making amorphous ceramics using a pyrolysis process.

Method of forming a transparent one piece timepiece component

Abstract: Hardness is improved by the UV exposition of this component.


A positive uniaxial film 14 with a retardation of Rp [nm] in an in-plane direction is provided between a vertical alignment mode liquid crystal cell 11 and a polarizing plate 12, and a negative uniaxial film 15 with a retardation of Rn [nm] in a thickness direction is provided between the liquid crystal cell 11 and a polarizing plate 13. Further, when a parameter α1 [nm] relative to Rp is: α1=135−0.7×Rtac; and a parameter β1 [nm] relative to Rn is: β1=Rlc−6−1.4×Rtac, where Rtac [nm] is a retardation in a thickness direction of the respective triacetyl cellulose films 12b and 13b of polarizing plates 12 and 13, the retardation Rp is set to be a value ranging from 80% to 120% of the parameter α1, and the retardation Rn is set to be a value ranging from 60% to 90% of the parameter β1. This makes it possible to surely provide a vertical alignment mode liquid crystal display device which can maintain a contrast with a sufficiently high value in practical use when viewed from an oblique direction and limit the coloring and tone degradation within a tolerance level.

Conventionally, a liquid crystal display device has been widely used for the screen of a word processor and computer. In recent years, the liquid crystal display device has spread rapidly as a television screen. Many of these liquid crystal display devices adopt TN (Twisted Nematic) mode. However, the TN mode liquid crystal display device has the problems of tendencies to degrade a contrast and to reverse a gradation property when viewed from an oblique direction.
For this reason, in recent years, in light of the improvement in viewing angle property, a VA (Vertical Alignment) mode liquid crystal display device has been attracting attention. A liquid crystal cell of the VA mode liquid crystal display device is arranged in combination of a nematic liquid crystal having a negative dielectric ansiotropy with a vertical alignment film.
Further, for example, Japanese Patent No. 2947350 (granted on Jul. 2, 1999), as shown in FIG. 13, discloses a liquid crystal display device 101 in which a positive uniaxial film 114 and a negative uniaxial film 115 are provided between a liquid crystal cell 111 and a polarizing plate 112 and between the liquid crystal cell 111 and a polarizing plate 113, respectively, in order to compensate the optical anisotropy of the liquid crystal cell 111 when black image is displayed.
With the above arrangement, even though the liquid crystal cell 111 brings a phase difference depending on a polar angle to transmitting light when the liquid crystal cell 111 in which liquid crystal molecules are oriented vertically is viewed from an oblique direction, properly setting the respective retardations of the films 114 and 115 can compensate the phase difference. Therefore, black displaying can be performed substantially as in the case when the liquid crystal cell 111 is viewed from a front direction, that is, as in the case where the liquid crystal molecules maintain the polarizing state of the transmitting light. As a result of this, it is possible to prevent light leakage, thus enhancing the contrast and suppressing the occurrence of coloring and tone degradation when viewed from an oblique direction.
However, under the situation where a liquid crystal display device with a wider viewing angle and higher display quality is expected, there is a demand for the improvement in coloring and tone degradation caused when viewed from the oblique direction nowadays. The liquid crystal display device using the films 114 and 115 with the retardation described in Japanese Patent No. 2947350, however, is not always satisfactory and still leaves room for improvement.


Provided is a cell culturing method in which physical stress is reduced and oxygen can be supplied. The invention relates to a cell culturing method including; arranging cells in a dispersed state in a culture medium which is a plastic fluid; and introducing air bubbles into said culture medium.

In regenerative medicine using human iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells, utilization of techniques using animal cells such as antibody drug production using CHO (Chinese Hamster Ovary) cells has been promoted. Compared to two-dimensional plate culture, three-dimensional culture in which cells are cultured in a suspension state can increase the cell concentration per unit volume and thereby has advantages such as space saving and a reduction in the amount of the culture medium to be used.
On the other hand, in culture in which a high cell concentration has been achieved, the oxygen consumption rate of the cells is high, which causes limitation in oxygen supply in the culture solution. The concentration of oxygen that can be dissolved in the solution at normal temperature and normal pressure is about 7 to 8 mg/L. Oxygen can be said to be a nutritional component that cannot be maintained at a sufficiently high concentration in the solution.
Examples of the method of increasing the supply (mass transfer) of oxygen from the gas phase to the liquid phase include increasing the area of the gas-liquid contact surface. In culturing robust cells such as microorganisms, aeration (bubbling) of the culture medium with small bubbles crashed using, for example, a sparger can be performed. However, in animal cells in general, their resistance to shear stress is not sufficiently high and therefore bubbling cannot be applied.
Some other methods have been proposed in which there are provided structures that prevent bubbles from being generated or bubbles and cells from contacting with each other. Basically, however, aeration by bubbling in animal cell culture has not been achieved.
Generally, aeration in animal cell culture, mainly in a small culture tank, is performed by a surface aeration method that relies on the oxygen transfer at the gas-liquid interface of the culture solution, and by a method in which a hydrophobic membrane tubes are arranged in the culture medium to increase the gas-liquid interfacial area per unit volume. However, in the former method, the gas-liquid interfacial area per unit volume decreases as the amount of the culture solution increases. Therefore, it is difficult to apply the former method to the culture in which a culture medium is used in a large volume such as several to several tens of liters or more. Furthermore, in the latter method, since the culture tank has a complicated innerstructure, it is expected that the risk of contamination may increase, which is considered to be impractical.
On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses a culture medium composition containing a polymer compound having an anionic functional group or a polysaccharide, as a culture medium in which cells can be cultured while being maintained in a suspended state without being stirred.


Distributed computing systems, devices, and associated methods of packet routing are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, from a computing network, a packet at a packet processor of a server. The method also includes matching the received packet with a flow in a flow table contained in the packet processor and determining whether the action indicates that the received packet is to be forwarded to a NIC buffer in the outbound processing path of the packet processor instead of the NIC. The method further includes in response to determining that the action indicates that the received packet is to be forwarded to the NIC buffer, forwarding the received packet to the NIC buffer and processing the packet in the NIC buffer to forward the packet to the computer network without exposing the packet to the main processor.

Distributed computing systems typically include routers, switches, bridges, and other physical network devices that interconnect large numbers of servers, network storage devices, or other types of computing devices. The individual servers can host one or more virtual machines ("VMs"), virtual switches, or other types of virtualized functions. The virtual machines can facilitate execution of suitable applications for individual users to provide desired cloud services or other suitable types of computing services to the users.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Network traffic routing in distributed computing systems


A complex antenna device includes: an antenna base having a main surface and first and second ends opposed to each other; a bar antenna including a metal body and disposed upright on a side of the first end of the antenna base; at least one planar antenna mounted on the main surface of the antenna base between the first and second ends of the antenna base; a metallic member provided on a side of the second end of the antenna base so as to substantially remove physical influence of the bar antenna on the planar antenna.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a complex antenna device, and more particularly, to a complex antenna device in which a planar antenna and a bar antenna are combined.
2. Related Art
Currently, as known in this technical field, various antennas are mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile. As such an antenna, for example, an antenna for a GPS (Global Positioning System), an antenna for an SDARS (satellite digital audio radio service), an antenna for a radio telephone, or an antenna for AM/FM radio is used.
The GPS (Global Positioning System) is a satellite positioning system using artificial satellites. In the GPS system, electric waves (GPS signal) are received from four artificial satellites (hereinafter, referred to as "GPS satellite") among twenty four GPS satellites orbiting around the earth, a positional relation and a time error between a mobile object and the GPS satellites are measured on the basis of the received electric waves, and a position or an altitude of the mobile object on a map is calculated with high precision on the basis of triangulation.
Recently, the GPS is used for a car navigation system detecting a position of a driving automobile and comes into wide use. The car navigation device includes a GPS antenna for receiving a GPS signal, a processor for detecting a present position of a vehicle by processing the GPS signal received by the GPS antenna, a displayer for displaying the position detected by the processor on a map, and the like. A planar antenna such as a patch antenna is used as the GPS antenna.
A rod antenna (bar antenna) is known as a 3-wave sharing antenna capable of receiving a radio telephone band, an FM radio band, and an AM radio band. The bar antenna is used as the radio telephone antenna or the AM/FM radio antenna. The bar antenna is made of metal. A multi-frequency antenna capable of receiving 4 waves of the radio telephone band, the FM radio band, the AM radio band, and a GPS band was proposed (e.g., see Patent Document 1). In the multi-frequency antenna disclosed in Patent Document 1, since a matching board is disposed upright on the base and an antenna element is inclined to the perpendicular line, a GPS satellite has a low elevation angle. However, the low elevation angle of the GPS satellite does not have a bad influence on the GPS antenna.
In addition, there was proposed a complex antenna in which a patch antenna capable of receiving a circular-polarized wave from the GPS satellite or the like and a rod antenna capable of sending and receiving a linearly-polarized wave used in a mobile telephone or the like are disposed in parallel to be a unit (e.g., see Patent Document 2). In the complex antenna disclosed in Patent Document 2, a direction of the power feeding patch relative to the rod antenna is set so that the short axis is substantially perpendicular to a plane that includes an intersection point of the short axis and a long axis of the power feeding patch of the patch antenna and an axis line of the rod antenna. Accordingly, it is suppressed that the electric wave radiated from the rod antenna has a bad influence on the adjacent patch antenna.
Further, an antenna device which is capable of receiving an electric wave signal radiated from a satellite and a terrestrial wave signal radiated from a terrestrial antenna and is suitable for a vehicle was proposed (e.g., see Patent Document 3). In the antenna device disclosed in Patent Document 3, a planar antenna is provided upwardly on a surface of a board and, a base end of an antenna element including a helical antenna departs from the planar antenna laterally, and a front end of the antenna element is inclined by about 30° about the vertical direction in the departing direction.
There is provided a 3-wave sharing antenna device in which an AM/FM receiving antenna capable of an AM broadcasting wave and an FM broadcasting wave and a GPS receiving antenna capable of receiving a GPS broadcasting wave are integrated with each other (e.g., see Patent Document 4).
The SDARS (Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service) is a digital broadcasting service using a satellite (hereinafter, referred to as "SDARS satellite") in the United States. That is, in the United States, a digital radio receiver receiving a satellite wave or a terrestrial wave from the SDARS satellite to provide digital radio broadcasting has been developed and put in practical use. Currently, in the United States, two broadcasting stations of XM and Sirius have provided radio programs more than total 250 channels throughout the whole country. The digital radio receiver is generally mounted in a mobile object such as an automobile, receives the electric wave in the frequency band of about 2.3 GHz, and provides the radio broadcasting. That is, the digital radio receiver is a radio receiver capable of providing the mobile broadcasting. Since the frequency of the reception electric wave is about 2.3 GHz, the reception wavelength (resonance wavelength) λ at that time is about 128.3 mm. The terrestrial wave is formed in the manner that the satellite wave is received by an earth station, the frequency of the received satellite wave is slightly shifted, and the wave is re-sent in a linearly-polarized wave. That is, the satellite wave is a circular-polarized wave, but the terrestrial wave is a linearly-polarized wave. In addition, the planar antenna such as the patch antenna is used as the SDARS antenna.
The antenna device for XM satellite radio receives the circular-polarized electric wave from two geostationary satellites, and receives the electric wave by using terrestrial linear-polarized equipments in a blind zone. On the other hand, the antenna device for Sirius satellite radio receives the circular-polarized electric wave from three orbiting satellites (synchro type), and receives the electric wave by the use of the terrestrial linear-polarized equipments in the blind zone.
Since the electric wave in the frequency band of about 2.3 GHz is used in such digital radio broadcasting, an antenna device receiving the electric wave is required to be installed outdoors. Accordingly, when the digital radio receiver is mounted in a mobile object such as an automobile, the antenna device is required to be mounted on the roof of the mobile object.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-10-93327
Patent Document 2: JP-A-2003-309411
Patent Document 3: JP-A-10-107542
Patent Document 4: JP-A-8-335824
As described above, various complex antenna devices including plural kinds of antennas are known. In addition to the 3-wave sharing antenna (bar antenna) as the complex antenna device, it is conceivable that a planar antenna such as an SDARS antenna and a GPS antenna is mounted on a main surface of an antenna base. That is, a complex antenna in which a planar antenna and a bar antenna are combined is conceivable. However, in such a complex antenna, a ripple increases due to directivity (horizontal-plane directivity) of the planar antenna by physical influence of the bar antenna made of metal. That is, deterioration in ripple performance occurs due to the low elevation-angle property of the planar antenna. In other words, the bar antenna made of metal acts as a metallic obstacle when viewed from the planar antenna.


The subject invention encompasses methods for the prevention and treatment of a human or lower animal subject having a urogenital disorder caused or mediated by one or more parasitic protozoa comprising administering bismuth to the subject.

While many industrialized countries have come to regard parasitic infection as a problem of impoverished developing countries, this is far from the truth. The incidence of parasitic infection, especially of the urogenital tract, continues to present a serious health concern. For example, in the United States in some areas, the incidence of urogenital infection due to Trichomonas vaginalis is reported to be as high as fifty percent with twenty to fifty percent of infected women and ninety percent of infected men being asymptomatic. Zinsser Microbiology, 20th Edition, 1173 (1992). Additionally, in the case of urogenital infection, incidence of infection is notoriously underestimated due to physicians prescribing broad spectrum antibiotics rather than isolating the offending, fastidious pathogen and the failure of physicians to report sexually transmitted vaginal diseases. Traditional treatment regimens for such infections consist of administration of a selective action antibiotic. However, antimicrobial resistance to such drugs raises concern about the ability to effectively treat parasitic infections in the future. Therefore, the need for effective anti-parasitic treatment therapies continues to grow.
It has been discovered by the present invention that the administration of bismuth salts may be effective for the prevention and/or treatment of urogenital disorders caused or mediated by parasitic protozoa. Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a safe and effective method of preventing and/or treating urogenital disorders caused or mediated by parasitic protozoa. A further object of the invention is to provide such a method comprising the administration of bismuth.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent from the detailed description which follows.

Methods for the prevention and treatment of urogenital disorders


A method for manufacturing a connection structure capable of increasing the allowable range of a spacing between terminals of a component and mounting at a low temperature. The method for manufacturing a connection structure includes a disposition step of disposing, through an anisotropic conductive adhesive of a thermosetting type including conductive particles, a first electronic component including a first terminal row and a second electronic component including a second terminal row facing the first terminal row, a thermal pressurization step of thermally pressurizing the first electronic component and the second electronic component to sandwich the conductive particles between the first terminal row and the second terminal row, and a full curing step of irradiating with infrared laser light to fully cure the anisotropic conductive adhesive in a state where the conductive particles are sandwiched between the first terminal row and the second terminal row.

In recent years, in association with a fine pitch and thickness reduction of electronic components, mounting at a low temperature for suppressing warp, alignment shifting, and the like has been demanded in anisotropic conductive connection using an anisotropic conductive film. For example, Patent Literatures 1 and 2 propose, as a technique for mounting at a low temperature, heating an anisotropic conductive film by using infrared laser light to melt or soften the anisotropic conductive film, and then curing the anisotropic conductive film.
However, when the anisotropic conductive film is melted or cured by using infrared laser light, a temperature of the anisotropic conductive film abruptly increases. Thus, the allowable range of a spacing between terminals of a component decreases, and it becomes necessary to design viscosity of a binder and the like depending on a spacing between terminals of a component and the like.

Method for manufacturing connection structure


A sales method includes accepting an order for goods from a customer, providing a code associated with the goods to the customer, and receiving the code from the customer prior to delivering the goods. A code verification method includes providing a code associated with goods ordered by a customer to the customer and receiving a verification request from a delivery agent tendering delivery of the goods to the customer. The verification request includes an asserted code provided by the customer. The method also includes determining whether the asserted code is the code previously provided to the customer. A repudiation resolution method includes receiving a request to reverse a credit charge for a purchase of goods from a customer and determining whether the customer provided a code associated with the goods to a delivery agent in response to the delivery agent tendering delivery of the goods to the customer.

The rise of the internet has led to an increase in the number of parcels shipped to customers who make purchases of goods online. Some customers attempt to repudiate online purchases claiming that they did not receive the goods purchased. Known shipping agencies attempt to mitigate repudiation by requiring a signature in exchange for delivery of a parcel and using the signature as evidence that the parcel was indeed received.
However, in some cases a delivery agent may forge the signature of a consignee of a parcel and keep the parcel rather than delivering it to the consignee. In other cases, a consignee may provide a signature to a delivery agent in exchange for a parcel and then later dishonestly claim that the signature provided is not his or her own signature. In either case, a credit provider that extended credit for the repudiated purchase may end up bearing the burden of reversing a charge made for the repudiated purchase.

Sales methods, delivery methods, code verification methods, repudiation resolution methods, and articles of manufacture


A device (10) for reversibly fastening a panel (5) to a structure (2) in order to close off a window (3) in said structure (2). Said device (10) is made up of a plurality of studs (15) suitable for being embedded in a bead of adhesive (50), each stud (15) being provided with two longitudinal orifices (16), said device having two extraction wires (30), each of which passes through a longitudinal orifice (16) in each stud (15).

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device that facilitates mounting a panel closing off a window in a structure, and that facilitates removing such a panel. The present invention also relates to a vehicle provided with such a device, and to a method of implementing it.
More particularly, the invention lies in the restricted technical field of mounting/removing a panel closing off an opening in an aircraft structure.
(2) Description of Related Art
The term "panel" is therefore used below to mean a member that is advantageously transparent and that closes off a window in a structure. By way of example, this panel may comprise a pane of glass or indeed a window pane made of Plexiglas.
It is common to use adhesive for securing a transparent panel to a vehicle structure, and in particular to an aircraft structure. Thus, Plexiglas or glass windows are usually adhesively bonded.
For example a Plexiglas panel can be adhesively bonded directly to a structure of a fuselage in order to close off a bay. A bead of adhesive is then placed between the panel and the structure in order to perform the adhesive bonding.
In order to release a broken Plexiglas panel, an operator sometimes inserts a saw between said panel and the structure in order to cut through the bead of adhesive.
That technique is effective but lengthy and difficult to implement.
The beads of adhesive that are used in the field of aviation have a width that is large, being about two to three centimeters, and a thickness that is small, being about three millimeters. It is then difficult to position and to use a saw for releasing the panel without damaging the structure and/or the panel.
The releasing operation can then require the aircraft to be taken out of service for relatively long and costly time.
In addition, a glass panel sometimes comprises a pane of glass that is fastened to a support which is in turn adhesively bonded to a fuselage.
An operator can then remove the pane of glass from the support and then implement the above-described technique for releasing the support from the fuselage.
A technique for releasing a transparent panel is also known that is in common use for releasing windshields in the automobile field.
An operator drills a hole through a bead of adhesive.
The operator then threads a strong filamentary element usually referred to as a "piano wire" through the drilled hole. Two operators take hold of respective ones of the ends of the filamentary element so as to move said filamentary element between the panel to be released and the structure, thereby slicing through the bead of adhesive.
Once the panel has been disunited from the structure, an operator cleans the panel and the structure so as to remove the residue of the adhesive. By way of example, the operator might therefore heat the surfaces to be cleaned before applying a cleaning substance that is optionally of the antioxidant type.
That technique is advantageous. However, it is difficult or indeed impossible to implement on an aircraft having a wide, thin bead of adhesive that is particularly strong once in the set state. The force the operators need to apply to slice through such a bead of adhesive is too large for applying that technique.
In addition, the drilling step can be complicated to perform in view of the small thickness of the bead of adhesive.
Releasing a transparent aircraft panel is then a difficult operation.
The width of the bead of adhesive could be reduced in order to implement the method that is applied to an automobile windshield. However, the pressure and sealing conditions that apply to an aircraft panel appear incompatible with such a reduction in width.
The technological background includes Document U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,012 relating to using adhesive for bonding a panel to a structure.
That document proposes placing a bead of adhesive on the panel and arranging a seal between the panel and the structure. That seal is hollow and an extraction wire is placed inside it.
It appears difficult to apply that technique to an aircraft, since the beads of adhesive used in the aviation field are wide.
Similarly, Document U.S. Pat. No. 6,929,844 proposes placing an elastomer member on a contact surface of a panel. That member has a ridge provided with a groove open to the outside and receiving an extraction wire.
In addition, that member includes a plane portion integral with the ridge and with its contact surface, the groove in the ridge opening out onto a free face of said plane portion.
A bead of adhesive is then placed over the free face and over a pane of glass in order to fasten the pane of glass to a structure.
By pulling the extraction wire out of the groove, it is possible to slice through the bead of adhesive.
However, it appears difficult to slice through a wide bead of adhesive.
Document EP 0 367 662 presents a calibrated shaped-section member interposed between a bead of adhesive and a panel. An extraction wire is used for slicing through the calibrated shaped-section member.
Documents DE 37 22 657, FR 2 766 156, and DE 202 17 925 are also known.

Device for reversibly fastening a panel to a structure so as to obtain a window in that structure, a vehicle, and a method


The present invention is related to a method and corresponding devices for controlled transport of magnetic beads between a position X and different position Y, such that the magnetic beads are manipulated or transported by applying successively a series of N local magnetic fields which have magnetic field gradients different from 0 in the neighborhood of said magnetic beads. Each of these N local magnetic fields is generated by a single current carrying structure, in which the current density is not constant. The invention mainly points to application in the domain of biochips and microarrays, used in diagnostics, genetics and molecular studies.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the field of microelectronic devices, designed to transport and manipulate magnetic beads on chip. Application domains are biochips, biosensors, diagnostics, genetics and molecular studies.
2. Description of the Related Art
Following the publication of the first draft of the human genome sequence, the next major task is to determine the function that each of the genes (i.e. >35,000) have in each of the tissues in the body over a range of environmental conditions. Using arrays of thousands of probes which are specific to individual genes, DNA microarrays enable the extent to which individual genes are switched on or off to be determined. Genetic variation among individuals also contributes to variation in the way genes behave in response to changes in the environment. Simultaneous detection of variation at thousands of locations (i.e. single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs) in the genome can also be achieved using DNA microarray technology. Applications of DNA microarrays therefore include gene expression profiling, gene sequencing, gene discovery, and genotyping, for users in healthcare, academia and the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Currently the major factors limiting the uptake of DNA microarray technology include low sensitivity, the high cost of the technology, requirement for specialist operators and throughput.
Electronic biochips have the potential to overcome these limitations. Here, exploitation of state-of-the-art micro- and nano-technology design, fabrication and characterization tools and processes enable development of devices and systems that can interface directly with biological reactions. A possibility involves combining magnetic bead-based bioassays with magnetic sensor technology. From a biotechnology perspective, paramagnetic beads (e.g., 0.05–10.0 μm diameter) are available commercially from a number of sources with a range of surface functional chemistries, for well established applications including isolation and transportation of nucleic acids, proteins and whole cells. In microelectronics, GMR-based magnetic sensors have provided an enabling technology for memory applications. Thus, integration of paramagnetic bead-based nucleic acid assays on a functional biochip surface incorporating magnetic sensors, provides the basis for a range of biochip platforms.
Next to the detection of the magnetic beads, the transport and manipulation of beads is a limiting factor, which has to be taken into account in biochip designs and methods.
In the past, systems have been described for the manipulation of magnetic microbeads based on permanent or electromagnets with dimensions >5 mm, which did not allow for magnetic fields localised over microscale regions.
Commercial devices exist for sorting and separation of magnetic microbeads, but they have a limited capability of performing complex manipulations of these beads since they make use of permanent magnets or electromagnets.
In Whitesides et al., "Manipulation of magnetic microbeads in suspension using micromagnetic systems fabricated with soft lithography", Applied Physics Letters [Vol 78, Nr 12 Mar. 19, 2001, pages 1775–1777] and US2002/0166800, systems are described comprising current carrying wires that can generate strong local magnetic field gradients, which in their turn can control the position of magnetic microbeads in aqueous suspension.

Method for the controlled transport of magnetic beads and device for executing said method

Interuniversitair Microelektronica Centrum (IMEC)


A caption formatting method and computing system that receives an input video stream that includes a sequence of input transport stream packets. The method locates user data in the sequence of input transport stream packets, where the user data includes input caption data compliant with an input caption data format. The method extracts EIA-608 captions and EIA-708 captions from the input caption data, and formats the EIA-608 captions as caption data compliant with SCTE-20 format. The method creates a sequence of output transport stream packets based on the sequence of input transport stream packets, where the sequence of output transport stream packets include the caption data compliant with SCTE-20 format and the input caption data. The method sends an output video stream from the computing device, where the output video stream includes the sequence of output transport stream packets.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandates the technical standards for the display of closed captioning information encoded and transmitted within the television signal. The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) and the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) have defined the technical standards for wrapping closed captioning information within a compressed video signal.
The National Television System Committee (NTSC) developed the closed captioning concepts for analog television signals. The Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) developed EIA-608 (also known as line 21 captions) as the standard for closed captioning for NTSC television broadcasts in the United States and Canada. The FCC required EIA-608 to be implemented in most television receivers made in the United States.
Digital Television Closed Captioning (DTVCC), formerly known as Advanced Television Closed Captioning (ATVCC), is the migration of NTSC closed captioning to the high-definition digital television environment defined by ATSC. The EIA developed EIA-708 (also known as Consumer Electronics Association CEA-708) as the standard for closed captioning for ATSC digital television streams in the United States and Canada. The FCC requirements specify the use of EIA-708 caption decoders in all 13-inch (33-cm) diagonal or larger digital televisions. Furthermore, the FCC requirements specify that some broadcasters caption a specific percentage of their broadcasts.
The transition from analog to digital television transmissions has made EIA-608 less prevalent as digital televisions replace analog televisions. In addition, legacy cable and satellite set-top boxes implement an older caption transport standard developed by SCTE (SCTE-20) that differs from the broadcast caption transport standard (A/53). Hence, if the broadcast stream is simply retransmitted (or even rate-shaped) over the cable or satellite network, these legacy set-top boxes will not be able to extract and decode broadcast captions. On the other hand, the newer SCTE standard (SCTE-21) is the same as the ATSC standard for captions, and thus newer cable boxes which usually implement SCTE-21 can decode the encapsulated captions. An SCTE-20 wrapper can only carry EIA-608 compliant captions that are defined for analog transmission and display on analog receivers, and an SCTE-21 (A/53) wrapper can carry both EIA-608 and EIA-708 captions, the latter being defined for rendering on newer digital television set-top boxes.
Thus, there is a need for a system and method for caption formatting to ensure that broadcast captions are carried in both legacy and the new formats, such that they are decodable by all cable or satellite receivers. The presently disclosed invention satisfies this demand.

System for generating closed captioning compatible with legacy and newer set-top boxes


A driver recognition system for a vehicle includes a camera taking an image of a driver's foot, and a central processing unit receiving image information from the camera, analyzing the image information, and delivering a signal in accordance with an analyzed result. A control unit is installed to receive the signal delivered from the central processing unit and output a control command so as to set a driving environment and a driving mode in accordance with the received signal. A control execution unit operates in accordance with the command received from the control unit, and an operator set in accordance with the operation of the control execution unit.

In general, a driver sets a driving mode and a driving environment depending on a situation.
In the related art, a method in which the driver selects the driving mode and the driving environment without using a driver recognition system was used. The method of the related art is inconvenient since the driver needs to directly select the driving mode and the driving environmet each time the driver is changed. Further, if a driver choose not to select the driving mode and the driving environment of a vehicle, driver's safety or satisfaction issue can be arisen.
In recent years, a study about a driver recognition system that automatically sets the driving mode and the driving environment by recognizing the driver has been actively developed to improve the driver's safety and satisfaction.
However, difficulties exist in developing the system that directly recognizes the driver in terms of cost and algorithm. Further, if the driver's situation cannot be accurately recognized even though the driver is accurately recognized, the driving mode and the driving environment to the driver's satisfaction may not be selected.
The above information disclosed in the Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the disclosure, and therefore, it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Driver recognition system and recognition method for vehicle


An apparatus and method provide logically controlled masking of one or more maskable data bits from a plurality of data bits that are input to a dynamic logic circuit. No masking logic and attendant delay penalty is coupled in the data path that is not needed for unmasked bits from the plurality of data bits that do not need masking. A system clock has a precharge phase and an evaluate phase. A first clock buffer is coupled to a precharge switch and precharges a dynamic node during the precharge phase. A second clock buffer having substantially the same delay from system clock input to an output of the second clock buffer is gated by a derivative of a mask. The output of the second clock buffer controls one or more switches in series with switches controlled by the maskable data bits.

1. Field of the Invention
The current invention generally relates to dynamic logic. More particularly, the present invention is directed to masking of certain inputs in dynamic logic.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern electronic systems, such as digital computers frequently have a need for very fast compares of many bits. A dynamic OR is advantageously used for such compares (i.e., OR logic having a precharge phase and an evaluate phase). The dynamic OR, with suitable plus or minus phase of a number of bits to be compared, is a simple and fast structure. A dynamic OR typically has an inverting buffer, making the compare function a "NOR". It will be understood that discussion of a dynamic OR also includes a dynamic OR with an inverting buffer, providing a "NOR" function.
Often a field of data in an electronic system, such as an address, must be tested to see if that address is of interest, and such testing (comparing) must be done very quickly in order to provide fast throughput through the electronic system. For example, if a simple four-bit address is to be tested for having a value of '1000', an OR is used, with the leftmost bit being inverted. When the address value is '1000', the OR circuit drives a "0" (or, with an inverting buffer, making it a NOR circuit, a "1" is driven). The OR circuit drives a "1" (or, with an inverting buffer, a "0") is driven for all other values of the address.
Many such electronic systems require masking portions of the data presented to the dynamic OR, and incur inefficiencies and signal path delays associated with data bits that require masking. For example, at a particular time, a particular 64-bit double word might only have valid data in a first 32-bit portion of the 64-bit double word. Some bits of a second 32-bit portion of the 64-bit double word might have "1" values, although the second portion is not intended to influence the output of the dynamic OR. FIGS. 1A, 1B illustrate this situation. In FIG. 1A, bits X0–X31 are valid data to be used in the compare; bits X32–X63, at a particular time, are not to be used in the compare. At other time, all 64 bits are needed in the compare. FIG. 1B shows a conventional dynamic OR 100 that mask bits X32–X63 under control of input signal "MASK". ANDs 102A and 102B output "0" when MASK is "0", but, respectively pass data on bits X32 and X63 when MASK is "1". ANDs 102A and 102B add a stage of logic, with attendant delay, to the delay path of signals arriving from bits X32 and X63 (and similar bits in the masked portion of data input to dynamic OR 100). Dynamic OR 100 includes a clock buffer 101 that passes a system clock (system clk) as signal CLKX when an enabling signal (ACTIVATE) is active. PFET (P-channel field effect transistor) P5 precharges node 108 during a precharge phase when CLKX is low. During an evaluate phase, when CLKX is high, P5 does not conduct, and CLKX turns on NFETs (N-channel field effect transistors) N1–N4. If any of the inputs to NFETs N5-N8 (i.e., outputs of ANDs 102B, 102A, and bits X31 and X0, respectively are "1", node 108 is discharged to ground. The dots between the stacks of NFETs simply indicate that not all 32 stacks in portion 105 (i.e., masked bits X32–X63) or all 32 stacks in portion 106 (i.e., bits X0–X31) are shown. Further, ANDs 102A, 102B are just two of 32 ANDs needed to mask the 32 bits (X32–X63), with the remaining ANDs not shown, but indicated by dots between ANDs 102A and 102B. Portion 105 receives as inputs the portion of the group of bits input to the dynamic OR requiring masking; portion 106 receives as inputs the portion of the group of bits input to the dynamic OR that does not require masking.
Keeper 110 is an optional block, including inverter 111 and PFET P6, which weakly maintains node 108 at an uplevel if CLKX remains "1" for an extended period of time relative to a rate of leakage that would over time discharge node 108. PFET P6 must simply be strong enough to overcome leakage that, in time, would discharge node 108. Inverter 115 drives an output 120 of dynamic OR 100. Keeper 110 is needed if node 108 must retain a "1" (undischarged state) during an extended evaluate phase of CLKX.
Typically in such applications, a critical data path from a timing standpoint is data propagation (e.g., X0–X63 to output 120). Insertion of ANDs 102A and 102B adds delay to the critical data path of data bits X32–X63. The delay path of data bits X0–X31 do not have the added delay of blocks such as ANDs 102A and 102B.
A dynamic OR is shown as the dynamic circuit in FIG. 1B. A dynamic OR was used for exemplary purposes because of its simplicity and because of its common use. It will be understood however, that other dynamic circuits also require certain inputs to be maskable.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus that provide for masking of one or more portions of a dynamic circuit without incurring additional delay.

International Business Machines Corporation


A gaming machine for conducting a symbol pushing wagering game (40) includes a plurality of symbols (42) arranged in an array (44). The array (44) comprises at least one variable position (52) and a plurality of pass-through positions (54). At least one pass-through position is adjacent to the variable position. A first symbol in the variable position is varied and then stopped, wherein the first symbol is translated from the variable position to the adjacent pass-through position. In the direction of translation, symbols are pushed to adjacent pass-through positions. Payoff awards are distributed upon the occurrence of certain winning combination of symbols.

Gaming machines, such as slot machines, video poker machines and, the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing machines and the expectation of winning each machine is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are most likely to be attracted to the most entertaining and exciting of the machines. Shrewd operators consequently strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting machines available because such machines attract frequent play and hence increase profitability to the operator.
One concept which has been successfully employed to enhance the entertainment value of a game is the concept of a "secondary" or "bonus" game which may be played in conjunction with a "basic" game. The bonus game may comprise any type of game, either similar to or completely different from the basic game, which is entered upon the occurrence of a selected event or outcome of the basic game. Generally, bonus games provide a greater expectation of winning than the basic game and may also be accompanied with more attractive or unusual video displays and/or audio. Because the bonus game concept offers tremendous advantages in player appeal and excitement relative to other known games, and because such games are attractive to both players and operators, there is a continuing need to develop gaming machines with new types of bonus games to satisfy the demands of players and operators.
Gaming machines have utilized a variety of mechanisms to present various combinations of symbols, and award prizes, money, or other awards associated with certain predefined winning combinations. Traditional slot machines, for example, utilize a plurality of reels and at least one payline, with certain combination of symbols landing on the payline constituting winning combinations for which awards are given to the player. Other gaming machines have arranged reels into a two dimensional array such that each symbol is varied (by being on an individual reel), and again awarding prizes to certain winning combinations. However, traditional uses of symbols arranged in arrays have limited entertainment value in that symbols are varied or re-spun with each play of the gaming machine. Furthermore, winning combinations on these traditional gaming machines are instantly removed or erased with each subsequent play of the gaming machine, denying the player additional winning opportunities and added excitement during play. Thus, a need exists for a gaming machine having symbols arranged in an array whereby a winning combination of symbols in the array persists, and is pushed, slid, or otherwise translated through the array to give a player of the gaming machine additional winning opportunities and added entertainment. The present invention is directed to satisfying these needs and solving other problems.


A novel and safe composition has been discovered that is effective for cleaning dental appliances (e.g. removable braces, retainers, dentures, etc.). This composition bleaches, disinfects, and deodorizes the appliance, while removing plaque that has accumulated on the appliance during wear. The composition comprises a chloramine bleaching agent that liberates hypochlorous acid upon contact with water, a surfactant, a water-soluble carboxylic acid and an alkaline base to produce effervescence and regulate pH, a sequestering agent for alkaline earth metal ions, a drying agent, and an indicator dye that signifies the end of the cleansing process. In a preferred method of using this invention, the premixed components are added to water, and the dental appliance is submerged in the resulting effervescent solution until a color change indicates that cleaning is complete. This invention provides a safe, effective, and convenient method for cleansing and disinfecting dental appliances.

The accumulation of residues on dental appliances (e.g., removable braces, retainers, dentures, etc.) is a familiar and persistent problem for wearers of such appliances. These residues often consist of some combination of food particles and biofilm (i.e., plaque), the latter of which is a slime layer that naturally develops when bacteria attach to an inert support. Many of these bacteria produce volatile sulfur compounds as waste products. If the dental appliance is not rid of food particles and biofilm on a regular basis, the malodourous waste products will accumulate, causing the wearer to exhibit bad breath. Even more serious is the potential for pathogenic bacteria to inhabit the biofilm, increasing the likelihood of infection for the wearer. Over time, the biofilm will be converted into dental calculus, which consists of inorganic mineralized salts derived from saliva, bateria, and food particles, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,670,312 B2.
In addition to accumulation of residues on the appliance, staining is another widespread problem reported by wearers of dental appliances. Staining of dental appliances is particularly pronounced among coffee and tea drinkers, smokers, and those who use chewing tobacco. Stained dental appliances are unsightly and can be a source of embarrassment for the appliance wearer, sometimes to the extent that the wearer foregoes wearing his or her dental appliance for the sake of vanity.
Although many wearers choose to brush their dental appliance with toothpaste (i.e., mechanical cleaning), others find it more convenient to soak their appliance in a cleansing solution. This cleansing solution is often generated by mixing a commercially available cleansing tablet or powder with water. Though such compositions have achieved considerable popularity and commercial success, there is a continuing need for improvement, especially with respect to plaque removal.
The majority of commercially available effervescent dental appliance cleansing tablets are based on alkaline peroxysalts (e.g., those sold under the tradename Efferdent®), which provide excellent bleaching action but poor plaque removal, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,679. An additional shortcoming of alkaline peroxysalts is their documented health risk. After seventy-three severe reactions and at least one death, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a statement on Feb. 14, 2008 asking the manufacturers of denture cleansers to revise labeling and to consider appropriate alternatives to persulfate, a common alkaline peroxysalt found in many brands, including Efferdent®. All peroxysalts share a common mode of operation (i.e., liberation of hydrogen peroxide upon contact with water) and a similar structural feature (i.e., an associated molecule of hydrogen peroxide). Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a dental appliance cleansing composition that does not include peroxysalts. Examples of powders and tablets incorporating alkaline peroxysalts can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,362,639, 4,552,679, and 5,486,304, and U.S. Patent Application 20070054830.
Sequestering agents are necessary to preserve surfactant activity in the presence of calcium and magnesium ions, which are present in dental plaque at 1.5% and 1.0%, respectively, on a dry weight basis [Gron, P., Yao, K., Spinelli, M. A Study of Inorganic Constituents in Dental Plaque. J. Dent. Res. Supplement to No. 5 1969, 48, 799-805.] Dental calculus is 30.7% calcium and 1.0% magnesium by weight, according to Encyclopaedia Chimica. Sequestering agents extract alkaline earth metal ions (e.g., calcium and magnesium ions) from the plaque or calculus by forming soluble complexes. This damages the structural integrity of the plaque or calculus, allowing it to be dissolved with the use of surfactants. Furthermore, these agents prevent the complexation of calcium and magnesium ions in the plaque or calculus with the surfactant, which would otherwise lead to surfactant inactivation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,647 to Levesque et al. teaches the preparation of a rapidly dissolving tablet for sanitizing water bodies that consists of an alkali metal cloroisocyanurate bleaching agent admixed with granules of alkali metal carbonate and water-soluble carboxylic acid for effervescence. To enhance cleaning action, the incorporation of a surfactant is also taught. This composition, however, lacks a sequestering agent.
Similarly, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,099,861 to DeSenna et al., a water soluble effervescent tablet formulation is disclosed that contains a bromide releasing agent and a hypochlorite releasing agent. While this tablet offers good disinfecting power over a wide pH range, it also does not contain a sequestering agent for alkaline earth metal ions.
The use of complex phosphates as sequestering agents for alkaline earth metals such as calcium and magnesium in dental plaque is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,409,718. Though the composition combines the bleaching power of a peroxysalt with a sequestering agent to facilitate plaque removal, it is also known to require 2,2′-dihydroxy-3,5,6,3′,5′,6′-hexachlorodiphenylmethane(hexachlorophene), a disinfectant, to achieve these cleaning properties. Hexachlorophene has recently been shown to be toxic in neonates [Kimbrough, R. D. Review of the toxicity of hexachlorophene, including its neurotoxicity. J. Clin. Pharmacol. 1973, 13, 439-451.], and its use has been limited. The patent teaches that this component is unique and that no alternatives are known. Furthermore, the composition requires the use of a peroxysalt.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,670,312 B2 to Sugimoto et al. teaches the removal of dental calculus using a hydroxycarboxylic acid and sulfamic acid. These agents act very slowly, requiring 24 hours to remove a scale deposit of calcium and magnesium. In addition, the agents are not known to demonstrate bleaching activity.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,293,188 to Brown et al. teaches the preparation of a sterilizing and disinfecting powder consisting of a dichlorocyanurate with "a synergistic carrier agent mixture" of sodium tripolyphosphate and sodium sulfate decahydrate. The high temperature required to prepare this mixture and the presence of water causes significant decomposition of the dichlorocyanurate, however, which results in a corresponding decrease in the available chlorine content of the product, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,872,118. Consequently, the low concentration of available chlorine (75 ppm) generated upon dissolution of this powder in water is insufficient for dental appliance bleaching, and the composition is not known to have any plaque removal properties.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,385 to Cheng teaches the preparation of an effervescent denture cleanser composition consisting of a chlorine compound which liberates hypochlorite chlorine on contact with water, and a peroxysalt. The pH of the composition dissolved in water must be at least 9 . At pH 9 and above, the free chlorine generated upon dissolution of the composition exists almost entirely (>95%) as the hypochlorite anion (OCl−), with a balance of hypochlorous acid (HOCl). According to U.S. Pat. No. 6,099,861, the hypochlorous acid form is known to be the antimicrobial form, while the hypochlorite form exhibits only modest antimicrobial properties. The lower antimicrobial activity of hypochlorite is attributed to its negative charge, which is believed to inhibit its diffusion through the cell wall of microorganisms.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,385 also discloses the use of oxidizable dyes in an effervescent denture cleansing composition. Upon contact of the formula with water, these dyes slowly react with the bleaching agent, which causes the solution to change color. Eventually the cleansing solution loses its color completely. This system serves as a time lapse indictor and signals to the user the appropriate time to remove the dental appliance from the cleansing solution.
There remains a need for a safe and convenient composition that is effective for bleaching, disinfecting, deodorizing, and removing plaque and other residues from a wide variety of dental appliances.


A method of merging cells in cognitive radio is provided. The method includes: requesting base stations to merge cells, measuring service ranges of the merged cells using the base stations, and exchanging cell-merging information between the base stations.

1. Field of the Invention
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the present invention relate to merging cells in cognitive radio, and more particularly, to merging cells involving merging adjacent cells in cognitive radio, and thus efficiently utilizing resources.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the use of wireless communication technology is increasingly required in daily life, various forms of wireless communication technology are being rapidly developed.
In particular, there is a sharp increase of services using wireless technologies, such as mobile communication, wireless local area network (WLAN), digital broadcasting, satellite communication, radio frequency identification (RFID)/ubiquitous sensor network (USN) and wireless broadband (WiBro). The diversification and increased use of wireless communication services are dramatically increasing the demand for limited frequency resources, thereby making the frequency resources more valuable. In order to efficiently use such valuable frequency resources, advanced countries are developing relevant technologies and conducting activities to implement frequency policies based on the technologies.
One of the technologies for efficiently using frequency resources is cognitive radio. Cognitive radio can detect an idle frequency, which is assigned but not used, and efficiently share the idle frequency.
Specifically, cognitive radio is a technology that automatically finds an unused frequency for each area and time and enables intended communication while protecting licensed radio stations nearby. Cognitive radio finds idle portions of the spectrum, determines a frequency bandwidth, a power level and a modulation scheme suitable for the environment, and uses the idle portion of the spectrum. Therefore, the limited frequency resources can be more efficiently used. Since 2004, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has been trying to standardize cognitive radio technology using a television frequency band.
Specifically, the IEEE is implementing IEEE 802.22 using an ultra-high frequency (UHF) (channels 14 to 51) band, which is a high-quality frequency band. With little power, IEEE 802.22 can reach far while avoiding interference with incumbent users of public channels. Therefore, it can remove shadow areas in homes or offices.
IEEE 802.22 has a bandwidth of 6 MHz in the UHF band and increases throughput by bonding channels up to a maximum of three channels when necessary. In a cognitive radio environment, many cells overlap one another, and a usable frequency is limited. Therefore, some cells short of frequency resources may have difficulty securing frequency resources, thereby failing to satisfy quality of service for real-time data.
According to a conventional method suggested to satisfy quality of service in the cognitive radio environment, a base station short of frequency resources borrows frequency resources from another base station abundant with frequency resources. However, if this conventional method is used in an apartment building which is a densely populated form of housing, since a plurality of cells overlap one another, usable frequency resources are sharply reduced. Therefore, it is difficult to secure frequency resources through channel expansion and efficiently use a frequency spectrum. Furthermore, since the base station, which lends its frequency resources, can arbitrarily withdraw the frequency resources, service may be halted.

Method of merging cells in cognitive radio


A method and apparatus for carrying out synchronous co-division multiple access (SCDMA) communication of multiple channels of digital data over a shared transmission media such as a cable television system coaxial cable, a fiber optic or copper conductor telephone link, terrestial microwave, satellite link, local or wide area network, wireless including cellur network or some combination of these media using suitable interface circuitry. The system includes modems at remote units and a central unit to receive time division multiplexed digital data arranged into timeslots or channels and uses orthogonal codes to encode each channel of multiple data and spread the energy of each channel data over a frame of data transmitted in the code domain. Spreading the data this way makes the system less susceptible to impulse noise. Frames are synchronized as between remote and central units using a ranging scheme which is also useful in any other system transmitting data by frames in a distributed system where synchronizing the frames as between all units regardless of differences in propagation delays is necessary. Each frame in the SCDMA modulation scheme includes a gap or guardband containing no other data. The ranging process involves training each remote unit to impose enough delay prior to re-transmission of a barker code received from the CU such that a barker code sent by the RU arrives at the CU during the gap. The process of setting the delay in each RU is a trial and error process, and each RU starts the ranging process asynchronously. Contention resolution protocols such that only one RU is aligning to the gap at any particular time are taught.

In order to provide bidirectional digital data communication over a cable TV coaxial network to multiple subscribers with multiple services available over a single coax cable (hereafter called interactive systems), several problems have to be solved. First, there is the problem of noise and interference. A second major problem, but related to the first problem, is synchronization of data transmission so that effective, error-free communication can be achieved. Cable networks typically involve a so called head end or central unit from which video is transmitted to subscribers coupled to one or more main trunk lines from which extend numerous branch lines which may enter subscriber homes or which may couple to other branch lines. At each junction of a branch line to the trunk line or another branch line there is a directional coupler which is intended to direct transmissions from the head end to the subscribers in one direction and to direct transmissions from the subscribers back to the head end without leaking energy intended for transmission to the head end into branch lines coupled to other subscribers. In order to send digital data over video coax, a modem is necessary at both the head end and at all the subscriber locations to modulate digital data onto the coax as RF signals, and to receive RF signals carrying digital data and derive the digital data therefrom. Because RF signals are propagating along the cables, and because the couplers are not perfect, reflections occur at the directional couplers that cause noise and interference. This is because the reflections are frequently of the opposite polarity depending upon the impedance mismatch and the distances involved. These reflections are therefore sometimes additive and sometimes subtractive, thereby resulting in random variations in the amplitudes of the RF signals. These random variations make discrimination during the demodulation process to derive the digital data more difficult.
Further, because the subscribers are at physically different distances from the head end, the signals from each subscriber's modem arrive at the head end at different times because of different propagation delays. Because digital data is transmitted in frames and because all subscribers must be synchronized to the same frame timing, these different propagation delays for each subscriber cause problems in synchronizing data.
In the typical interactive system, there are bidirectional amplifiers. Each amplifier has two channels, one of which amplifies signals in a high frequency range from 45-750 mHz for transmission of data from the head end to subscribers, and the other of which amplifies signals in a low frequency range from 5-42 mHz for transmission of data from the subscribers to the head end. When the operating frequency is close to the edges of either the high or low band, group delay distortion can result in another impairment to noise free bidirectional communication.
Other forms of linear impairment result from the fact that the bandpass filters in the system do not have perfectly flat amplitude characteristics for their transfer functions across the entire passband, especially at the corner frequencies.
Other forms of impairments are so-called additive impairments resulting from taps on the system which are not properly terminated. These taps act as antennas and pick up broadcast signals from FM stations, CB radios, HF communication etc. Other sources of noise are impulse signals resulting from arcing in electrical appliances near taps. Arcing generates white noise type RF energy that is splattered across all bands and is radiated much like lightening. In addition, the amplifiers in the interactive system can sometimes break into oscillation thereby creating noise. Further the horizontal and vertical oscillators in television sets in the subscriber's household also can radiate RF interference signals. These sources of interference are a major contributor to noise in the system.
The collection of impairments described above are referred to as linear impairments because the system has a linear transfer function so that in the Fourier domain, all the impairment effects are additive.
In addition to the linear impairments, there also exist nonlinear impairments such as second and third order harmonics generated by the nonlinear junctions of transistors in the amplifiers in the system. When multiple sinusoidal signals arrive at the amplifiers, beat frequencies are generated in addition to the harmonics of the arriving signals because the nonlinear junctions act like mixers.
Other forms of nonlinear impairment are hum from saturation of magnetic cores of transformers in the amplifiers resulting from 60 volt, 60 Hertz AC square wave pulses sent to the amplifiers over the coax to supply the amplifiers with power. The amplifiers have rectifiers that rectify this square wave signal to derive power therefrom and this process generates noise in the form of hum. This hum is caused by amplitude modulation of the power supply signal resulting from the placement of the operating point on the hysteresis curve of the rectifier transformers.
Interactive systems typically involve in excess of one hundred different channels on which separate digital data streams can flow in addition to the separate channels on which the video signals are provided for normal cable TV service. To send digital data as RF signals, very complex constellations of separate amplitude and phase combinations are used to encode the digital characters being transmitted. Because of the large number of data points, the differences in phase and amplitude between the different points are not large. Therefore, the impairments described above can cause errors by causing misinterpretation by demodulators of what characters were actually sent.
There is only one conductive path between the head end and the subscribers that must be shared by all the subscribers to send and receive digital data. One approach that has been tried in prior art interactive cable TV systems is time division multiple access sharing (TDMA) with quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation schemes. In a TDMA system, each subscriber gets a short assigned time slot in which to transmit data to the head end. The TDMA approach has shortcomings in that it causes difficulty and complexity in achieving "alignment". Alignment refers to the proper timing of each subscriber's transmissions so that they arrive during the appropriate time slot at the head end despite the fact that the signals from each subscriber have different propagation times. Alignment in TDMA multiple access schemes is critical, and achieving it is difficult.
Another difficulty with the TDMA approach is the high susceptibility of QPSK modulation to narrowband interference. Narrowband interference results when a signal like Voice of America or a harmonic which has a bandwidth similar to the bandwidth of the channels upon which digital data is being transmitted enters the transmission media. Typically this happens at a tap which is not properly terminated. Narrowband interference adversely affects the receiver circuits and the alignment circuits that achieve synchronization of all the sources.
The use of TDMA schemes also complicates the alignment problem in the presence of narrowband interference and other noise because there is such a short time for synchronization. Synchronization of the head end to all the subscribers is necessary so that the clock signal and other reference signals such as the carrier can be recovered from the transmitted signals without being separately transmitted. These recovered signals are critical to proper operation of the system in demodulating the transmitted data. Narrowband interference also adversely affects the decision making circuits that decipher which characters have been transmitted thereby increasing the error rate. Increased error rate requires more bandwidth to be consumed in retransmitting data and wastes processing power in detecting and correcting errors and retransmitting data with errors that are beyond the correction range of the ECC bits transmitted with the data.
Also, because in TDMA schemes the timeslots are very short, TDMA systems are susceptible to loss of data caused by long bursts of noise. Typical bursts of impulse noise are quite long relative to the length of the TDMA timeslots. Long bursts often wipe out entire groups of timeslots thereby requiring retransmission of all the data in these timeslots. Modulation and multiple access schemes that spread out the energy of transmitted data over longer times, such as FDMA schemes, are less susceptible to this type of burst noise. However, FDMA schemes have other drawbacks.
QPSK modulation used in TDMA schemes is also not the most efficient modulation scheme in terms of spectral efficiency, i.e., speed of transmission in bits/second/Hertz over a given bandwidth. However, QPSK modulation is used because it has a sufficiently large distance between points in the constellation to maintain relatively good noise immunity. Noise immunity refers to the ability of a system to achieve a certain bit error rate that is deemed to be tolerable for a given signal to noise ratio. If the signal to noise ratio decreases for a given noise immunity characteristic, the bit error rate will rise.
Typically, channel bandwidths are 6 mHz, and spectral efficiency of 27 megabits/second/Hertz is desired. Therefore, a data transfer rate of 162.times.10.sup.12 is achievable over one channel at this typical spectral efficiency and bandwidth. However spectral efficiency for QPSK modulation is on the order of 1 bits/second/Hertz or less so this modulation scheme is too slow for high traffic volume applications such as video on demand, video teleconferencing etc.
Another approach that has been tried in the prior art is frequency division multiple access (FDMA). In FDMA, each subscriber transmits data on a different carrier frequency as opposed to at a different time in TDMA. FDMA schemes suffer from different drawbacks than TDMA schemes. Because there are multiple carriers in FDMA schemes, there are more intermodulation products in the received signals. These intermodulation products can coherently add to each other thereby causing peaks in amplitude which are far greater than the average signal. This causes difficulty in designing analog circuits with adequate ranges of linearity to handle these signals without clipping the peaks. These peaks often penetrate into the nonlinear or saturation range of operation of analog circuits in the system exposed to these signals thereby introducing nonlinearities. Even without these nonlinearities, the intermodulation components tend to cause crosstalk between adjacent channels which increases the error rate.
FDMA schemes are also sensitive to narrowband interference signals that suddenly appear causing unanticipated "jamming" of one or more channels thereby causing long bursts of errors. FDMA channels are narrow, and claims have been made that because of this fact narrowband interference can be avoided. However, narrowband interference is dynamic, because there are multiple sources thereof at different frequencies. As a result, narrowband interference signals can suddenly "pop up" when a subscriber turns on his or her TV or when Voice of America starts broadcasting. This sudden pop-up interference can jam a channel thereby causing error bursts.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a method and apparatus that can support interactive digital systems that eliminates some of these drawbacks.

Apparatus and method for digital data transmission using orthogonal cyclic codes