A water-based inorganic coating formulation that contains no lead, and no organic matters, and provides for better control of the viscosity, the stability, the material separation, the homogeneity, and the re-crystallization properties of the formulation. This improved water-based inorganic coating formulation includes a water-based alkaline metal silicate solution, a pigment, and colloidal alumina dispersed within the coating formulation.

Numerous coatings have been used by skilled artisans for years as colorants and opacifiants for architectural, appliance, and automotive glass. Such coatings usually involve ceramic frit compositions that are composed of a mixture of metal oxides in an organic-based medium. The organic-based medium often includes materials such as pine oils, mineral oils, and other petroleum-based products. Such organic based coatings, however, give rise to numerous environmental and commercial concerns. Additionally, the metal oxide used in many such organic based compositions is lead oxide. Lead requires special care and handling during coating processes and in disposal, and is currently prohibited in paint formulations by United States Environmental Protection Agency regulations. Other metal oxides, such as cadmium and chromium, can also be added as pigments in such organic-based coatings, but are also considered hazardous. It is desirable to provide a water-based coating to take the place of such organic based and toxic material containing coatings.
Inorganic coating composition containing no lead and including water based alkali metal silicate solutions, pigments, and other components are known, for example, the coating compositions disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,535 to Boaz and U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,188 to Vockler. However, it is often a problem to maintain control of the viscosity of such known coating solutions. The lack of control of the viscosity can lead to either viscosity build-up or running or blurring of the coating material. It is also a problem in such coatings to maintain consistent viscosity properties within a coating mixture.
Additionally, such known coating formulations often have difficulty with lack of stability and homogeneity. Often the materials suspended in the formulation will separate out in a short period of time such that the formulations are not homogeneous, and have re-crystallization problems. Each of these problems results in the coating formulations being difficult to use and having a shortened shelf life.
It is desirable to provide a water-based inorganic coating formulation that also provides for better control of the viscosity, the homogeneity, the re-crystallization, the stability, and the material separation properties of the formulation.


Methods and apparatuses to maintain and propagate statistical data during circuit synthesis. At least one embodiment of the present invention maintains and propagates statistical data during and after circuit synthesis transformation operations. In one example, the signal switching activity is calculated once at the RTL level and then propagated and/or maintained at various nodes of the circuit through the process of logic synthesis. Thus, the statistical analysis of entire circuit during or after the logic synthesis is avoided. In one example, power optimization is performed during logic synthesis. A portion of the logic synthesis transformation is driven by the power consumption optimization; and, the statistical data about circuit activity maintained at the nodes of the circuit during the synthesis process is used to calculate the power consumption at various points in the process of synthesis transformation.

For the design of digital circuits (e.g., on the scale of Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) technology), designers often employ computer aided techniques. Standard languages such as Hardware Description Languages (HDLs) have been developed to describe digital circuits to aid in the design and simulation of complex digital circuits. Several hardware description languages, such as VHDL and Verilog, have evolved as industry standards. VHDL and Verilog are general purpose hardware description languages that allow definition of a hardware model at the gate level, the register transfer level (RTL) or the behavioral level using abstract data types. As device technology continues to advance, various product design tools have been developed to adapt HDLs for use with newer devices and design styles.
In designing an integrated circuit with an HDL code, the code is first written and then compiled by an HDL compiler. The HDL source code describes at some level the circuit elements, and the compiler produces an RTL netlist from this compilation. The RTL netlist is typically a technology independent netlist in that it is independent of the technology/architecture of a specific vendor's integrated circuit, such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The RTL netlist corresponds to a schematic representation of circuit elements (as opposed to a behavioral representation). A mapping operation is then performed to convert from the technology independent RTL netlist to a technology specific netlist which can be used to create circuits in the vendor's technology/architecture. It is well known that FPGA vendors utilize different technology/architecture to implement logic circuits within their integrated circuits. Thus, the technology independent RTL netlist is mapped to create a netlist which is specific to a particular vendor's technology/architecture.
One operation, which is often desirable in this process, is to plan the layout of a particular integrated circuit and to control timing problems and to manage interconnections between regions of an integrated circuit. This is sometimes referred to as "floor planning." A typical floor planning operation divides the circuit area of an integrated circuit into regions, sometimes called "blocks," and then assigns logic to reside in a block. These regions may be rectangular or non-rectangular. This operation has two effects: the estimation error for the location of the logic is reduced from the size of the integrated circuit to the size of the block (which tends to reduce errors in timing estimates), and the placement and the routing typically runs faster because as it has been reduced from one very large problem into a series of simpler problems.
Typically, a synthesis software program is used to map a RTL design into a technology specific gate level design. During the logic synthesis, the logic circuit design is heavily transformed (e.g., through operations such as logic transformation, register replication, finite state machine implementation, pushing a register through a logic element, retiming). The resulting gate level design typically has much more elements than the original RTL design has; and, the gate level design typically includes types of elements that are different from those in the original RTL design.
A number of methods have been used to obtain statistical data about circuit activity for a given circuit design. For example, when a set of test vectors is applied to a circuit design, a simulation software program can be used to exercise the circuit to obtain statistical data, such as the probability of signal switching at a point in the circuit, which can be used in the estimation of the power consumption of the circuit. The input for the circuit may also be generated randomly (e.g., using a Monte Carlo method) to exercise the circuit. Alternatively, when statistical input data for the circuit is available, formal Boolean analysis based methods can be used to determine the corresponding statistical data about the circuit activities in the circuit.
The traditional statistical analysis to obtain the circuit activity data in the circuit is a time consuming operation. It is especially time consuming for a circuit design that involves a large number of elements (e.g., the gate level design of a digital circuit).

Method and apparatus for circuit design and synthesis


Apparatus and method are provided for obtaining a measure of blood flow, and more specifically cardiac output, by analyzing blood temperature variations in the arterial tract. In a first embodiment, a lead carrying two closely spaced temperature sensors is positioned so that the sensors are in the atrial tract and produce temperature signals representative of small cyclical temperature variations of the blood outputted from the heart. The two signals have substantially similar patterns for each cardiac cycle, but the signals are separated by a short time (.increment.T) representative of the distance between the two sensors. The patterns are correlated to find .increment.T, from which cardiac output is calculated. In an alternate embodiment, a single blood temperature sensor is employed along with a sensor for determining cardiac contractions, and a measure of cardiac output is obtained by comparing the time difference between a feature of the blood temperature signal with the time of cardiac contraction.

The ability to measure cardiac output, or blood flow, has long been recognized as being of substantial use. Blood flow is defined as the volume of blood flow over a unit of time, and if measured at the output of the heart, is a measure of cardiac output. Measurement of blood flow is useful in conjunction with cardiac pacemakers, as well as cardiac defibrillators and other cardioverters, and cardiac diagnostic instruments.
A primary prior art method of determining blood flow is that of thermodilution, where a bolus of blood at an elevated temperature is generated, such as by heating the blood with an electrical current between a pair of electrodes. A temperature sensor located in the blood stream downstream from electrodes produces an output in accordance with a known thermodilution curve, providing means for measuring the rate of blood flow between the heating the blood and the measurement point. From this, flow, or cardiac output, can be determined.
More recently, other techniques for determining blood flow by thermal sensing have been disclosed. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,299, the disclosed technique is that of heating the flowing blood, and measuring the temperature of the blood at two points. Assuming that the flow is inversely proportional to the temperature difference between the two points, the temperature difference can be correlated into blood flow. See also, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,493,100, representative of heating blood by coupling a drive signal to a thermistor placed in the blood stream, and then sensing subsequent time variations. However, these techniques require the complexity of generating heat within the blood stream in order to establish the measurement conditions.
It is known that the temperature of the blood in the heart varies cyclically, i.e., with systole and diastole. Blood that has passed through the lungs is relatively cooled due to exchange with the air, and then when it comes back into the heart it is heated by the cardiac muscle. After ejection of the blood, the heart is again filled with relatively new cool blood, which then warms until the next heart contraction, producing cyclical variations. Such temperature variations are rather small, in the order of less than 1.degree. C., but can be detected by a fast time response sensor. These observations are the basis of U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,244, which discloses a pacemaker system having a fast response temperature sensor located in the heart for generating cycle-by-cycle variation of temperature indicative of heart contractions, enabling capture detection.


A mobile terminal and sound pressure control method using sound saturation sensing are disclosed. The mobile terminal has a target digital value of an adequate output sound pressure level at a maximum volume level. The sound pressure control method includes: determining a digital value corresponding to a maximum output sound pressure level of an externally sourced audio material, wherein the externally sourced audio material is being replayed for the first time at a preset gain at the maximum volume level; comparing the determined digital value with the target digital value; adjusting, if the determined digital value is not equal to the target digital value, the gain so that a digital value corresponding to the adjusted gain is equal to the target digital value; and storing the adjusted gain as a gain value associated with the maximum volume level for the externally sourced audio material.

1 . Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a mobile terminal and, in particular, to a mobile terminal and a sound pressure control method for the same wherein sound pressure levels of an audio material are adjusted using sound saturation sensing according to characteristics of the mobile terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Given the advances in communication technologies, a user in motion can readily carry a mobile terminal and transmit as well as receive phone calls at most times and places. In addition to conventional phone call processing, advanced mobile terminals, including mobile communication terminals, notebooks, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and portable multimedia players, support various functions such as text message and image transmission, Motion Pictures Experts Group-1 (MPEG-1) audio layer 3 (MP3) file playing, ring tone and ring back tone personalization, and gaming.
A mobile terminal includes regular audio materials such as ring tones and melodies, which are suitably customized to factors such as resonance properties of the mobile terminal, the maximum output sound pressure level or stress producible by an embedded speaker. However, externally sourced audio materials such as MP3 files, ring tones and ring back tones that are downloaded from external providers may be not optimized for the mobile terminal, and are reproduced at a preset gain.
When the maximum sound pressure level of an externally sourced audio material to be replayed is lower than that of the mobile terminal, sound pressure levels of the speaker are low even at the maximum volume level. When the maximum sound pressure level of an externally sourced audio material is higher than that of the mobile terminal, raising volume levels may cause sound distortion due to sound saturation. An extended period of reproduction at a volume level exceeding the maximum volume level overloads the speaker, and may cause permanent damage to the speaker.
Further, uniform reproduction of externally sourced audio materials at a preset gain may limit enhancement of signal-to-noise characteristics of the individual externally sourced audio materials.

Mobile terminal and a sound pressure control method


Techniques are provided for data definition language (DDL) expression annotation. DDL expression text is captured. The DDL expression text corresponds to a DDL change in a source database. A component set is determined. The component set includes at least one component in the DDL expression text. An annotation set is generated. The annotation set includes at least one annotation for at least one component of the component set. Each annotation includes hierarchical data describing at least one hierarchical relationship in the component set. For example, an annotation may include a component ID, a component position, a component length, a component type, and a parent component ID. The annotation set and a change record comprising the DDL expression text are transmitted to a replication client.

The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Computers systems may be configured to store and retrieve large amounts of data. Typically, computer systems rely on database systems to perform this function. Data may be shared across multiple databases. Replication is the process of replicating data from a source database onto another database system, herein referred to as a target database. One approach to replication is the physical replication approach. Under the physical replication approach, the changes made to data blocks on the source database are made to replicas of those data blocks on a target database. Because the source database is replicated at the lowest atomic level of storage space on the target database, the target database is a physical replica of the source database. Another approach to replicating data is the logical replication approach. Under the logical replication approach, database commands that modify data on the source database are re-executed on the target database. While executing the same database commands guarantees that changes are replicated at the record level, the changes are not replicated at the data block level.
Under the logical replication approach, the target database does not need to have the same underlying database structure as the source database. For example, the target database may define different database structures than the source database, such as tables, views, and/or complex data types. Furthermore, not all changes made on the source database need to be made on the target database. For example, replication may be carried out for a subset of changes made on a source database.
To access or modify data stored in a database, applications interact with a database server by submitting database commands that cause the database server to perform operations on data stored in a database. A database command may conform to a syntax of a database language. One language for expressing database commands is Structured Query Language ("SQL"). SQL includes data manipulation language ("DML") instructions and data definition language ("DDL") instructions. DML instructions are used to manage data stored in database structures, such as tables, views, or complex data types, and other database objects. DDL instructions are used to define and modify database structures.
Mapping and filtering of database commands is useful when data is logically shared between databases that do not share the same underlying database structure and/or when only a subset of changes are to be replicated between a source database and a target database. The mapping and filtering of DML instructions is straightforward because DML instructions only act on one database object, such as a database table. However, this is not true for the mapping and filtering of DDL instructions. Complexities arise with mapping and/or filtering DDL instructions because of multiple reasons. For example, DDL instructions may involve multiple database objects, may affect multiple system tables, and may be dependent on the executing environment.
When processing replication data for DDL from a source database system, target database systems may attempt to compensate for these complexities by parsing the DDL text. For example, rudimentary mapping may be performed by replacing schema and object names present in the DDL text based on a text search and replace, but errors may arise when the same object or schema name is used for different database objects also present in the same DDL text. However, such parsing methods are error-prone because the target system may not know the exact grammar of the DDL being parsed and hence cannot be used for fine-grained mapping or filtering.
Based on the foregoing, it is desirable to develop an approach for data definition language ("DDL") expression annotation.

Data definition language (DDL) expression annotation


Systems and method of forming a structure from a trailer body are disclosed herein. An example structure can be formed from a portion/section of a trailer, such as a semi-truck, or dry-van, trailer. The trailer has a unibody construction allowing the section(s) cut/formed therefrom to be self-supporting. The self-supporting sections can be enclosed on one or more open ends, i.e. the ends formed by cutting or sectioning the trailer, to enclose the section. The enclosed section can then be outfitted/equipped, as needed, to form the complete structure.

Food carts are quickly becoming a common sight in many cities and provide an economical means of entering the food service industry. Rather than opening a physical location, which can be prohibitively expensive, many restauranteurs can start with a food cart having a much lower entry price. Typically, food carts are towable structures, which allows the food cart to be moved as needed, unlike food trucks, which are motorized and self-driving. Food carts are a popular option over food trucks as they do not include the added expense of a powertrain and engine. Typically, these food carts are constructed from new trailers, such as towable storage trailers, or from new box-van bodies that are mounted to a frame and wheels. While the price of a food cart is low compared to a physical location, food carts are still expensive since the trailer or body must first be purchased and then outfitted/equipped, which can be a considerable expense. There exists a need for food carts constructed in a more cost-effective manner, efficient manner, or both.

Systems and methods for forming a structure from a trailer body


A trailer hitch (10) including a pair of clamping jaws (12) and a retractable jaw locking member in the form of a wedge block (84) that is spring biased to move between the jaws (12) in order to lock the jaws in a closed position about a hitch ball. A latch mechanism (94) secures the wedge block (84) in its retracted position away from the jaws (12). A plunger dog (46) is pivoted by a handle mechanism (28) to reposition wedge block (84) and a safety pin mechanism (64) is provided to secure the plunger dog (46) in position and thereby secure wedge block (84) in position.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,666 of Hollis discloses a trailer hitch of the ball and socket type wherein the socket is formed by a pair of opposed concave socket jaws that pivot between open and closed positions. In their closed position, the jaws align within the outer dimensions of a jaw locking bail, which pivots from an elevated retracted position to a forward, horizontal jaw-locking position. In its forward, locked position, the side walls of the bail completely enclose and engage the forward concave ends of the jaws, preventing the jaws from pivoting outwardly to their open, unlocked position. A drawback of the trailer hitch of Hollis is that it requires the jaw locking bail to be manually pivoted in order to lock the jaws in their closed position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,042,256 of Lepp discloses a similar ball and socket type trailer hitch utilizing a pair of concave locking jaws and a closure lever that pivots over the locking jaws in their closed position and prevents them from pivoting outwardly to their open position. U.S. Pat. No. 3,046,038 of Hollis employs a similar concept.
The '266 patent, '256 patent, and '038 patent all have the common feature of an outer locking mechanism that secures the jaws in their closed position by enclosing the jaws from the outer sides of the jaws. There is a disadvantage in this approach in that it utilizes a "manually" operated locking mechanism, which can require more than one person to secure the trailer hitch to a towing vehicle.


Provided is an operation microscope where manipulations to be performed in response to switching between methods for observing an eye to be operated are performed in an interlocked manner, thereby improving manipulability. When recognizing that a change-over switch is switched to its upper position, a control circuit controls a drive apparatus so that an operator microscope is raised, controls a drive mechanism so that an optical unit is moved to an inverter-on position, changes the turned-on position of a light source so that an illumination light flux forms a small angle with respect to an observation optical axis, and controls a solenoid so that a stereo variator is moved to be arranged on an optical path of an observation light flux.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an operation microscope, and in particular to an operation microscope that is applicable to an ophthalmologic operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the recent advancement of the aging society and the like, there has been a growing demand for ophthalmologic operations than before. An eye (eye to be operated) of a patient that is the subject of an ophthalmologic operation has an extremely minute and delicate structure, so that it is common practice to conduct the operation while observing the eye to be operated using a microscope.
As an example of such an operation microscope, there is known a microscope disclosed in JP 2002-350735 A (hereinafter referred to as the "known document 1"), for instance. This operation microscope has a construction where a front lens for illuminating an eye to be operated is provided between an optical system including an objective lens and the eye to be operated, a lens unit for converting an inverted image of the eye to be operated obtained through the front lens into an erected image is provided so as to be insertable and removable from an optical path of the optical system, the moving direction of the front lens and the optical system by a moving apparatus is switched based on whether the lens unit is inserted onto the optical path. With this operation microscope, there is eliminated the necessity to hold a light guide in one hand unlike in the case of a conventional ophthalmologic operation, so that it becomes possible for an operator to freely use his/her both hands and to appropriately move the front lens and the optical system while observing the eye to be operated. Consequently, the accuracy and swiftness of an operation are improved.
Also, JP 2001-275978 A (hereinafter referred to as the "known document 2") discloses an ophthalmologic apparatus provided with a binocular stereomicroscope. This ophthalmologic apparatus has a construction allowing control so that depending on whether the anterior portion of an eye to be examined is to be observed or the retina or the vitreous body thereof is to be observed, a stereo angle conversion portion and a color temperature conversion element are inserted/removed onto/from right and left optical axes by changing the position of a frame. In more detail, when the frame is set closer to the eye to be examined in order to observe the anterior portion, a position detection switch detects this situation and a control processing unit inserts the stereo angle conversion portion and the color temperature conversion element onto the right and left optical axes based on the detected result. On the other hand, when the frame is set away from the eye to be examined in order to observe the retina or the vitreous body, the position detection switch detects this situation and the control processing unit retracts the stereo angle conversion portion and the color temperature conversion element from the right and left optical axes based on the detected result.
Further, the ophthalmologic apparatus provided with the stereomicroscope described in the known document 2 is constructed so that whether an auxiliary lens (contact lens) for observing the eyefundus of the eye to be examined is inserted into the space between the eye to be examined and the objective lens is detected, and the insertion/removal of the stereo angle conversion portion and/or the color temperature conversion element onto/from the right and left optical axes is controlled based on the detected result.
In some cases, during an ophthalmologic operation, a microscope is used while performing switching between various observation modes. Therefore, the conventional operation microscope described above is constructed so that it is possible to insert/remove the front lens onto/from the optical path by swinging a holding arm depending on the purpose of usage. When it is desired to observe the retina or the vitreous body of the eye to be operated, for instance, the front lens is arranged between the objective lens and the eye to be operated and is used. On the other hand, at the time of observation of the anterior portion of the eye to be operated or at the time of use of the contact lens, for instance, it is required to swing and retract the front lens.
Also, at the time when the use/retraction of the front lens is switched, it is required to change the irradiation angle of an illumination light flux, to adjust the position of the objective lens with respect to the eye to be operated, and to switch the arrangement of the lens unit. Consequently, the operator is required to perform manipulations such as the changing of the irradiation angle of the illumination light flux, the insertion/removal of the lens unit onto/from the optical path, the adjustment of the position of the objective lens, and the like in accordance with the use/retraction of the front lens. Accordingly, it cannot be necessarily said that manipulability during an operation is favorable, and this becomes one factor that hinders the smooth conduct of the operation.
Further, with the conventional operation microscope described in the known document 1, the front lens can be inserted into the space between the eye to be operated and the objective lens under a state where the objective lens is positioned close to the eye to be operated. Also, the objective lens and the front lens can be set closer to the eye to be operated under a state where the front lens is inserted. Consequently, there is a danger that the front lens may hit the eye to be operated.
On the other hand, with the ophthalmologic apparatus provided with the stereomicroscope described in the known document 2, the control of the insertion/removal of the optical elements is performed only based on the detected result of the position of the frame or the position of the auxiliary lens and the optical elements, whose insertion/removal is controlled, are limited to the stereo angle conversion portion and the color temperature conversion element. Consequently, it is difficult to apply this technique to an operation microscope.
It is conceived that this is due to the following reason. The movement of the frame in the case of the ophthalmologic apparatus corresponds to the upward/downward movement of an optical system with respect to an eye to be operated in the case of an operation microscope, and this upward/downward movement of the optical system is performed in accordance with the presence or absence of a front lens (in response to switching between observation methods), whereby it is difficult to sufficiently enhance manipulability only through the control of the insertion/removal of the stereo angle conversion portion (stereo variator) and the color temperature conversion element. That is, in the case of the operation microscope, the upward/downward movement of the optical system is performed in accordance with the manual insertion/removal of the front lens in many cases and, in such cases, it is required to separately perform manipulation for upwardly/downwardly moving the optical system in addition to the insertion/removal of the front lens. Consequently, it is hard to say that excellent manipulability is attained.


The claimed invention provides an ultrasonic welding method, whereupon joint portions in which a copper foil portion and a twisted-wire electric cable are placed one upon the other in each groove of a resin casing, the grooves having a through-hole portion. In the through-hole portion, the copper foil portion and the twisted-wire electric cable are placed one upon the other. Welding is performed in a state in which the piled-up portion is sandwiched between a welding tip formed at an end of a welding head and an anvil. Thus, the joint portion between the copper foil portion and the twisted-wire electric cable invade and are invaded by a portion of the resin casing softened by welding heat. The joint portion is fastened not only by welding, but also by the solidified resin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic welding method for joining electric connection portions of single-core electric cables, twisted-wire electric cables, copper foils, etc.
2. Description of Related Art
Heretofore, the methods for joining electric connection portions of single-core electric cables, twisted-wire electric cables, copper foils, etc., included not only resistance welding but also ultrasonic welding. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, in a general ultrasonic welding apparatus, a welding head 12 is disposed at a forward end of a horn 1 projecting forward from an exciter unit U and downward from the horn 1, so that a top end of the welding head 12 serves as a welding tip (sonic pole) 11. An anvil 2 is provided so as to be opposite to the welding tip 11. In a situation where the subjects 13 are held between the welding tip 11 and the anvil 2, pressure is applied to the held portion and, at the same time, vibrational energy from an ultrasonic wave is applied to the welding tip 11 to make the welding tip 11 vibrate, thereby welding by vibrational heat (frictional heat) generated between the welding tip 11 and the subjects 13.
The ultrasonic welding has the advantage that no fragile product is generated in the joint portion between different kinds of metals. Consequently, a mother material is hardly damaged because the joining temperature is low compared with the resistance welding temperature. Thus, cost of welding is reduced.
The, ultrasonic welding, however, has a disadvantage that the adhesive strength, in particular the peel strength, is small compared with the resistance welding strength. This is because, in the case of the aforementioned ultrasonic welding apparatus 10, vibrational heat generated by the vibration of the welding tip 11 is local and low in energy so that the amount of heat is insufficient.
Having such an advantage as mentioned above, the ultrasonic welding method has been widely used for assembling various electronic parts. In recent years, however, with the increase in density of electronic parts used in a car, or the like, electric connection portions with higher reliability have been required. In particular, joined portions between terminals and electric wires, or the like, have been required to be fastened more securely.

Harness System Technologies Research, Ltd.


Methods for probing multiple targets in a biological sample are provided. The methods include the steps of providing a biological sample containing multiple targets adhered to a solid support, binding at least one fluorescent probe to one or more target present in the sample, and observing a signal from the fluorescent probe. The method further includes the steps of oxidizing the bound fluorescent probe with a solution containing an oxidizing agent that substantially inactivates the fluorescent probe, binding at least one fluorescent probe to one or more target present in the sample, and observing a signal from the fluorescent probe. The methods disclosed herein also provide for multiple iterations of binding, observing, and oxidizing for deriving information about multiple targets in a single sample. An associated kit is also provided.

Disclosed herein are methods for sequentially analyzing a biological sample to discern inter alia the presence, absence, concentration, and/or spatial distribution of multiple biological targets in a biological sample.
Various methods may be used in biology and in medicine to observe different targets in a biological sample. For example, analysis of proteins in histological sections and other cytological preparations may be performed using the techniques of histochemistry, immunohistochemistry (IHC), or immunofluorescence. Analysis of proteins in biological samples may also be performed using solid-state immunoassays, for example, using the techniques of western blots.
Many of the current techniques may detect only a few targets at one time (such as, IHC or fluorescence-based western blots where number of targets detectable is limited by the fluorescence-based detection system) in a single sample. Further analysis of targets may require use of additional biological samples from the source limiting the ability to determine relative characteristics of the targets such as the presence, absence, concentration, and/or the spatial distribution of multiple biological targets in the biological sample. Moreover, in certain instances, a limited amount of sample may be available for analysis or the individual sample may require further analysis. Thus, methods, agents, and devices capable of iteratively analyzing an individual sample are needed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Sequential analysis of biological samples


A process is set forth for the cryogenic distillation of an air feed to produce at least two oxygen-rich gaseous streams having different oxygen purities. The process uses a mixing column system in addition to a distillation column system. A key to the process is that at least two oxygen-rich liquid streams having different oxygen purities are transferred from the distillation column system to the mixing column system in order to produce the oxygen-rich gaseous streams.

The present invention relates to a process for the cryogenic distillation of an air feed. As used herein, the term "air feed" generally means atmospheric air but also includes any gas mixture containing at least nitrogen and oxygen.
There is a need in the chemicals industry for oxygen-rich gas at elevated pressure and at varying purity, ranging from moderate purity gas comprised of 97 mole % or less of oxygen to high purity gas comprised of 97 mole % or greater of oxygen, preferably 99 mole % or greater of oxygen. Some applications may also require oxygen at two different purities and at elevated pressure.
The objective of the present invention is a cryogenic process that produces at least two different oxygen-rich gaseous products at differing purities and that produces at least two of these oxygen-rich gaseous products from a mixing column system, optionally at elevated pressure if desired.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,315,833 and 5,396,773 assigned to Liquid Air Engineering Corp. describe a double column air separation process in which two oxygen-rich products of differing purities are produced from a double column assembly. Multiple reboilers are included in the lower pressure column of the assembly to permit more efficient production of two products. This process does not use a mixing column to produce elevated pressure products and so requires feed air to the process to be compressed to a high pressure (the pumped liquid oxygen arrangement). This negatively impacts the energy consumption of the process.
European Patent Application Number 96301423.8 assigned to Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. describes a triple column process in which a double column apparatus is supplemented with a third column to permit the production of a second oxygen-rich product of high purity. This process does not employ a mixing column and so requires feed air to be compressed to a high pressure (the pumped liquid oxygen arrangement), negatively impacting the energy consumption of the process.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,022,030 and 5,291,737 assigned to L'Air Liquide and European Patent Application Number 94302954.6 assigned to The BOC Group plc describe processes in which a mixing column is used to produce a single oxygen-rich gaseous product. Although these L'Air Liquide patents describe a process by which multiple purity oxygen-rich products could be produced, only one of the products is produced directly from a mixing column. Likewise, the BOC patent application teaches a mixing column process for the production of a single oxygen-rich gaseous product only. These processes all teach that liquid oxygen be supplied to the mixing column as a single purity stream.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,227, assigned to The BOC Group, describes a process in which a single oxygen-rich gaseous product is produced from a mixing column. This process uses a turboexpanded air stream to supply vapor to the bottom of the mixing column, and would typically be more suitable for production of lower pressure oxygen-rich products than the processes of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,022,030 and 5,291,737. U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,227 also teaches the production of a single oxygen-rich gaseous product through the use of a mixing column that is supplied with a single purity stream of liquid oxygen.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,228 assigned to L'Air Liquide teaches the use of a mixing column having a reboiler in its sump but does not teach the production of dual purity oxygen-rich products, nor does it teach the withdrawal of dual purity oxygen-rich liquid streams from the distillation column system.

Distillation process using a mixing column to produce at least two oxygen-rich gaseous streams having different oxygen purities


A pivoting tray with a pivot shaft bearing for corner cabinets. The tray has a bottom in the shape of a full or partial arc of a circle, made in one piece of plastic and having a support plate reinforced on the underside by radially extending ribs and a central pivot bearing as well as a laterally circumferentially extending pulled up edge. The ribs are connected to the underside (1a) of the support plate (1) and have been widened over a portion of their height into hollow sections.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a pivoting tray with a pivot shaft bearing for corner cabinets with a bottom in the shape of a full or partial arc of a circle, made in one piece of plastic and having a support plate, reinforced on the underside by radially extending ribs, and a central pivot bearing as well as a laterally circumferentially extending pulled up edge.
2. Summary of the Invention
The reinforcing ribs on the underside of such plastic pivoting trays, which are known in various embodiments, are designed with comparatively large and high cross sections for reason of stability, which on the one hand results in a larger plastic material requirement and gives the pivoting tray an undesirable great weight, for which reason the shaft bearing must be reinforced and pivoting movement is made more difficult. Furthermore, the height of the edge defining the receptacle and storage space on the support plate is lost because of the comparatively reinforcing ribs, so that the edge often has too low a securing height.
On the top of the support plate, the known pivoting trays are furthermore provided with ribs extending annularly around the shaft bearing to prevent sliding of the objects placed thereon which, however, do not provide the desired effect for securing the position of the objects during the pivoting movement.
It is therefore the object of the invention to equip a plastic pivoting tray constructed in accordance with the previously mentioned type with a special embodiment of its reinforcement ribs, by means of which it is intended to achieve, along with increased stability, a decreased requirement of material for producing the pivoting tray, to reduce the weight of the pivoting tray and to embody its edge higher for improved security while keeping the total height the same.
Based on the design in accordance with the invention, the following are the advantages of the pivoting tray:
1. Increased stiffness along with a comparatively low rib height has been achieved by means of expanding the fin-shaped ribs on the underside into hollow sections, because of which it is possible to pull up the edge further, so that with the same height of the entire tray (as before) the receptacle space has greater depth and in this way the objects to be stored there are better secured;
2. Less plastic is required because of the shape of the ribs, and the pivoting tray has less weight;
3. The hollow ribs can be easily formed during the injection molding process by means of additional interior gas pressure;
4. Depressed spots in the course of shaping the pivoting tray are prevented by the hollow ribs;
5. The tray can be extruded in faster cycles and taken from the mold at higher temperatures;
6. The radially extending flat ribs on the top provide better protection against slipping for the stored objects when the tray is turned than the customary annularly extending ribs, which provides for the attainment of a further object of improved security against slipping.
The invention furthermore relates to a pivot shaft bearing for the pivoting tray having a support pipe fixed in the corner cabinet, around which the pivoting tray is pivotably secured by means of a basket bearing and is pivotably seated by means of this basket bearing on a basket support, secured against rotation on the support pipe, where the basket bearing and the basket support have slide flanges which are seated on each other.
Such a pivot shaft bearing is known from German Utility Model DE-GM 87 15 548 which, however, is designed for pivoting baskets made of wire.
It is the object of the invention to further develop the known pivot shaft bearing and to provide it with a specially designed pivot basket seal for the pivot bearing of plastic pivot baskets which can be inserted into the pivot shaft bearing in accordance with DE-GM 87 15 548, while keeping the support column and the basket support.
A specially designed pivot basket bearing has been provided by means of the characteristics, which results in a one-piece adapter of plastic which is provided for the pivot bearing of plastic pivoting trays.
This pivot basket bearing is embodied as a flanged bearing and engages grooves in the bearing bushing of the pivot basket with a least one, preferably a plurality of engaging bars formed on it.
The bearing bushing of the pivoting tray is provided with a greater number of grooves than the pivot basket has engaging bars, so that the pivoting tray can be fixed on the pivot basket bearing in variously turned positions. The grooves of the pivoting tray are simply pushed on the engaging bars and it is then supported on the slide flange of the pivot basket bearing.
The further object of a variable pivoting tray device and limiting the end position of the pivoting tray in the corner cabinet is attained by means of this selectively turned operational position of the pivoting tray.
A further great advantage is that this pivot basket bearing represents a further embodiment of the pivot shaft bearing in accordance with DE-GM 87 15 548 and that it can be attached to this pivot shaft bearing while using the already present support column and the basket support.
In this way it is possible to employ selectively both the known pivot shaft bearing for the pivot wire basket and the novel pivot shaft bearing for the plastic pivoting tray with the support column and the basket support; this can be done simply and easily by the user in accordance with his needs by the employment of one or the other pivot basket bearing,
The pivot basket bearing is simply and cost-effectively constructed and is easy to install.

Pivoting tray with pivot bearing for corner cupboards


A class of pyrazolyl benzenesulfonamide compounds is described for use in treating inflammation and inflammation-related disorders. Compounds of particular interest are defined by Formula II:

This invention is in the field of anti-inflammatory pharmaceutical agents and specifically relates to compounds, compositions and methods for treating inflammation and inflammation-associated disorders, such as arthritis.
Prostaglandins play a major role in the inflammation process and the inhibition of prostaglandin production, especially production of PGG2, PGH2 and PGE2, has been a common target of anti-inflammatory drug discovery. However, common non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that are active in reducing the prostaglandin-induced pain and swelling associated with the inflammation process are also active in affecting other prostaglandin-regulated processes not associated with the inflammation process. Thus, use of high doses of most common NSAIDs can produce severe side effects, including life threatening ulcers, that limit their therapeutic potential. An alternative to NSAIDs is the use of corticosteroids, which have even more drastic side effects, especially when long term therapy is involved.
Previous NSAIDs have been found to prevent the production of prostaglandins by inhibiting enzymes in the human arachidonic acid/prostaglandin pathway, including the enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX). The recent discovery of an inducible enzyme associated with inflammation (named xe2x80x9ccyclooxygenase II (COX II)xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cprostaglandin G/H synthase IIxe2x80x9d) provides a viable target of inhibition which more effectively reduces inflammation and produces fewer and less drastic side effects.
Pyrazoles have been described for use in the treatment of inflammation. U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,142 to Matsuo et al describes 1,5-diaryl pyrazoles, and specifically, 1-(4-fluorophenyl)-5-[4-(methylsulfonyl)phenyl]-3-trifluoromethyl pyrazole, as having anti-inflammatory activity.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,940,418 to R. Hamilton describes tricyclic.4,5-dihydrobenz[g]indazoles as antiinflammatory agents. In addition, R. Hamilton [J. Heterocyclic Chem., 13, 545 (1976)] describes tricyclic 4,5-dihydrobenz [g]indazoles as antiinflammatory agents. U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,155 describes fused tricyclic pyrazoles having a saturated ring bridging the pyrazole and a phenyl radical as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors. European publication EP 477,049, published Mar. 25, 1992, describes [4,5-dihydro-1-phenyl-1H-benz[g]indazol-3-yl]amides as having antipsychotic activity. European publication EP 347,773, published Dec. 27, 1989, describes [4,5-dihydro-1-phenyl-1H-benz[g]indazol-3-yl]propanamides as immunostimulants. M. Hashem et al [J. Med. Chem., 19, 229 (1976)] describes fused tricyclic pyrazoles, having a saturated ring bridging the pyrazole and a phenyl radical, as antibiotics.
Certain substituted pyrazolyl-benzenesulfonamides have been described in the literature as synthetic intermediates. Specifically, 4-[5-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl]benzenesulfonamide has been prepared from a pyrazoline compound as an intermediate for compounds having hypoglycemic activity [R. Soliman et al, J. Pharm. Sci., 76, 626 (1987)]. 4-[5-[2-(4-Bromophenyl)-2H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl]-3-methyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl]benzenesulfonamide has been prepared from a pyrazoline compound and described as potentially having hypoglycemic activity [H. Mokhtar, Pak. J. Sci. Inc. Res., 31, 762 (1988)]. Similarly, 4-[4-bromo-5-[2-(4-chlorophenyl)-2H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl]-3-methyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl]benzenesulfonamide has been prepared [H. Mokhtar et al, Pak. J. Sci. Ind. Res., 34, 9 (1991)].
The phytotoxicity of pyrazole derivatives is described [M. Cocco et al, Il. Farmaco-Ed. Sci., 40, 272 (1985)], specifically for 1-[4-(aminosulfonyl)phenyl]-5-phenyl-1H-pyrazole-3,4-dicarboxylic acid.
The use of styryl pyrazole esters for antidiabetes drugs is described [H. Mokhtar et al, Pharmazie, 33, 649-651 (1978)]. The use of styryl pyrazole carboxylic acids for antidiabetes drugs is described [R. Soliman et al, Pharmazie, 33, 184-5 (1978)]. The use of 4-[3,4,5-trisubstituted-pyrazol-1-yl]bezenesulfonamides as intermediates for sulfonylurea anti-diabetes agents is described, and specifically, 1-[4-(aminosulfonyl)phenyl]-3-methyl-5-phenyl-1H-pyrazole-4-carboxylic acid [R. Soliman et al, J. Pharm. Sci., 72, 1004 (1983)]. A series of 4-[3-substituted methyl-5-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl]benzenesulfonamides has been prepared as intermediates for anti-diabetes agents, and more specifically, 4-[3-methyl-5-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl]benzenesulfonamide [H. Feid-Allah, Pharmazie, 36, 754 (1981)]. In addition, 1-(4-[aminosulfonyl]phenyl)-5-phenylpyrazole-3-carboxylic acid has been prepared from the above described 4-[3-methyl-5-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl]benzenesulfonamide compound [R. Soliman et al, J. Pharm. Sci., 70, 602 (1981)].

Substituted pyrazolyl benzenesulfonamides for the treatment of inflammation

Abstract: wherein R2 is selected from hydrido, alkyl, haloalkyl, alkoxycarbonyl, cyano, cyanoalkyl, carboxyl, aminocarbonyl, alkylaminocarbonyl, cycloalkylaminocarbonyl, arylaminocarbonyl, carboxyalkylaminocarbonyl, carboxyalkyl, aralkoxycarbonylalkylaminocarbonyl, aminocarbonylalkyl, alkoxycarbonylcyanoalkenyl and hydroxyalkyl; wherein R3 is selected from hydrido, alkyl, cyano, hydroxyalkyl, cycloalkyl, alkylsulfonyl and halo; and wherein R4 is selected from aralkenyl, aryl, cycloalkyl, cycloalkenyl and heterocyclic; wherein R4 is optionally substituted at a substitutable position with one or more radicals selected from halo, alkylthio, alkylsulfonyl, cyano, nitro, haloalkyl, alkyl, hydroxyl, alkenyl, hydroxyalkyl, carboxyl, cycloalkyl, alkylamino, dialkylamino, alkoxycarbonyl, aminocarbonyl, alkoxy, haloalkoxy, sulfamyl, heterocyclic and amino; provided R2 and R3 are not both hydrido; further provided that R2 is not carboxyl or methyl when R3 is hydrido and when R4 is phenyl; further provided that R4 is not triazolyl when R2 is methyl; further provided that R4 is not aralkenyl when R2 is carboxyl, aminocarbonyl or ethoxycarbonyl; further provided that R4 is not phenyl when R2 is methyl and R3 is carboxyl; and further provided that R4 is not unsubstituted thienyl when R2 is trifluoromethyl; or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt thereof.


An insulation system for a tool includes a first element configured to electrically insulate an output unit of the tool from a detachably receivable tool element of the tool that is configured to process a workpiece. The insulation system further includes and a second element configured to electrically insulate the output unit toward the outside. A method includes mounting the insulation system on the tool.

The present disclosure relates to an insulation system for a tool, a tool, and a method for mounting the insulation system on the tool. The tool is in particular a screwdriving/drilling tool that is holdable in the hand of a user.
In the automobile industry, tools, for example screwdriving tools, are used in the mounting of batteries of electric vehicles. The batteries are generally storage batteries which consist of a plurality of elements which are intended to be screwed together. In this case, the screws are also intended to be screwed into live parts. In this case, the protection of an operator of the tool from electrical voltages, which are dangerous for the operator, should be ensured.
Currently, this is realized for example by the tool being wrapped with insulating tape. However, this is very laborious and susceptible to error. In addition, it is only possible to avoid contact with live parts as a result. However, it is not possible to prevent at least introduction of the electrical voltages from the workpiece to be processed into the tool.
Therefore, it is the object of the present disclosure to provide an insulation system for a tool, a tool, and a method for mounting an insulation system on a tool, with which the abovementioned problems can be solved. In particular, provision is intended to be made of an insulation system for a tool, a tool, and a method for mounting an insulation system on a tool, in which both the tool and the operator thereof are protected from electrical voltages which occur on a workpiece to be processed with the tool.

Insulation system for a tool, tool, and method for mounting the insulation system on the tool


An adaptor system includes a plastic syringe which is pre-filled with a liquid medicament, and a plastic flange adaptor which can be attached to the syringe. The medicament-prefilled syringe is provided with a cylindrical body having a small diameter cylindrical body to which a liquid medicament information label is adhered and a large diameter cylindrical body, and an end flange. The flange adaptor is provided with a cylindrical base portion having an insertion hole whose diameter is such that the inner wall of the insertion hole does not contact the small diameter cylindrical body of the syringe and is in contact with the large diameter cylindrical body when the flange adaptor is fitted to the syringe, and a large diameter flange portion which surrounds the end flange of the syringe. The invention is also directed to a medicament-prefilled plastic syringe itself.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plastic syringe which is provided at its rear end with a flange and which is pre-filled with a liquid medicament, and an adaptor system composed of such a medicament-prefilled syringe and a plastic flange adaptor which is attached to the flange of the plastic syringe.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a known medicament-prefilled syringe system, a syringe which has been filled with a liquid medicament is prepared and is adapted, upon dosage, to inject the liquid medicament contained in the syringe into a patient's body by moving the plunger of the syringe. In this medicament-prefilled syringe system, the syringe is provided, on the outer peripheral surface thereof, with a label which bears information including the name and/or ingredients of the liquid medicament contained in the syringe.
Upon injection of the liquid medicament from the syringe, in general, an operator moves the plunger using his or her thumb while holding the flange provided at the rear end of a cylinder of the syringe with the operator's index finger and middle finger. However, the flange at the rear end of the syringe is so small that it is difficult for the operator to carry out a smooth injection depending on the viscosity of the liquid medicament or the external force exerted on the plunger by the operator. To solve this problem, an additional flange adaptor whose diameter is larger than that of the rear flange of the syringe is attached to the flange at the rear end of the cylinder of the syringe according to need. To attach the flange adaptor, the syringe is inserted in the flange adaptor, with the end of the syringe that is located away from the flange being the leading end. When the larger flange adaptor is attached to the syringe, the flange adaptor abuts against the flange of the syringe, so that the diameter of the flange is substantially increased.
In order to give a secure feeling of the adapter being in place and a secure feeling thereof when in use, it is preferable that the flange adaptor be firmly fitted onto the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder of the syringe or be in close contact with the rear flange of the syringe. However, if the flange adaptor is firmly fitted onto the outer peripheral surface of the syringe body, the label provided on the outer peripheral surface of the syringe body can easily be rubbed by the flange adaptor upon attachment thereof, so that the label may possibly get separated or damaged. If separation or damage of the label occurs, there is a danger of the operator not being able to identify the liquid medicament contained in the syringe.

Adapter system for syringe pre-filled with liquid medicament and syringe pre-filled with liquid medicament


Provided is a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet having better transformer iron loss property than conventional grain-oriented electrical steel sheets. A grain-oriented electrical steel sheet comprises: a steel substrate; a forsterite film on a surface of the steel substrate; and a Cr-depleted layer at a boundary between the steel substrate and the forsterite film, the Cr-depleted layer having a Cr concentration that is 0.70 times to 0.90 times a Cr concentration of the steel substrate.

The iron loss (transformer iron loss) of a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet in a state of being assembled in a transformer is inevitably higher than the iron loss (product sheet iron loss) of the grain-oriented electrical steel sheet in a state of being a product sheet. The proportion of this iron loss increase is called a building factor. The iron loss increase is caused by processing strain introduced during transformer assembly, rotating magnetic flux which does not occur in evaluation of product sheet iron loss, and the like.
To remove processing strain, the manufacture of the wound core type transformer includes stress relief annealing. The annealing temperature in the stress relief annealing is preferably higher, for strain removal. The annealing atmosphere is preferably a Ar or H2 atmosphere that does not react with the steel sheet to form oxide, carbide, nitride, or the like. However, since the use of Ar or H2 is costly, N2 gas or DX gas containing CO or CO2 is used in many cases. In the case of using N2 gas or DX gas, if the annealing temperature is excessively high, nitriding, oxidizing, or carburizing occurs, which degrades magnetic property. The annealing temperature thus has a substantial upper limit. This makes the removal of processing strain insufficient and hinders maximum use of favorable properties of the product sheet in some cases.
A tension coating mainly composed of colloidal silica, phosphate, and chromic acid is typically formed on a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet, as described in JP S48-39338 A (PTL 1). Such a tension coating is highly protective against atmosphere gas and suppresses gas permeation as described in JP 2003-301271 A (PTL 2), and therefore contributes to prevention of nitriding/oxidizing/carburizing in stress relief annealing to some extent.

Grain-oriented electrical steel sheet and method for manufacturing same


A method and system that assesses video quality of transmitted video packet signals suffering from packet loss and delay. This packet loss and delay can create freeze events, which are observed as a jerkiness while viewing the video. The system and method compares the frames in a video transmission to determine freeze events; extracts a set of features from the locations of the freeze events and decoded video frames; and maps the set of features into a video quality score using a neural network. The video quality score provides an assessment of the effects of irregular frame freezes due to packet loss or delay on the quality of the video.

Typical video transmission systems generally include a video encoder, a transmission method (e.g. the Internet, LANs, and/or telephone lines), and a video decoder. Video transmission systems are generally used to transfer voice, video, and/or other data between remote parties. Video transmission may include live streaming, which allows remote parties to transmit and receive video transmission in real time, and video teleconferencing (also referred to as video conferencing), which allows two or more remote parties to participate in a discussion.
Data transmitted in a video transmission system may be formatted in data packets rather than bit streams for transmission over a network. Each packet may contain a frame of the video. When compressing the video data into frames, inter-frame or intra-frame compression can be used. Inter-frame compression means that each frame references surrounding frames in order to produce images in the proper order. Intra-frame compression creates frames that contain all information needed to produce an image temporally.
Due to packet loss or delay, the received video quality can suffer over fixed and/or mobile packet networks. This reduced video quality is exemplified by the artifact of frame freezing and the consequent temporal jerkiness observed by the receiving party. In applications with a low delay requirement, such as live streaming or video conferencing, any frame that is not completely received by its display deadline is considered lost and may require that the receiver choose an error concealment method to recover the frame. One error concealment method displays the previous frame that was correctly received in place of the lost frame. But in such cases, the subsequent frames to the lost frame, if predictively coded using the previous frame, will have a decoding error even if correctly received. In order to avoid this error propagation problem, all subsequent frames after a lost frame must also be replaced by the last correctly received frame until the next intra-frame is received. This artifact is referred to as "frame freeze due to packet loss." In applications allowing more elastic delay, such as streaming of pre-coded video, when a frame arrives past its display deadline, the receiver continuously displays the previous frame, until the actual new frame arrives. This artifact is referred to as "frame freeze due to packet delay." Both artifacts manifest as temporal jerkiness on the received video.
Video quality metrics may be used to evaluate the impact of frame freezing due to either packet loss or packet delay. There are several methods and systems for measuring the impact of frame freeze on the perceived quality of video. These methods and systems fall into two categories called reference video quality metrics and no-reference video quality metrics (NR metrics). Reference video quality metrics provide a quality assessment based on a comparison of the transmitted or degraded video with the original pristine reference video at the receiver. NR metrics evaluate the quality of the video based solely on the transmitted or degraded video only. NR metrics are important for quality assessment in real applications, as the pristine video is often not available at the receiving device.
Previous use of NR metrics has been based on the duration of each freeze event and the number of freeze events. However, these are not dependent on the video content and are undesirable since, for different video characteristics, the same freeze frame pattern could have different impacts on the quality.
Another version of this NR metric utilizes a more advanced version of frame detection that uses the squared value of the 1-step frame differences and adding an extra encoding pass for the received video. This version uses different thresholds according to frame types of neighboring frames after that additional encoding. By using a non-zero and dynamic threshold, the system becomes more robust because there are less false freeze frame positives. While providing more accurate frame freeze detection, this method is too complex for use in a real-time system. Finally, the NR metric standardized by ITU-T, which relies on packet header information, estimates the frame freezing quality degradation by calculating the ratio of the number of damaged video frames and the total number of video frames as well as the packet loss event frequency. This ITU-T metric also does not consider the video content characteristic nor does it differentiate between random individual frame drops and consecutive frame losses.
The present system and method utilizes a more robust method of extracting video features and mapping these features onto a pre-trained neural network in order to provide a video metric. The present system and method operates directly on the video content and explicitly considers the differences in the video content for more accurate video quality metrics. Further, it provides more consistent results than prior art by using a pre-trained neural network to provide the final video quality assessment. The present system and method provides a NR metric with low complexity that can be utilized with real time processing constraints.

System and method for estimating quality of video with frame freezing artifacts


A lighting assembly for a vehicle includes a polymeric layer and a first conductive layer coupled to the polymeric layer. A first metallic foil defined a plurality of first foil apertures. A semiconductor layer includes a plurality of perovskites. A second conductive layer is coupled to the semiconductor layer. A second metallic foil defines a plurality of second foil apertures. The lighting assembly includes transparent overmold, extending through the plurality of first foil apertures, the first and second conductive layers, the semiconductor layer, and the plurality of second foil apertures to contact the polymeric layer.

Conventional vehicle light sources may require more depth than is available on a vehicle or may not be manufactured in long strips. Perovskite based light sources may include conductors that may not withstand thermal cycling. Accordingly, new lighting designs, which utilize perovskite based semiconductor light sources that can withstand thermal cycling, may be advantageous.


A nonvolatile memory comprising at least one ferromagnetic region having permeability which changes from a first state to a second state of lower permeability upon heating; at least one laser operatively associated with the at least one ferromagnetic region which selectively provides heat to the ferromagnetic region to change its p permeability; and a plurality of connectors operatively connected to the at least one laser and adapted to be connected to a current source that provides a current which causes the laser to change the at least one ferromagnetic region from a first state to a second state. Optionally, the memory is arranged as an array of memory cells. Optionally, each cell has a magnetic field sensor operatively associated therewith. Optionally, the nonvolatile memory is radiation hard. Also, a method of recording data by heating at least one ferromagnetic region to change its permeability.

The present invention is directed systems, apparatus and methods for the storage of information.
Magnetic storage has a limited storage lifetime, bit density, and volatility. The magnetic medium used in traditional disk storage degrades within a decade. The information is stored in small magnetic bit regions through magnetizing each region in a particular direction. Over time, the magnetization of the bit regions is corrupted by external electromagnetic forces or through exposure to the Earth's magnetic field or by thermal upsets. Thermal upsets are statistical processes that occur when the magnetization of a bit is thermally activated to overcome the anisotropy barrier. Magnetic tape is used extensively for archiving, but the tape deteriorates over time. With magnetic tape, there is an additional cost associated with controlling the temperature and humidity in order to slow down the deterioration of the tape. Another disadvantage of magnetic tape is that the access time for getting information from a particular part of the tape is long.
As electronic recording evolves and more information is digitized, there exists not just a critical necessity for storage volume but also increased storage permanency. A need exists for high density, stable, non-volatile memory with a longer storage life and less potential to be corrupted by external influences.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a prior art reader and writer. Information may be erased by exposure to a magnetic field or radiation. Information density/lifetime is limited by the superparmagnetic limit. Storing information for seven years requires KuV/kBT>50 where Ku=crystalline anisotropy per unit volume, V=bit volume, kB=Boltzman constant, and T=absolute temperature. Notably, there is a trade-off between high density and retention time.

Read-write non-erasable memory with laser recording and method of recording

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


A power tool machine includes a base, a fence, a cutting arm, a motor, a saw blade and a holding apparatus. The base has an operating surface for supporting a workpiece. The fence mounted on the operating surface has a standing surface substantially perpendicular to the operating surface for abutted by a side of the workpiece. The cutting arm pivotally coupled to the base. The saw blade mounted to the cutting arm is rotatable by the motor. The holding apparatus includes a supporting device mounted on the base, a connecting device including a body connected to the supporting device, wherein a length direction of the connecting device is substantially perpendicular to a length direction of the supporting device, an adjustable device pivotally coupled to the connecting device, and a pressing device connected to the adjustable device for selectively pressing another side of the workpiece.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power tool machine. More particularly, the present invention relates to a power tool machine with a holding apparatus for securing a workpiece in position on the power tool machine.
2. Description of Related Art
With reference to FIG. 1, a power tool machine 100 such as a miter saw in accordance with prior art includes a base 110, a fence 120, a cutting arm 130, a motor 140, a saw blade 150, a holding apparatus 160 and a setscrew 1621. The base 110 provides an operating surface 111 on which the fence 120 is mounted. The fence 120 provides a standing surface 121 that is perpendicular to the operating surface 111. A workpiece put on the operating surface 111 can be abutted against the standing surface 121 for accurate and precise cuts.
The cutting arm 130 is pivotally mounted to the base 110 and holds the saw blade 150 and the motor 140. The saw blade 150 rotated by the motor 140 cuts the workpiece put on the base and abutted against the fence 120 when the cutting arm 130 is pivoted toward the base 110.
With further reference to FIG. 2, the holding apparatus 160 in accordance with the prior art is used to fix the workpiece in position for being cut. The holding apparatus 160 is generally mounted on the base 110 for pressing the workpiece and includes a post 161, a transverse arm 162, a threaded rod 163 and a pressing disk 164. The post 161 stands on the base 100 and provides a plane 1611 at its upper portion. The upper portion of the post 161 passes through the transverse arm 162. The setscrew 1621 is screwed into the transverse arm 162 to press the plane 1611 to make the transverse arm 162 fastened.
The threaded rod 163 is screwed through the transverse arm 162 and perpendicular to transverse arm 162. The pressing disk 164 is attached to the lowest end of the threaded rod 163 to press and hold the workpiece 170 in position by rotating the threaded rod 163. Therefore, the miter saw 100 can accurately cut the workpiece 170 with the aid of the holding apparatus 160.
However, since the threaded rod 163 is not adjustable to substantially perpendicular to the operating surface 111 of the base 110, the holding apparatus 160 can be only used to press the workpiece with a top side substantially perpendicular to the standing surface 121 of the fence 120. If the top side of the workpiece is tilting, the holding apparatus 160 will become useless.

Power tool machine with a holding apparatus


A portable folding shopping cart and utility carrier has a folding frame and a flexible basket and bottom shelf which can be folded to a compact size and shape for storage when not in us and can be readily unfolded for use. Wheels permit the cart to be easily transported. The basket and shelf are capable of carrying loads of about seventy-five pounds and fifty pounds, respectively.

In general, there are many types of shopping carts, utility carriers and the like in today's market. Some devices are used for carrying purchases, such as when shopping, some for transporting small items such as books and others are used for transporting clothing and the like from place to place.
Shopping carts are typically used, such as in supermarkets, to transport groceries or other objects around the store and to a vehicle for transport to a final destination. Conventionally, shoppers carry the articles from the vehicle to the residence however this requires a certain amount of strength and can be very time consuming and tiring, particularly if the distances are great or there are a number of articles to be transported.
Further, in the absence of a vehicle, carts may be used to transport articles from one location to another, such as purchases from a shopping trip to a residence, laundry to a laundromat and from one place to another within the home or office.
When the cart is not in use it must be stored, which can be problematic, particularly if space is limited. It is known to provide folding carts which can be collapsed when not in use for storage and which can be readily transported in their folded state, such as in a vehicle, for use wherever desired.
There is interest in a multi-purpose portable cart which could be quickly and easily deployed for use and folded for storage, would be relatively lightweight, large enough to carry a significant number of articles and would be sturdy enough to carry a significant amount of weight.


A holder for supporting insulation in a building has an elongated supporting section for the insulation to rest on. Two arms extend in parallel from the two ends of the supporting section, and each arm carries a U-shaped member which can be pushed onto a stud or beam by elastically spreading apart the legs of the U-shaped member. Each U-shaped member is provided with at least one hook-like portion which is elastically urged onto the respective stud or beam to anchor the holder thereto.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the insulation of structures.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Insulation installed underneath a roof is typically placed between two studs or beams. The insulation is prevented from falling by wire hangers which extend from one stud to the other and are anchored in the studs.
The ends of the hangers are pointed, and the hangers are anchored in the studs by hammering. This is time-consuming since the number of hangers is large.
It is an object of the invention to reduce the installation time for insulation.
The preceding object, as well as others which will become apparent as the description proceeds, are achieved by the invention.
One aspect of the invention resides in an article for holding insulation. The article comprises a holder having a first element for supporting insulation and a self-anchoring second element for anchoring the holder to a structure to be insulated.
The self-anchoring element of the holding article according to the invention permits the article to be anchored to a structure without hammering. This makes it possible to reduce the time for fixing insulation in place.
Another aspect of the invention resides in a structure having an interior and a plurality of structural components at least in part bounding the interior. The structure further has insulation adjacent to at least one of the structural components, and at least one holder for the insulation. The holder includes a first element which supports the insulation and a self-anchoring second element which anchors the holder to a selected structural component.
An additional aspect of the invention resides in an insulating method. The method comprises the steps of placing insulation adjacent to a structure, and confining the insulation between the structure and a holder. The confining step includes self-anchoring of the holder to the structure.
The method can further comprise the step of adjusting the length of the holder prior to the confining step. The confining step may involve gripping the structure with the holder.


A hairdressing apparatus includes a clamp having a pair of ribs which are pivotally connected at a lower end and adjustably releasably connected at an upper end, to grip hair therebetween. A comb portion includes a back with teeth projecting therefrom, and upper and lower legs projecting from the ends of the back parallel to the teeth. The projecting ends of the comb legs are releasably connected to the upper and lower ends of the clamp portion to secure the comb portion and clamp portion together. A method for styling hair utilizing the hairdressing apparatus includes the initial step of brushing the hair rearwardly to form a ponytail having long and short hair strands. The clamp portion of the hairdressing apparatus is then clamped on the ponytail at a location to grip both the long and short hair strands, and spaced away from the head. The end of the ponytail is then rolled towards the head, the roll being parallel to the clamp apparatus, until the clamp apparatus is wrapped into the roll. The comb portion of the hair styling apparatus is then inserted with the teeth located between the roll and the wearer's head, and the projecting legs are connected to the ends of the clamp portion to secure the clamp portion into the hair with the comb.

Various ornamental combs, barrettes and other devices have long been used to dress and style the hair. A comb is a well known apparatus having a plurality of generally parallel teeth which will direct the hair in a single direction when passed therethrough. The comb may also be utilized as a fastening device to hold the hair in a desired position, by inserting the teeth of the comb through the hair.
A barrette is typically utilized to clamp the hair into a confined position, and conventionally includes two opposed rib-like members hinged for movement therebetween. One or both of the ribs typically includes teeth to better retain the hair between the members. The two ribs are selectively connected together at the free ends, opposite the hinge, to fasten the hair into position.
Combs, barrettes and other hair dressing devices have been utilized with many hair styles throughout history. One particular type of hair style, commonly known as the "French roll", has remained popular for many years. However, this hair style has been limited to persons having hair of a single length. In addition, the style is typically time consuming to create, even for those persons having the appropriate single length hair.


Method for analyzing the beating of a derived human cardiomyocyte (CM) includes obtaining the derived human CM, capturing a sequence of images depicting the derived human CM over an analysis period, and determining at least one signal descriptive of the beating of the derived human CM during the analysis period on basis of the sequence of captured images. Apparatuses, and a computer program for analyzing the beating of a derived human CM are configured to obtain: the sequence of images depicting the derived human CM over an analysis period, information indicative of the region of the images depicting the derived human CM, information indicative of two or more sub-regions within the region, and determine two or more signals characterizing the displacement within the region of images depicting the derived human cardiomyocyte, each signal characterizing the extent of displacement within a respective sub-region of the region as a function of time.

Genetic disorders having cardiac effects are, typically, potentially lethal without proper therapy or medication, and therefore it is of essential importance to detect signs of such a disorder early on. Moreover, cardiac side effects are a one of the most common reason for withdrawal of a drug from the market, and therefore reliably capturing any potential cardiac side effects of a drug already during the development phase would be highly beneficial.
Cardiac safety analyses are typically carried out using animals as model organisms and/or ectopic expression of single ion channels in non-cardiac human cells. Human cardiomyocytes (CMs) have been very challenging to study, since primary CMs are hard to obtain as the myocardial biopsy is a high risk procedure and the CMs dedifferentiate fast and stop beating in cell culture conditions. Moreover, previously known techniques for measuring the functionality of the CMs are challenging and do not provide high or even medium throughput.
While cardiac effects can in principle be examined by analyzing the functionality of human CMs, known techniques for such analysis are typically time-consuming and also somewhat unreliable or even impractical to properly support diagnostic purposes, hence failing to provide an analysis of the functionality of CMs that would provide a satisfactory basis for wide-spread use for supporting diagnostic purposes. In this regard, e.g. "Brüggemann A., S. Stoelzle, M. George, J. C. Behrends, and N. Fertig, Microchip technology for automated and parallel patch-clamp recording, Small 2:840-846, 2006" discloses so-called patch clamp approach that may be used to analyze the functionality of a single CM. However this technique requires special, relatively expensive instrumentation, and laborious manual work requiring highly skilled personnel. For example "Braeken D., R. Huys, D. Jans, J. Loo, S. Severi, F. Vleugels, G. Borghs, G. Callewaert, and C. Bartic, Local electrical stimulation of single adherent cells using three-dimensional electrode arrays with small interelectrode distances. Conf. Proc. IEEE Eng, Med. Biol. Soc. 2756-2759, 2009" and "Pekkanen-Mattila M., E. Kerkelä, J. M. A. Tanskanen, M. Pietilä, M. Pelto-Huikko, J. Hyttinen, H. Skottman, R. Suuronen, and K. Aalto-Setälä, Substantial variation in the cardiac differentiation of human embryonic stem cell lines derived and propagated under the same conditions—a comparison of multiple cell lines, Ann. Med. 41:360-370, 2009" disclose a technique based on microelectrode arrays (MAE) that provide a platform for analyzing larger aggregates of CMs with less manual work than required in the patch clamp technique, but due to dimensions of the electrodes and distances between electrodes, they are not suited for studying a single CM. As further example of related art, "Novakova M., J. Bardonova, I. Provaznik, E. Taborska, H. Bochorakova, H. Paulova, and D. Horky, Effects of voltage sensitive dye di-4-ANEPPS on guinea pig and rabbit myocardium, Gen. Physiol, Biophys. 27:45-54, 2008" discloses a technique based on voltage sensitive dyes such as e.g. di-8-ANNEPS that provides a solution to analyze a single CM. However, this technique is based on fluorescence imaging and the dyes interact with some ion channels e.g. hERG, thus potentially altering the electrophysiological properties of the CMs.


An active implantable medical device of the defibrillator/cardiovertor type with advanced tachycardia discrimination in which the device monitors the atrial and ventricular activity, suspects and confirms the presence of tachycardia episodes in the monitored activity, and operates a classification algorithm to discriminate between ventricular tachycardias and supra-ventricular tachycardias according to predetermined criteria and a given adjustment of these criteria, and to authorize the releasing of a shock therapy defibrillation, and/or cardioversion and/or anti-tachycardia ventricular stimulation in the presence ventricular tachycardias and to inhibit delivery of a shock therapy in the presence of a supra-ventricular tachycardias, or instead to release an atrial therapy. The advanced discrimination modifies the classification operation by being able to add temporarily one or more criterion and/or to modify temporarily the adjustment of an existing (predetermined) criterion in case of a suspected atrial fibrillation. Added criterion include particularly a supplementary research criterion of short and/or long RR intervals, which are significantly distanced from a zone of RR interval stability, which significantly distanced zones are, for example, separated from the RR interval stability zone by a predetermined width interval, which width interval is identical on both sides of the RR interval stability zone.

These devices comprise a pulse generator that is able to supervise (monitor) the cardiac activity of a patient and to generate shock pulses of high energy, which are applied to the heart when the heart presents a ventricular arrhythmia that is susceptible to be treated by a shock therapy. The pulse generator also is typically able to generate a stimulation pulse for stimulating a heart beat in the absence of a spontaneous contraction in one or both of the atrium and the ventricle. When the shock pulse of high energy is between approximately 0.1 and 10 J, one designates this shock therapy by the name of "cardioversion", and the electrical shock is called a "cardioversion shock." When the energy is greater than approximately 10 J, one designates this shock therapy "defibrillation" and the electrical shock is called a "defibrillation shock".
The high energy shock is to be delivered when one detects a ventricular tachycardia (VT), but only when it concerns a real VT, and not a supra-ventricular tachycardia (SVT). Indeed, in the case of an SVT, the tachycardia is of atrial origin and the shock that would be delivered to the ventricle would be without effect because the defibrillation electrode, or if needed the stimulation electrode, are not placed in the region of the atrium.
A tachyarrhythmia (also called a tachycardia) corresponds to an abnormal rapid cardiac rhythm and covers ventricular fibrillation (VF), ventricular tachycardia (VT), sinus tachycardia (ST) and supra-ventricular tachycardia (SVT). The supra-ventricular tachycardia (SVT) includes atrial tachycardia, atrial flutter, and atrial fibrillation. The diagnosis of a tachycardia is operated, in a manner that is known (see particularly, for example, EP-A-0 626 182 in the name of ELA Medical and its corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,060, which is incorporated herein by reference), from criteria such as the ventricular frequency, the ventricular stability interval (RR interval), the analysis of the atrial-ventricular association, and the mode of starting of the tachycardia (that is, the presence of acceleration and the chamber of origin (ventricular or atrial)).
The diagnosis algorithm that provides for the detection of tachycardias and their classification (that is to say a discrimination between SVT and VT) is conceived in a manner to obtain a maximal sensitivity - to detect all ventricular tachycardias, thus avoiding the false negative diagnosis - while preserving the specificity of the discrimination - that is to say by accurately discriminating between SVT and VT, thus avoiding the false positive diagnosis. A false positive is an indication of a VT when it actually is an SVT. Further, this diagnosis algorithm allows to detect atrial fibrillations (AF), that is to say abnormally high frequencies of the atrial rhythm, and allows to distinguish an isolated AF (one that should not result in the delivery of a ventricular shock therapy) from a VT (one that should result in a rapid delivery of a ventricular shock therapy).
One observes, however, in some cases, a failure of the classification algorithm, particularly in the presence of an installed and conducted AF presenting regular RR intervals during a sufficiently long duration, which result in a false diagnosis of VT (i.e., a regular rhythm which is dissociated between the atria and ventricle). If one decreases the sensitivity of the classification algorithm to avoid such false diagnosis, one risks, on the one hand, to end the diagnosis algorithm without a detection of VT, and on the other hand, a lengthening of the analysis duration of the diagnosis algorithm.
The disadvantages are, in the first case, the risk of not detecting a real VT, and, in the second case, a lengthening of the period between the detection of the VT and the application of the appropriate shock therapy. The lengthening of the period is adverse to the well-being of the patient.

Method and apparatus for advanced tachyarrhythmia discrimination


A writing instrument comprising a smooth elongate case has a recessed switch for extending and retracting the tip of an ink cartridge. This allows the tip to be extended and retracted with one hand, while at the same time preventing the switch from being snagged by the contents or threads inside a pocket. A second embodiment provides two cartridges and a three-way switch, allowing one tip to be extended at one end of the instrument while the other end remains within the case. A third embodiment utilizes a single cartridge with two writing tips, one at either end.

The invention of the ballpoint pen in the 20th century made carrying pens much more convenient. The ball was typically installed on one end of an ink "cartridge" or "refill" which could be removed from the pen for replacement. The main benefits were ease of refill of ink, cleanliness (reduced opportunity for ink spillage) and preservation of the ink supply (lower volatility of ink and less exposure of the ink to air). Part of the reduction in potential for ink spillage is the use of a ball, instead of a nib relying on capillary action, to apply the ink. Advances in ink technology increased the viscosity and lowered the volatility of the ink while at the same time reducing the time it takes the ink to set on the paper.
While ballpoint ink leaks far less easily than fountain pen ink, a ballpoint cannot be carried in clothing or accessories without risk of ink stains unless the point is covered by a removable and replaceable cap or contained within the pen (retractable). In some retractables, extension of the cartridge is effected by pressing a button on the end of the pen opposite the ball, with retraction accomplished by the press of a side button or pocket clip on the pen, or by pressing the end button again (the so-called "knock" pen). Other ballpoints extend and retract the ball by a twist of the pen.
Of all of these, only the cap pen and the twist pen dependably prevent inadvertent leak release into clothing or accessories. Their drawback, however, is that only an exceptionally dexterous person can open the pen with one hand. The knock pen and other push-button designs can be operated with one hand, but have the serious drawback of being subject to accidental extension of the ball in a pocket or handbag. Hence, a new pen is needed that may be operated with one hand but is not subject to accidental opening.
Also needed in conjunction with these needs is for the pen to be short in length so that it loosely fits in a pocket or accessory so that it may be easily retrieved.