Method of setting up a color separation table for a specific print system, comprising finding first NP (Neugebauer Primary) area coverages of a specific print system that correspond to color values, adding second NP area coverages by converting halftone data from at least one pre-determined pair of halftone data and corresponding color value to NP area coverages, and generating a color separation table arranged as input for a halftone process that comprises color values linked to the corresponding first and second NP area coverages.

A color pipeline maps color input values to halftone data for printing. The color input values corresponds to an image or color. The color input values may include a colorimetric value in a color space, for example defined in CIE XYZ or CIE Lab, or a device dependent model such as RGB or CMYK. The color pipeline maps such color input values to halftone data, using color management, color separation, linearization and halftoning. The color pipeline includes a color separation table that specifies the ink vector data corresponding to the color input values. This ink vector data results in a halftone pattern as a result of the predetermined halftoning algorithm.
For setting up such pipeline, a number of halftone patterns is assigned to a number of colors that a certain print system can print, via said color separation, linearization and halftoning. This number of halftone patterns comprises a relatively small set of halftone patterns that is optimal for the specific print system. The assignment can be made on the basis of printed and measured halftone patterns. From the small number of halftone patterns a mapping for the full color gamut is generated.
While this mapping sometimes works well, in most cases non-optimal halftone patterns are assigned to the colors in the gamut. Moreover, for a specific pipeline, a specific mapping method is usually applied. It is however known that in many cases one process may be better suitable for one color range, while another process may be better suitable for another color range. Optimally, different halftoning algorithms are applied.
Sometimes better halftone patterns are known for a specific print system, while the installed system pipeline may not have them incorporated. Such better halftone patterns may be obtained systematically or even manually by trial and error. For example, such halftone patterns have shown to result in optimal ink usage for specific colors, or give better results for other print attributes such as smooth transitions between colors, low cost per copy, high color constancy, and low grain. The better result that is achieved by these optimized halftone patterns is not achieved by the print system having the non-adapted pipeline installed. The same accounts for available optimized ink combinations that achieve good results. These ink combinations may be expressed as halftone pattern. At present, these are also difficult to incorporate in the pipeline.
One way to try to integrate halftone patterns with a print system pipeline is to post-process the halftone patterns by interpolation. A halftone pattern assigned to a chosen color is introduced in the color separation table by replacing the corresponding ink vector and then propagating the corresponding changes to nearby ink vectors in the color separation table. Another known way consists of performing multiple color separations, using one or more color separations for the newly introduced halftone data, and other color separations for other halftone data, and subsequently merging the performed color separations.
However, in both of these methods the color relationship between an ink vector and a corresponding color is non-linear. Also, the relationship between an ink vector and a color depends on each different ink, how these inks overprint and the substrate.
One of the objects of the invention is to better facilitate incorporation of known pairs of halftone patterns and color values in a print system pipeline.

Color separation table optimized for a printing process according to a print attribute by selecting particular Neugebauer primaries and Neugebauer primary area coverages

HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P.


A heat dissipation device includes a base and two heat sinks formed by aluminum extrusion and located on the base. Each heat sink includes a heat conducting portion. The two heat sinks include a plurality of first fins extending inwardly from first faces of the heat conducting portions and located between the heat conducting portions, and a plurality of second fins extending outwardly from second faces of the heat conducting portions. Two heat pipes connect the base and the two heat sinks. Each heat pipe includes a first section thermally engaged with the base, and two second sections extending from the base and thermally engaged with the heat conducting portion of a corresponding heat sink. The second sections are located outside a hub and below fan blades of an impeller of a fan mounted on the heat sinks.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to heat dissipation devices, and more particularly to a heat dissipation device used for dissipating heat generated by electronic devices.
2. Description of Related Art
It is well known that, during operation of a computer, electronic devices such as central processing units (CPUs) frequently generate large amounts of heat. The heat must be quickly removed from the electronic device to prevent it from becoming unstable or being damaged. Typically, a heat sink is attached to an outer surface of the electronic device to absorb heat from the electronic device. The heat absorbed by the heat sink is then dissipated to ambient air.
Conventional heat sinks formed by aluminum extrusion are widely used for dissipating heat of electronic devices. These conventional heat sinks each generally comprise a flat base and a plurality of fins integrally extending upwardly from the base. In use, the base contacts and absorbs heat from the electronic device. The heat in the base is transmitted to the fins to be dissipated to ambient air. However, the heat sink cannot quickly transfer the heat from the electronic device to a portion of the fins which is remote from the base. Therefore, the heat generated by the electronic device cannot be removed duly by the heat sink.
To solve the aforesaid drawback of the conventional heat sink, another kind of the heat sink has a T-shaped heat conducting body and a heat dissipating body thermally engaged with the heat conducting body. The heat dissipating body defines a through hole therein; the heat conducting body has an elongated portion thermally engaged in the hole of the heat dissipation body by soldering or by interferential means. However, the engagement of the heat conducting body and the heat dissipating body is fussy, and high heat resistance would be brought between the heat conducting body and the heat dissipating body, which adversely impacts heat dissipation capacity of the heat sink. Therefore, the heat sink should be improved to meet the heat dissipation requirement of the electronic device.
What is needed, therefore, is a heat dissipation device which can achieve a greater rate of heat dissipation for electronic devices in a computer enclosure.

Fu Zhun Precision Industry (Shen Zhen) Co., Ltd.


Method for providing, and system for, a mobile, elevatable, expandable and retractable viewing studio for temporary installation at outdoor locations, with particular application for television announcers and broadcasting.

Within the television industry there is a segment devoted to the broadcasting and cablecasting of events on location, and in particular, on outdoor locations. Sporting events, such as golf, tennis or beach volleyball, offer prime examples of such events. A need arises to place the announcers and broadcasters in a studio environment at this location. Yet, these announcers and broadcasters also need to be where the action is, with good visibility.
Presently the two most common options used to create a television studio environment on outdoor event locations are (1) constructing an elevated temporary studio using construction scaffolding or (2) modifying a portable modular office trailer that is trucked in. Depending on the event, various elevations for the studio or announcers, position are preferred. When elevation is desired, the scaffolding system is used. The scaffolding is erected to a desired height and then the top level is partially enclosed. When elevation is not a factor, a modular office trailer can be used.
A third option exists that is not widely used in the industry. It is comprised of a one of a kind studio trailer. This trailer is constructed of wood and steel upon a trailer base and includes an add-on structure for one side that must be attached on-site. This trailer is owned by one individual and used by one company in the industry.
The present invention discloses a portable, expandable and retractable, elevatable viewing studio that will meet the composite needs of the television industry. Through integration and modification of existing diverse technologies, the present invention combines the desirable features of the above three on-location television studio options to achieve efficient versatile adjustable on-location viewing. In particular, the present invention offers a viewing studio that is able to accommodate preferred elevation requirements and studio space needs while remaining self-contained and portable. The mobile studio does not require extensive erection and disassembly on site, as with the fixed scaffolding system. The studio is not only portable over the highway system, and adjustably elevatable to achieve the requisite view, but the studio expands to provide studio space requirements for television announcers and broadcasters on location, above and beyond those of a standard bus or trailer.
Presently the airline industry uses a variety of hydraulic lift vehicles. E.g. one such vehicle is used to deliver food service supplies to airplanes. Hi-Way, Inc. of Bartow, Fla., manufactures vehicles of this sort. The vehicle is driven to the airplane and elevated to the loading door for loading and unloading supplies. Another similar vehicle is known, an elevatable bus, used to transport passengers from airport terminals directly on to an airplane.
The trucking industry has developed designs for fold-out trailers. Versions of such a design are offered for use as cargo trailers or concession trailers. Southern Truck Body Corporation of Tampa, Fla. advertises such trailer designs.
The present invention, to achieve its purposes, integrates technologies from these diverse industries into one design. The invention combines the modified technologies of a hydraulic lift vehicle with that of an expandable truck body. This disclosed combination of technologies creates a portable viewing studio system unique to the industry. The invention will be most useful to the television media, although uses outside of this industry can be foreseen, such as a mobile elevatable viewing room for VIP groups at outdoor events.

Method and apparatus for mobile elevatable expandable viewing studio


A USB connector including a metal shield for holding at least a portion of a printed circuit board having a plurality of connector contacts on a top side of the at least a portion of the printed circuit board, the metal shield including prongs which are attachable to the printed circuit board. A top support is separate from the printed circuit board and is provided within the metal shield above the at least a portion of the printed circuit board, the top support supporting the top side of the printed circuit board.

USB connectors are utilized in a variety of environments for connecting devices to computer systems or other types of processing systems. A common USB connector utilizes a printed circuit board, with all core and discrete components soldered onto one or both sides. FIG. 1 is a diagram of a conventional USB connector 10. This type of connector, a standard USB connector 14 with a metal shield 12 is soldered onto the front of the same PCB board. The size of the metal shield is standard, where the opposite side of its 4-contact area 16 contain no components. U.S. Pat. No. 7,297,024, entitled "Universal-Serial-Bus (USB) Flash-Memory Device with Metal Wrap Formed Over Plastic Housing," issued Nov. 20, 2007, describes an elongated USB casing device which is fully either plastic or metal wrapped with no sliding carrier or switching mechanism. The printed circuit board is encapsulated in resin and then placed on a molded plastic casing.
In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,094,074, entitled "Manufacturing Methods for Ultra-Slim USB Flash-Memory Card with Supporting Dividers or Underside Ribs," issued Aug. 22, 2006, discloses an ultra slim device without a metal shield. All core and discrete components are soldered on a PC board and then enveloped in a plastic casing composed of top and bottom casing parts. This is not a standard USB connector and so it oftentimes has to be specifically adapted to the computer system.
Another manufactured device without a standard USB connector with a metal shield is disclosed with the core components in an unpackaged die form-factor with an intent to reduce the size. The PC board substrate is composed of such dies and discrete components soldered onto the PC board encapsulated in resin finishing. Then the device is covered by an external plastic casing.
The absence of a USB connector with metal shield causes high wear-out durability and quality issues. Also, if the device is too long, it will not be as rigid and sturdy. When the plastic is used for casing, and the device is inserted and extracted repeatedly by the user into the female USB port, there is increased wear. This results in loosened or weakened insertion when the thickness of the plastic of the device wears out.
In addition, with all of these prior art systems, there is a need for some kind of encapsulation process, such as resin encapsulation or the like, which is utilized to protect the part. This resin encapsulation costs money and requires longer manufacturing time and there are still reliability and quality issues.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method that overcomes the above-identified issues. The system should be cost-effective, easily adaptable, minimizing the length of the device, and utilized with USB-connector type systems. The present invention addresses such a need.


An insulating layer containing fillers is formed to cover a first wiring layer. An opening portion, in which the first wiring layer is exposed, is formed in the insulating layer. A first alkali treatment, an ultrasonic cleaning treatment, and a second alkali treatment are sequentially performed on an upper surface of the insulating layer, on an inner wall surface of the opening portion, and an upper surface of the first wiring layer exposed in the opening portion. A second wiring layer electrically connected to the first wiring layer is formed by filling the opening portion by plating. The second wiring layer extends from an inside of the opening portion to the upper surface of the insulating layer.

Known is a wiring substrate including an insulating layer formed to cover a first wiring layer, opening portions formed in the insulating layer and configured to expose an upper surface of the first wiring layer, and a second wiring layer formed to fill the opening portions and extending to an upper surface of the insulating layer.
The second wiring layer is formed as follows, for example. First, the insulating layer is formed with opening portions for exposing an upper surface of the first wiring layer. Then, an entire surface of the insulating layer, including insides of the opening portions, is subjected to a plating pre-treatment, so that a seed layer is formed. Then, an electrolytic plating is selectively performed using the seed layer as an underlying base, so that an electrolytic plated layer is formed. Thereafter, the unnecessary seed layer is removed by etching in which the electrolytic plated layer is used as a mask, so that a second wiring layer consisting of the seed layer and the electrolytic plated layer is formed (for example, refer to PTL 1).

Wiring substrate and manufacturing method thereof


A mold, a molding machine and a method of molding a plastics material in a mold cavity is described which relies primarily on movement of a part of the mold to provide the pressure necessary to force the plastics material melt to fill all the parts of the mold cavity. The method comprises the steps of applying a light pressure to close the mold, injecting a predetermined quantity of molten plastics material into the mold cavity at a pressure which is such that the injection of the plastics material can cause the cavity to expand in volume against the resistance of the light closing pressure, and applying a high pressure to close the mold fully after completion of the injection step.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to injection moulding of plastics material.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known that large, thin articles are difficult to form by injection moulding. The reason is that the gap between the two parts of the mould is small and the distance that the material has to travel is too long for the pressure applied by the moulding machine to be available at the far end of the gap from the injection point for driving the plastics to fill the mould. In short, the "flow path thickness ratio" is too long.
Conventionally, thin articles are formed by vacuum or pressure forming where a sheet of plastics material is stretched to conform to the shape of a mould. Such techniques are limited in their application as they cannot produce articles of even wall thickness or articles that have regions of increased or reduced wall thickness. This is because only one surface of the article is being moulded and the thickness at any point is determined exclusively by the thickness of the original sheet and the extent of its deformation.
The present invention seeks therefore to provide a method suitable for moulding an article of thin wall section in which all the surfaces of the article are defined by the wall surfaces of a mould cavity.
In its broadest aspect, the invention a method of moulding a plastics material in a mould cavity which relies primarily on movement of a part of the mould to provide the pressure necessary to force the plastics material melt to fill all the parts of the mould cavity, the method comprising the steps of:
applying a light pressure to close the mould,
injecting a predetermined quantity of molten plastics material into the mould cavity at a pressure which is such that the injection of the plastics material can cause the cavity to expand in volume against the resistance of the light closing pressure, and
applying a high pressure to close the mould fully after completion of the injection step.
The invention may broadly be regarded as applying to plastics material a technique similar to that used in metal forging. A quantity of molten plastics material is placed in the mould cavity while it is not at its minimum volume and plastics material is then compressed by fully closing the mould to force the plastics material into all parts of the mould cavity.
It is known to move part of a mould in order to apply additional compression after having injected a plastics melt into a mould cavity in the conventional manner. This process, which is known as injection compression moulding (ICM) offers advantages of longer flow lengths, thinner walls and a lower level of material stresses. This makes the process suitable for moulding such articles as CD's and DVD's (because of improved internal stresses) and vehicle body and instrument panels (because of improved impact resistance).
The known ICM process differs from the present invention in that the plastics melt is introduced into the mould under substantial pressure and during the injection of the plastics melt the mould parts are held together with sufficient force for the mould cavity to remain of constant volume during the injection. By contrast, in the present invention, the injection of the plastics melt can cause the mould parts to separate and the mould cavity to expand. The light pressure used to close the mould initially is intended primarily to exclude gas from the mould cavity. This is to avoid gas pockets being trapped in the cavity. As the melt is introduced into the mould, the cavity can expand as necessary so that the melt flows relatively freely to occupy part of the volume of the cavity. Once the predetermined quantity of molten plastics material has been introduced into the mould, the parts of the mould are brought together under high pressure to reduce the mould cavity to its final volume and force the melt to flow into all parts of the cavity.
It follows from the above explanation that the quantity of the plastics material needs to be predetermined because the injection cannot simply continue until the cavity is totally filled and the back pressure prevents further injection of the plastics material into the mould. In the prior art, on the other hand, injection is stopped by back pressure, at which time the plastics material may already occupy some ninety percent of the cavity. The final reduction in volume of the cavity is used only to force the partly solidified plastics material to flow into the last ten percent of the mould cavity.
In a typical embodiment of the present invention, the relative displacement of the mould parts under pressure is in excess of ten times the final mould thickness and may be as great as two hundred times the final moulding thickness. This is to be contrasted with a corresponding movement of some twice the final wall thickness, that is typically used in injection compression moulding.
A further important difference between the invention and conventional injection compression moulding resides in the speed of closing the mould and the rate of pressure increase within the mould cavity during the closing process. In the present invention, the mould is closed and maximum pressure is reached within the cavity within a period of less than 0.5 seconds and preferably less than 0.3 seconds. By contrast, in injection compression moulding, after the plastics material has been injected under pressure to fill a major part of the mould and cavity, the pressure is ramped up progressively to flow the plastics material to fill the remainder of the mould.
The most important difference however between the invention and earlier proposals resides in the application of a light pressure to close the mould while injection is taking place and a higher pressure to compress the injected plastics material after completion of the injection phase.
The relevance of this difference will be described by reference to the moulding of drinking cups, this being an example of an article to which the invention particularly lends itself. When forming a drinking cup, the plastics material is injected into the base of the cup and the application of high pressure to close the mould after completion of the injection step forces the plastics material to flow upwards from the base to form the side walls of the cup and any lip surrounding the mouth.
In such an application, it is essential to avoid gas being trapped in the bottom corners of the mould cavity at the junction between the base and the side walls. Compression of such gas raises its temperature and causes unacceptable burn marks in the finished products.
If the plastics material were injected into a fully open cavity, it would form a small sphere which would be flattened when the mould parts are brought together at high speed and would trap gas in the corners of the moulds. In the present invention, this is avoided because the injected plastics material does not form a sphere in the first place. Instead, the mould is closed or at least nearly closed under light pressure and the injected plastics material flows as a radially expanding disc which forces the mould parts apart if necessary until it totally fills the base of the cup. When the pressure is increased to force the injected plastics material up the side walls of the cup, there will be no gas trapped in the corners to cause burn marks.
It is important that the cavity volume should be fully contained at all stages after the commencement of injection of the plastics melt. Although the volume of the cavity must be variable, the melt must not be allowed to escape from the cavity.
To permit implementation of the method of the invention, the invention also provides in accordance with a second aspect, a mould for mounting between the platens of an injection moulding machine for injection compression moulding of a thin walled article, the mould comprising a first mould part, a core and a rim closure part surrounding the core, the three parts together defining a mould cavity and being movable relative to one another in the direction of opening and closing of the mould, wherein the rim closure part sealingly engages the first mould part and is in sealing sliding engagement with the core, movement of the core enabling the volume of the cavity to be varied while plastics material injected into the mould cavity remains fully contained.
In a further aspect, the invention provides a method of injection compression moulding a thin walled article using a mould as set forth above, which comprises the steps of
moving the three parts of the mould towards their closed position in which they define a sealed cavity of variable volume,
injecting a predetermined dose of plastics material into the cavity, the injection terminating after the cavity has been fully enclosed, the core being allowed to move away from the first mould part during the injection of plastics material into the cavity while offering a resistance lower than the force exerted by the material injected under pressure thereby enabling the cavity volume to increase to accommodate the volume of the injected dose, and
forcing the core back into the first mould part to compress the injected plastics material and cause the material to flow into the parts of the mould cavity that define the thin walled sections of the finished article.
The mould is preferably provided with means for aligning the rim closure part relative to the first mould part in order to achieve accurate alignment of the movable core in relation to the remainder of the mould cavity.
A spring and/or a damper is preferably provided to resist movement of the core away from the first mould part.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, a lost motion coupling is arranged in the line of force between the machine platen and the core. When the platen first moves in the direction to close the cavity, the core moves with it and the rim closure part closes the cavity. As plastics material is injected into the cavity, the presence of lost motion allows the core to move back towards the moving machine platen so that the cavity expands or at least the cavity does not continue to contract at the rate of movement of the platen. The lost motion is fully taken up by the time that the injection is completed and thereafter the core again moves with the platen to compress the cavity to its final minimum volume.
One can envisage an implementation of the invention using a moulding machine with a hydraulic lock (i.e. one that uses only hydraulic actuators to apply all the necessary pressure to the mould parts). Using such an approach, it is more difficult to achieve the necessary speed of closure of the mould cavity as well as the rapid rise in pressure that is needed as the mould parts approach their closed position. This may therefore require the use of purpose built machines. In this respect, it should be noted that the plastics material is cooled and sets as it makes contact with the mould surfaces and it vital for this reason that the flowing of the plastics material by the closing of the mould parts should be completed as quickly as possible. An injection moulding machine with a toggle closure mechanism has however been found to be well adapted to provide the substantial force require to effect the final closure.
Since the pressure in the plastics material on final closure is substantial, the injection gate through which the plastics material is injected into the mould is preferably closed by a valve prior to final mould closure. This is to avoid expulsion of material from the tool during final closure.
Preferably, the closure of the mould under high pressure involves reduction of the mould part gap over a substantial portion of the surface area of the finish formed article, whereby movement of the plastics material through a thin mould part, which might otherwise be regarded as too thin, occurs only during the last part of the final closure.
In order to introduce an accurately predetermined quantity of molten plastics material, it is preferred to provide a hot-runner system that comprises a manifold incorporating a dosing cylinder for each of the cavities, each dosing cylinder being connected to a common pressurised supply of molten plastics material by way of a respective valve and being connected to the associated cavity by way of a gate valve.
Each dosing cylinder comprises a variable volume chamber bounded by a piston which acts to store the required dose of plastics material for its associated cavity. When the plastics material is injected from the pressure source into the dosing cylinders, it will first flow to the dosing cylinder offering the least resistance but when this pot is full the plastics material will meet resistance and will be diverted to another of the dosing cylinders until all the dosing cylinders are full. An adjustable stop may be provided for each of the pistons of the dosing cylinders to allow fine adjustment of the quantity of plastics material delivered to each cavity. When the gate valves are opened and the pistons of the dosing cylinders are moved in a direction to reduce the volume of the working chambers, the stored plastics material is forced past the gate valve into the cavity and is prevented from moving in the opposite direction.

Mould and method for injection-compression moulding


A first optical network device groups a plurality of FlexO instance frames into one group, where each of the plurality of FlexO instance frames carries one OTU signal; then, performs multiplexing on the plurality of FlexO instance frames grouped into one group, to generate one first FlexO frame; next, performing scrambling and FEC processing on the first FlexO frame to generate one second FlexO frame and send it to a second optical network device. If a rate of the FlexO instance frame is 100 Gbps and two FlexO instance frames are grouped into one group, the 200G optical module can be used in the transmission method.

An optical transport network (OTN) has rich operation, administration, and maintenance (OAM) capabilities, a strong tandem connection monitoring (TCM) capability, and an out-of-band forward error correction (FEC) capability, and can flexibly schedule and manage a large-capacity service.
As service traffic increases and diversifies, the OTN having a fixed-rate interface already cannot meet an interconnection requirement. Currently, the International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) is developing an n*100G flexible optical transport network (FlexO) interface standard. The interface standard provides a flexible-rate interface by using n 100G optical modules. The flexible-rate interface carries an optical transport unit n (OTUCn) signal, to implement an interconnection between OTUCn signals on an inter-domain interface. An n*100G FlexO interface includes n 100G FlexO signals. A rate of each FlexO signal is equal to a rate of an OTU 4. In this way, each FlexO signal may be directly sent by using a standard, low-cost, 100G optical module (such as a CFP4 or a QSFP28). To carry the OTUCn signal, an OTUCn signal is first divided into n OTUC signals. Then, each OTUC signal (such as an OTUC #1, . . . , or #n) is synchronously mapped to a payload area of each FlexO data frame (such as a FlexO frame #1, . . . , or #n) respectively. Physical lane identifier (PID) overheads carried by the FlexO data frame are used to indicate a location of one FlexO signal on the n*100G FlexO interface. Correspondingly, a location, which is in the OTUCn, of one OTUC client signal carried by the FlexO data frame may be learned of based on the PID information.
A disadvantage in the current system is that n FlexO frames correspond to n 100G optical modules respectively and a higher-rate optical transceiver module (such as a 200G or 400G optical module to be commercially used) cannot be used.

Method and apparatus for transmitting optical transport unit signal


A compound comprising a polyether backbone bearing a plurality of ligands that are individually bound to chiral carbon atoms located within said backbone, at least one of said ligands including a moiety selected from the group consisting of a naturally occurring nucleobase, a nucleobase binding group and a DNA intercalator; a process of synthesizing the compound, monomers to be used in this process and their synthesis process and processes for using the compound in biochemistry and medicine.

The present invention relates in general to nucleotide mimics and their derived nucleic acid mimics, methods for the construction of both and the use of the nucleic acid mimics in biochemistry and medicine. More particularly, the present invention relates to (i) acyclic nucleotide mimics, also referred to as acyclic nucleotides; (ii) a method for synthesizing the acyclic nucleotide mimics; (iii) acyclic nucleotide mimic sequences, also referred to as acyclic polynucleotide sequences; (iv) a method for synthesizing the acyclic nucleotide mimic sequences; and (v) use of the acyclic nucleotide mimic sequences as oligonucleotides in for example antisesnse procedures.
An antisense oligonucleotide (e.g., antisense oligodeoxyribonucleotide) may bind its target nucleic acid either by Watson-Crick base pairing or Hoogsteen and anti-Hoogsteen base pairing. To this effect see, Thuong and Helene (1993) Sequence specific recognition and modification of double helical DNA by oligonucleotides Angev. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 32:666. According to the Watson-Crick base pairing, heterocyclic bases of the antisense oligonucleotide form hydrogen bonds with the heterocyclic bases of target single-stranded nucleic acids (RNA or single-stranded DNA), whereas according to the Hoogsteen base pairing, the heterocyclic bases of the target nucleic acid are double-stranded DNA, wherein a third strand is accommodated in the major groove of the B-form DNA duplex by Hoogsteen and anti-Hoogsteen base pairing to form a triplex structure.
According to both the Watson-Crick and the Hoogsteen base pairing models, antisense oligonucleotides have the potential to regulate gene expression and to disrupt the essential functions of the nucleic acids. Therefore, antisense oligonucleotides have possible uses in modulating a wide range of diseases.
Since the development of effective methods for chemically synthesizing oligonucleotides, these molecules have been extensively used in biochemistry and biological research and have the potential use in medicine, since carefully devised oligonucleotides can be used to control gene expression by regulating levels of transcription, transcripts and/or translation.
Oligodeoxyribonucleotides as long as 100 base pairs (bp) are routinely synthesized by solid phase methods using commercially available, fully automated synthesis machines. The chemical synthesis of oligoribonucleotides, however, is far less routine. Oligoribonucleotides are also much less stable than oligodeoxyribonucleotides, a fact which has contributed to the more prevalent use of oligodeoxyribonucleotides in medical and biological research, directed at, for example, gene therapy or the regulation of transcription or translation levels.
Gene expression involves few distinct and well regulated steps. The first major step of gene expression involves transcription of a messenger RNA (mRNA) which is an RNA sequence complementary to the antisense (i.e., -) DNA strand, or, in other words, identical in sequence to the DNA sense (i.e., +) strand, composing the gene. In eukaryotes, transcription occurs in the cell nucleus.
The second major step of gene expression involves translation of a protein (e.g., enzymes, structural proteins, secreted proteins, gene expression factors, etc.) in which the mRNA interacts with ribosomal RNA complexes (ribosomes) and amino acid activated transfer RNAs (tRNAs) to direct the synthesis of the protein coded for by the mRNA sequence.
Initiation of transcription requires specific recognition of a promoter DNA sequence located upstream to the coding sequence of a gene by an RNA-synthesizing enzyme--RNA polymerase. This recognition is preceded by sequence-specific binding of one or more protein transcription factors to the promoter sequence. Additional proteins which bind at or close to the promoter sequence may upregulate transcription and are known as enhancers. Other proteins which bind to or close to the promoter, but whose binding prohibits action of RNA polymerase, are known as repressors.
There are also evidence that in some cases gene expression is downregulated by endogenous antisesnse RNA repressors that bind a complementary mRNA transcript and thereby prevent its translation into a functional protein. To this effect see Green et al. (1986) The role of antisense RNA in gene regulation. Ann. Rev. Biochem. 55:569.
Thus, gene expression is typically upregulated by transcription factors and enhancers and downregulated by repressors.
However, in many disease situation gene expression is impaired. In many cases, such as different types of cancer, for various reasons the expression of a specific endogenous or exogenous (e.g., of a pathogen such as a virus) gene is upregulated. Furthermore, in infectious diseases caused by pathogens such as parasites, bacteria or viruses, the disease progression depends on expression of the pathogen genes, this phenomenon may also be considered as far as the patient is concerned as upregulation of exogenous genes.
Most conventional drugs function by interaction with and modulation of one or more targeted endogenous or exogenous proteins, e.g., enzymes. Such drugs, however, typically are not specific for targeted proteins but interact with other proteins as well. Thus, a relatively large dose of drug must be used to effectively modulate a targeted protein.
Typical daily doses of drugs are from 10.sup.31 5 -10.sup.-1 millimoles per kilogram of body weight or 10.sup.-3 -10 millimoles for a 100 kilogram person. If this modulation instead could be effected by interaction with and inactivation of mRNA, a dramatic reduction in the necessary amount of drug could likely be achieved, along with a corresponding reduction in side effects. Further reductions could be effected if such interaction could be rendered site-specific. Given that a functioning gene continually produces mRNA, it would thus be even more advantageous if gene transcription could be arrested in its entirety.
Given these facts, it would be advantageous if gene expression could be arrested or downmodulated at the transcription level.
The ability of chemically synthesizing oligonucleotides and analogs thereof having a selected predetermined sequence offers means for dowmnodulating gene expression. Three types of gene expression modulation strategies may be considered.
At the transcription level, antisense or sense oligonucleotides or analogs that bind to the genomic DNA by strand displacement or the formation of a triple helix, may prevent transcription. To this effect see, Thuong and Helene (1993) Sequence specific recognition and modification of double helical DNA by oligonucleotides Angev. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 32:666.
At the transcript level, antisense oligonucleotides or analogs that bind target mRNA molecules lead to the enzymatic cleavage of the hybrid by intracellular RNase H. To this effect see Dash et al. (1987) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 84:7896. In this case, by hybridizing to the targeted mRNA, the oligonucleotides or oligonucleotide analogs provide a duplex hybrid recognized and destroyed by the RNase H enzyme. Alternatively, such hybrid formation may lead to interference with correct splicing. To this effect see Chiang et al. (1991) Antisense oligonucleotides inhibit intercellular adhesion molecule 1 expression by two distinct mechanisms. J. Biol. Chem. 266:18162. As a result, in both cases, the number of the target mRNA intact transcripts ready for translation is reduced or eliminated.
At the translation level, antisense oligonucleotides or analogs that bind target mRNA molecules prevent, by steric hindrance, binding of essential translation factors (ribosomes), to the target mRNA, as described by Paterson et al. (1977) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 74:4370, a phenomenon known in the art as hybridization arrest, disabling the translation of such mRNAs.
Thus, antisense sequences, which as described hereinabove may arrest the expression of any endogenous and/or exogenous gene depending on their specific sequence, attracted much attention by scientists and pharmacologists who were devoted at developing the antisense approach into a new pharmacological tool. To this effect see Cohen (1992) Oligonucleotide therapeutics. Trends in Biotechnology, 10:87.
For example, several antisense oligonucleotides have been shown to arrest hematopoietic cell proliferation (Szczylik et al (1991) Selective inhibition of leukemia cell proliferation by BCR-ABL antisense oligodeoxynucleotides. Science 253:562), growth (Calabretta et al. (1991) Normal and leukemic hematopoietic cell manifest differential sensitivity to inhibitory effects of c-myc antisense oligodeoxynucleotides: an in vitro study relevant to bone marrow purging. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88:2351), entry into the S phase of the cell cycle (Heikhila et al. (1987) A c-myc antisense oligodeoxynucleotide inhibits entry into S phase but not progress from G(0) to G(1). Nature, 328:445), reduced survival (Reed et al. (1990) Antisense mediated inhibition of BCL2 prooncogene expression and leukemic cell growth and survival: comparison of phosphodiester and phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides. Cancer Res. 50:6565) and prevent receptor mediated responses (Burch and Mahan (1991) Oligodeoxynucleotides antisense to the interleukin I receptor m RNA block the effects of interleukin I in cultured murine and human fibroblasts and in mice. J. Clin. Invest. 88:1190). For use of antisense oligonucleotides as antiviral agents the reader is referred to Agrawal (1992) Antisense oligonucleotides as antiviral agents. TIBTECH 10:152.
For efficient in vivo inhibition of gene expression using antisense oligonucleotides or analogs, the oligonucleotides or analogs must fulfill the following requirements (i) sufficient specificity in binding to the target sequence; (ii) solubility in water; (iii) stability against intra- and extracellular nucleases; (iv) capability of penetration through the cell membrane; and (v) when used to treat an organism, low toxicity.
Unmodified oligonucleotides are impractical for use as antisense sequences since they have short in vivo half-lives, during which they are degraded rapidly by nucleases. Furthermore, they are difficult to prepare in more than milligram quantities. In addition, such oligonucleotides are poor cell membrane penetraters, see, Uhlmann et al. (1990) Chem. Rev. 90:544.
Thus it is apparent that in order to meet all the above listed requirements, oligonucleotide analogs need to be devised in a suitable manner. Therefore, an extensive search for modified oligonucleotides has been initiated.
For example, problems arising in connection with double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) recognition through triple helix formation have been diminished by a clever "switch back" chemical linking, whereby a sequence of polypurine on one strand is recognized, and by "switching back", a homopurine sequence on the other strand can be recognized. Also, good helix formation has been obtained by using artificial bases, thereby improving binding conditions with regard to ionic strength and pH.
In addition, in order to improve half-life as well as membrane penetration, a large number of variations in polynucleotide backbones have been done, nevertheless with little success.
Oligonucleotides can be modified either in the base, the sugar or the phosphate moiety. These modifications include the use of methylphosphonates, monothiophosphates, dithiophosphates, phosphoramidates, phosphate esters, bridged phosphorothioates, bridged phosphoramidates, bridged methylenephosphonates, dephospho internucleotide analogs with siloxane bridges, carbonate bridges, carboxymethyl ester bridges, carbonate bridges, carboxymethyl ester bridges, acetamide bridges, carbamate bridges, thioether bridges, sulfoxy bridges, sulfono bridges, various "plastic" DNAs, x-anomeric bridges and borane derivatives. For further details the reader is referred to Cook (1991) Medicinal chemistry of antisense oligonucleotides--future opportunities. Anti-Cancer Drug Design 6:585.
International patent application WO 86/05518 broadly claims a polymeric composition effective to bind to a single-stranded polynucleotide containing a target sequence of bases. The composition is said to comprise non-homopolymeric, substantially stereoregular polymer molecules of the form: ##STR1## where: (a) R1-Rn are recognition moieties selected from purine, purine-like, pyrimidine, and pyrimidine like heterocycles effective to bind by Watson/Crick pairing to corresponding, in-sequence bases in the target sequence;
(b) n is such that the total number of Watson/Crick hydrogen bonds formed between a polymer molecule and target sequence is at least about 15; PA1 (c) B.about.B are backbone moieties joined predominantly by chemically stable, substantially uncharged, predominantly achiral linkages; PA1 (d) the backbone moiety length ranges from 5 to 7 atoms if the backbone moieties have a cyclic structure, and ranges from 4 to 6 atoms if the backbone moieties have an acyclic structure; and PA1 (e) the backbone moieties support the recognition moieties at position which allow Watson-Crick base pairing between the recognition moieties and the corresponding, in-sequence bases of the target sequence.
According to WO 86/05518, the recognition moieties are various natural nucleobases and nucleobase-analogs and the backbone moieties are either cyclic backbone moieties comprising furan or morpholine rings or acyclic backbone moieties of the following forms: ##STR2## where E is --CO-- or --SO.sub.2 --. The specification of the application provides general descriptions for the synthesis of subunits, for backbone coupling reactions, and for polymer assembly strategies. Although WO 86/05518 indicates that the claimed polymer compositions can bind target sequences and, as a result, have possible diagnostic and therapeutic applications, the application contains no data relating to the binding capabilities of a claimed polymer.
International patent application WO 86/05519 claims diagnostic reagents and systems that comprise polymers described in WO 86/05518, but attached to a solid support.
International patent application WO 89/12060 claims various building blocks for synthesizing oligonucleotide analogs, as well as oligonucleotide analogs formed by joining such building blocks in a defined sequence. The building blocks may be either "rigid" (i.e., containing a ring structure) or "flexible" (i.e., lacking a ring structure). In both cases, the building blocks contain a hydroxy group and a mercapto group, through which the building blocks are said to join to form oligonucleotide analogs. The linking moiety in the oligonucleotide analogs is selected from the group consisting of sulfide (--S--), sulfoxide (--SO--), and sulfone (--SO.sub.2 --). However, the application provides no data supporting the specific binding of an oligonucleotide analog to a target oligonucleotide.
Nielsen et al. (1991) Science 254:1497, and International patent application WO 92/20702 describe an acyclic oligonucleotide which includes a peptide backbone on which any selected chemical nucleobases or analogs are stringed and serve as coding characters as they do in natural DNA or RNA. These new compounds, known as peptide nucleic acids (PNAs), are not only more stable in cells than their natural counterparts, but also bind natural DNA and RNA 50 to 100 times more tightly than the natural nucleic acids cling to each other. To this effect of PNA heterohybrids see Biotechnology research news (1993) Can DNA mimics improve on the real thing? Science 262:1647.
PNA oligomers can be synthesized from the four protected monomers containing thymine, cytosine, adenine and guanine by Merrifield solid-phase peptide synthesis. In order to increase solubility in water and to prevent aggregation, a lysine amide group is placed at the C-terminal.
However, there are some major drawbacks associated with the PNA approach. One drawback is that, at least in test-tube cultures, PNA molecules do not penetrate through cell membranes, not even to the limited extent natural short DNA and RNA segments do. The second drawback is side effects which are encountered with toxicity. Because PNAs bind so strongly to target sequences, they lack the specificity of their natural counterparts and end up binding not just to target sequences but also to other strands of DNA, RNA or even proteins, incapacitating the cell in unforeseen ways.
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, oligonucleotide analogs devoid of these drawbacks which are characterized by (i) sufficient specificity in binding to target sequences; (ii) solubility in water; (iii) stability against intra- and extracellular nucleases; (iv) capability of penetrating through cell membranes; and (v) when used to treat an organism, low toxicity, properties that collectively render an oligonucleotide analog highly suitable as an antisense therapeutic drug.


Graft copolymers with segmented (or block) arms and a process for preparing the same. Such polymers are particularly useful in formulating air-dry clear coat and color coat lacquers used in automotive refinishing.

To refinish or repair a finish on vehicle, such as a colorcoat/clearcoat finish on automobile or truck bodies, different fast-drying coating compositions have been developed. A number of pigmented and clear air-dry acrylic lacquers have been used in the past to repair or refinish a colorcoat/clearcoat finish, but none meet the rapid drying times that are desired in combination with outstanding physical properties, such as chip and humidity resistance and adhesion.
A key concern to a refinish customer which is typically the vehicle owner is that the coating in use has excellent physical properties such as chip and humidity resistance, and adhesion, as well as excellent aesthetic appearance.
Another key concern of the automobile and truck refinish industry is productivity, i.e., the ability to complete an entire refinish operation in the least amount of time. To accomplish a high level of productivity, any coatings applied need to have the ability to dry at ambient conditions in a relatively short period of time. The term "dry" means that the resulting finish is physically dry to the touch in a relatively short period of time to minimize dirt pick-up, and, in the case of the basecoat, to allow for the application of the subsequent clear coat.
Therefore, a seemingly small improvement in any one of the forgoing properties can translate into substantial improvements in productivity and quality of the repair job. Accordingly, the development of a new product that can improve the productivity and/or performance requirements of coatings used in automotive refinishing would be a great contribution to the art.

Graft copolymers with segmented arms and their preparation and use


The present application discloses a method and a system for automatically generating variable sequence data. The method comprises: acquiring a customized ary set by a user for generating variable sequence data, and characters included in the customized ary; converting the characters included in the customized ary into a character array; acquiring relevant parameters of the variable sequence data set by the user; pre-processing the relevant parameters; and generating the variable sequence data according to the character array and the pre-processed relevant parameters. According to the present invention, it is able for a user to automatically generate the desired variable sequence data.

Sequence data is usually used for variable data printing (VDP), so as to identify a production status of the variable data printing. As shown in FIG. 1, variable sequence data is generated by the following steps:
Step 11: setting a desired ary, e.g., a decimal system or a hexadecimal system, for the variable sequence data, and setting a total amount, a step, an initial value, the number of digits and a variation mode of the variable sequence data to be generated;
Step 12: setting a desired prefix or suffix of the variable sequence data, e.g., a production date, a workshop code and a product identifier; and
Step 13: generating the variable sequence data according to the parameters set in Steps 11 and 12, and applying the generated variable sequence data to the variable data printing.
Currently, the ary system for the variable sequence data usually includes a decimal system (0-9), a hexadecimal system (0-9 and A-F), a 26-ary system (A-Z), and a 36-ary system (0-9 and A-Z). Each of these systems includes a fixed number of characters, and cannot adapt to the users' production requirements in many cases. For example, if the user wants to exclude a certain number or letter from the generated variable sequence data, this is impossible to be achieved by an existing technology, and the user has to filter the variable sequence data after it is generated. As a result, the production efficiency will be reduced and the use of the data will be affected.

Method and system for automatically generating variable sequence data, computer program product and computer readable medium

PEKING UNIVERSITY FOUNDER GROUP CO., LTD.


An artificial lift fluid system for use in a wellbore with a casing engaging a well head can include a prime mover in communication with a variable frequency drive controller, or connected with a throttle, sensors, and a programmable logic controller for optimizing production from the wellbore by comparing data with preset production parameters. The artificial lift fluid system can include upper bearings connected to the prime mover, and an on-off tool connected with a shaft. The shaft can be engaged with the upper bearings, prime mover, and the on-off tool. The on-off tool can be connected with the centrifugal pump. A seal can be engaged with the shaft, a bottom bearing can be connected with the centrifugal pump to support loads, and bushings can separate the on-off tool and shaft from tubing in the casing.

A need exists for an artificial lift fluid system having a low capital cost, low installation cost, low maintenance requirements, wide production range, high temperature operation, high system efficiency, tolerance to abrasives, low profile, and low rod torque.
A further need exists for an artificial lift fluid system that can allow for deeper setting of a shaft driving a centrifugal pump into the wellbore by having dual independent load support of the shaft and the centrifugal pump, and having an on-off tool with male and female connections.
A further need exists for an artificial lift fluid system that does not require pulling the centrifugal pump to change shaft or bushings.
A further need exists for an artificial lift fluid system that can be powered by gas or hydraulic motors.
A further need exists for an artificial lift fluid system having a plurality of bushings disposed longitudinally along the shaft and an on-off tool for separating the shaft and on-off tool from tubing in the casing.
The present embodiments meet these needs.
The present embodiments are detailed below with reference to the listed Figures.


The present invention relates to an improved helium detecting unit particularly adapted to be used under difficult conditions and in places without power supply sources, which comprises an electronic processing stage [means] [implementing the task of] for calculating the helium concentration in the gas mixture to be sampled and an electronic controlling stage [means] for controlling the detecting unit, and wherein there is provided a sampling chamber, coated with a reflecting material and provided with a gap, mounting a sinterized filtering member adapted for cooling the sampled gas flow coming out of a sucking sampling pump equipped with a filter against the impurities.

The present invention relates to an improved helium detecting unit of the kind employed when searching for leaks in ducts and chambers located in places that are particularly difficult to be accessed and spread over an extended range, far from power supply sources.
For detecting leaks in ducts and chambers of various type and shapes, such as for example the underground pressurized ducts housing telephone cables, there are presently employed techniques using units capable of detecting the concentration of a gas which has been put into the duct the integrity of which has to be tested, and leaks out through cracks that may be present in the duct and can therefore be captured by the detecting unit located outside.
Such units can detect a change in the concentration of a single gas in the gas mixture usually composing the air at ground level, and allow for discovering leaks, if any, due to conduit breaking or cracks with a good accuracy both in respect of the leak location and of the amount thereof.
Units of the above described kind, using helium as a tracing gas, have been disclosed in Italian patents No.s 1 179 600 and 1 224 604 and in EP-A-0352371 in the name of the present Assignee.
The above and other similar devices are equipped with a chamber which is preferably cylindrical, within which a thin quartz capillary is located, being well known that quartz is permeable to helium only when heated to a temperature comprised between 300.degree. and 900.degree. C., wherein one end of the capillary is closed and the opposite end is open and connected to the suction inlet of a UHV (Ultra High Vacuum) pump.
In EP-A-0352371 there is disclosed a helium detector comprising an ion pump and a sniffer probe formed by one or more capillary tubes of silica glass that are closed at one end and connected to the ion pump at the opposite end. A heating filament wound about the capillary tube heats the capillary to a temperature of about 750.degree. C. at which temperature the silica glass becomes permeable substantially to helium only. The ion current drawn by the pump is representative of the helium concentration in the gas mixture to be sampled.
Suitable electronic control systems take care of stopping the heating of the filament when high concentrations of helium are present in order to prevent such gas accumulating within the capillary with a consequent delay of the response to changes of helium concentration in the gas mixture to be analyzed.
The above described devices show anyhow some significant short comings when the units are to be used for checking the condition of ducts or chambers that are located in positions hard to be accessed, such as when they are buried under roadbeds and in sections that are quite long.
In the first mentioned case the weight of the conventional units as well as their construction which is not suitable for an efficient working in presence of dust, mould and other external agents, are an obstacle to the good operativeness of the apparatuses, tire the operator and are subject to frequent clogging with a consequent worsening of the performance.
In the second mentioned case since it is necessary to work over long distances and far from mains power supply sources, auxiliary mobile supply units are to be provided for.
A further shortcoming of the above mentioned units resides in that they have been found subject to an internal overheating after an uninterrupted and prolonged use, particularly in the junction zone between the capillary membrane and the flange provided on the suction inlet of the ion pump, this resulting in a detachment of the UHV (Ultra High Vacuum) seal between the capillary and the flange, thus rendering the detecting unit unserviceable.
A further shortcoming is due to the fact that the above described sensing systems exhibit a large inertia of response when passing from a low helium concentration zone to a high helium concentration zone and vice versa, thus rendering the detection slow and unaccurated.
Finally due to the absence of control devices in the above apparatuses, it may happen that apparatuses that are inoperative or not properly working are employed without the operator's knowledge.


When multi-destination traffic is distributed through a host or switch, the decision to distribute each frame is performed by each egress port and not the ingress port. Within a link aggregation group, the multi-destination frame is sent to each of the egress ports within the link aggregation group. Each of such ports will then determine whether it should re-transmit the frame. If not, the frame is discarded.

The present invention relates in general to data processing systems, and in particular, to switching of data transmissions in a network.
In a networking environment, it is typical that a plurality of devices will be linked together for the purpose of transmitting data from one device to another in the network. In a large network, it would be uneconomical to provide a specific data link connecting each device to each of the other devices in the network. In order to provide connectivity from each device to each of the other devices in the network in an efficient and economical manner, a plurality of methods have been developed.
One well known method of distributing data between devices within a network is through switches (also referred to herein as network nodes). Switches may be utilized within the network to receive data from a plurality of devices and distribute the data to a plurality of devices to reduce the amount of data lines required to distribute data. To utilize switches to communicate between devices, each device has a specific address. For example, in an Ethernet switching environment, each device in the network has a media access control (MAC) address, which uniquely identifies the device in the network. Frames of data are delivered to a MAC destination address (DA) and senders are recognized by a MAC source address (SA). Each switch, and each port on a switch, supports a finite number of MAC addresses. Ideally, the overall number of MAC addresses distributed by a switch should be large, so the switch can support a large number of devices.
In addition to supporting a large number of devices, a switch should comprise the ability to handle transfer of large amounts of data through a network. For a switch to handle quick transfer of large amounts of data, often link aggregation is utilized in order to allow a switch to support a higher bandwidth interface to increase the rate of data transfer. Link aggregation is a technique that allows parallel physical links between switches or between a switch and a server to be used simultaneously, multiplying the bandwidth between the devices. Link aggregation may be further defined as a method of grouping physical link segments of the same media type and speed, and treating them as if they were part of a single, logical link segment. For example, two 100 Mbps links between switches may be grouped into a link aggregation and treated as a single 200 Mbps link to create a higher bandwidth interface between the two switches.
In designing a switch that supports transmission of multicast or broadcast traffic, there are two general approaches that can be used to transmit packets within the switch to their outbound (egress) ports. The first solution is to simply send the packet once to each outbound port. The second solution is to use a one-to-many solution that allows one transmit with multiple destinations. The first solution is generally more costly because it requires more processor cycles to perform the multiple transmits, and may require additional buffers. The second solution is generally more efficient from a processor perspective because it requires a single transmit of a single buffer, but may require a more sophisticated bus/switching fabric to exist between the ports.
In architectures that support a one-to-many transmission, transmitting traffic out more than one outbound port (multi-destination traffic) is fairly simple until the egress ports need to handle the frames differently based on criteria such as a link aggregation virtual interface. With multiple permutations of these possible groups, creating and managing multicast groups at the sender becomes complex, particularly when the sender is a high-bandwidth/low-latency processor on the forwarding path of a high-speed switch, i.e. there are no extra cycles available for such complex management. In such a situation, maintaining a small number of multicast groups at the sender is profitable, and the determination of whether or not to transmit a particular broadcast/multicast frame is now made at the outbound port.
The specific problem addressed here is how to use a one-to-many transmit strategy for link aggregation. In link aggregation, there is a requirement that frames not be duplicated on the link aggregation group (xe2x80x9cLAGxe2x80x9d), i.e. a frame destined for the LAG must be transmitted on exactly one link. Additionally, it is required that frames be delivered to the destination in the order they were transmitted from the source. In an architecture using a one-to-many transmit design for multi-destination traffic, some method must be employed to guarantee that traffic is transmitted on exactly one port. Additionally, the method should allow distribution of multi-destination traffic over a range of the physical links that belong to the LAG, as opposed to merely designating one port to handle such multi-destination traffic.
Link aggregation architectures often impose a restriction that traffic must arrive at the destination in the order it was transmitted from the source. In order to guarantee this, link aggregation systems usually assign flows to physical links, where a flow is at a minimum determined by the destination MAC address, and possibly includes the source MAC, or higher layer criteria (such as IP address, UDP port, etc.). A distribution algorithm is used to determine on which physical link in the LAG a particular frame should be transmitted, and the frame is directed through the switch to that particular port.
In the case of multi-destination traffic in a one-to-many design, the frame must be delivered to all ports. In the case of physical ports that are members of a LAG, a decision is made at the egress port determining whether or not to transmit this multi-destination frame. The present solution is to run the distribution algorithm on the candidate outbound frame to obtain the number of the physical interface on which the frame should be transmitted. If the physical interface provided by the distribution algorithm matches the interface number of the egress port, then the frame is transmitted, otherwise the frame is discarded.
The distribution algorithm must return the same result at each LAG port for a given frame.
The above algorithm guarantees that frames are not duplicated across the LAG, and allows efficient implementation of transmission of multi-destination traffic through the switch.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention.

System and method for data transmission across a link aggregation

International Business Machines Corporation


An image forming apparatus includes an electric charge removing device for elastically coming in contact with a photoreceptor when there is no paper and for removing electric charges from the paper which is delivered, and a control device for starting to apply voltage to a transferring roller at a timing which is earlier by a predetermined time than a timing when the leading edge of the paper arrives at a transferring position and for releasing the application of the voltage to the transferring roller at a timing which is later by a predetermined time than a timing at which the trailing edge of the paper passes through the transferring position.

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a laser beam printer, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus in which a transferring roller is used.
In a conventional machine such as a copying machine, there has been known a so-called transferring roller system in which an electric charge having a first polarity is given to a photoreceptor in order to form an optical image as image information projected onto the photoreceptor; from the optical image, an electrostatic latent image is formed; the electrostatic latent image is then developed by toner having a second polarity (or the first polarity in reverse development) to form a toner image; and the toner image is transferred onto a paper interposed between the photoreceptor and a transferring roller. Voltage (including an earth) having a polarity which is different from that of the toner is usually applied to the transferring roller so that the transferring roller gives so-called back charges onto the surface of the paper which does not come in contact with the photoreceptor.
In the transferring system, because excessive back charges to the paper, which are required in transfer by corona discharge are not necessary, it is possible to prevent the toner on the photoreceptor from being drawn onto the paper in the former and latter transferring steps, so that the transferring system suppresses image forming in which toner scatters around letters. The paper is interposed between the photoreceptor and the transferring roller so as to come in contact with the photoreceptor side by predetermined pressing force. Consequently, the paper is surely delivered and therefore a transfer drift, which may occur due to the slippage of the paper on the photoreceptor can be prevented.
However, when reverse development is mainly carried out to form an image having a relatively low printing ratio (which has many white portions), the paper which passed between the photoreceptor and the transferring roller might draw onto the photoreceptor side by electrostatic suction force generated by the back charges of the paper and the surface charges of the photoreceptor. This causes unstable separation of the paper from the photoreceptor.
Consequently, there has been provided an image forming apparatus including a needle for removing electric charges from the paper which is provided at the vicinity of the downstream in the paper delivery direction of the transferring roller in order to stably separate the paper from the photoreceptor (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 269969/1989).
Because the electric charge removing needle is made of a conductive rigid body such as stainless steel, it should be displaced from the photoreceptor by a predetermined distance so as not to damage the photoreceptor. Accordingly, the electric charge removing needle cannot surely come in contact with the back of the paper, so that electric charges cannot sufficiently be removed from the paper and the paper winds around the photoreceptor. For this reason, the separation of the paper from the photoreceptor cannot be stabilized.
It is an object of the present invention to solve the technical problems above and to provide an image forming apparatus capable of stabilizing the separation of a paper from a photoreceptor.
It is another object of the present invention to solve the technical problems and to provide an image forming apparatus of which manufacturing costs can be reduced.


A computing system may include a client computing device configured to execute a software application with an associated GUI. The GUI includes fields, and each field is to hold a text string. The computing system may include a GUI testing device in communication with the client computing device and configured to execute a testing framework for interacting with the software application to generate versions of the GUI, each of the versions being in a different language, and defining expected text strings in the fields. The GUI testing device may be configured to extract the fields from the versions of the GUI, perform OCR processing on the fields to generate actual text strings, and compare the actual text strings with the expected text strings.

Mobile communication systems continue to grow in popularity and have become an integral part of both personal and business communications. Various client computing devices now incorporate various features, such as calendars, address books, task lists, calculators, memo and writing programs, media players, games, etc. These multi-function devices usually allow electronic mail (email) messages to be sent and received wirelessly, as well as access the Internet via a cellular network and/or a wireless local area network (WLAN), for example.
Each of these features in the client computing device is typically provided by a respective software application. Development of a software application for a client computing device may be challenging due to the varying parameters of the end user environment. For example, processing power and display resolution can vary widely depending on the client computing device type.
A consideration when designing software applications for client computing devices is providing an easy to use graphical user interface (GUI). This can be of particular importance in mobile applications, which have limited screen real estate. Given the varying screen resolutions and additional user customizations to the operating system (OS) interface, this can be challenging. To aid in this effort, client computing device OS providers have developed testing framework applications for designers. The testing framework applications may provide an easy interface to test client computing device applications, and perform multiple iterations of interactions with the software application under development.

Computing system with GUI testing device and related methods


The invention relates to the use of history information as an aid to synchronization in a peer-to-peer system. In particular, node trees are used to represent portions of files systems designated for synchronization. The nodes in the node tree embody history information regarding associated objects. The history information includes version vectors that are used to simplify synchronization-related comparisons and create job lists that may be used to bring participating peers into synchronization.

Synchronization is a function that provides or maintains consistency between data sets. For example, a desktop computer may have desktop data sets regarding personal information management ("PIM"). A user of that desktop computer may desire to use that PIM data when she is away from her desktop computer. Therefore, she may desire access to the PIM data while using a laptop computer or a personal digital assistant ("PDA") such as a phone or other device like a miniature device. In order to accommodate that desire, her laptop computer and PDA may each carry PIM data sets that correspond to the PIM data sets on the desktop computer. The role of the synchronization function is to give the user a common view of her data on each device. This role is generally accomplished by synchronization events when two or more of the devices synchronize.
A common technique for synchronizing devices is by using snapshots of data at a point in time and comparing current data to the snapshot to determine what has changed. For illustration purposes, refer to FIG. 1 where there is shown a model for two devices, a desktop computer 100 and a portable computer 110. Desktop computer has PIM database 101, which keeps current information for PIM data sets that are edited or added on the desktop computer 100. Desktop computer 100 also has snapshot database 102 that is a temporal snapshot of the state of the data (e.g., a snapshot of the data sets taken at some point in time but typically the time of a prior synchronization—perhaps, the most recent synchronization). Similarly, portable computer 110 has portable database 111 for current data (and, like any syncing peer such as portable 110 or PDA 120, may also have a snapshot database). Having these structures in place, we may attempt to synchronize desktop 100 and portable 110. Typical synchronization occurs by comparing both portable database 111 and desktop database 101 with snapshot database 102. During the compare operation, we can then assemble a list of data items that are new or changed in the active databases 101 and 111 as compared to database 102. Finally, to finish out the synchronization, the list of new and changed data may be used to update all three databases 101, 102 and 111.
A problem occurs in the described synchronization process when corresponding data is changed on both the desktop and the portable. For example, suppose that sometime prior to synchronization, Jane Doe's phone number was changed to 877-555-5555 on the Desktop and 800-555-5555 on the portable. During the compare operation (or at another time) the synchronizing system will notice this discrepancy and identify a conflict. In the current commercial art, there is generally no elegant way to resolve this conflict with certainty. Some solutions present an interface to the user and ask her to choose between the two options. Unfortunately, even the user may not remember which piece of data is correct. Other commercial solutions simply create duplicate entries in each database (one with each of the possible data items).
The problem is exacerbated if there are more than two devices carrying the corresponding data sets. For example, referring to FIG. 1, assume that after synchronizing with portable 110, desktop 100 attempts to synchronize with PDA 120. During synchronization, we may discover that PDA 120 carries Jane Doe's phone number as 888-555-555. Unfortunately, in the prior art, we once again have no elegant solution for determining the correct result with certainty. Furthermore, even if we could determine the correct result at this time (e.g. by the user, who remembers), we may be unable to stop the system from having the same problem again the next time portable 110 is synchronized.
Finally, the problem may be generalized for peer-to-peer systems with 3 or more peers. That generalization is that, if peers may synchronize with each other 2 at a time, and a conflict arises there is no way to know if one of the peers carries a more up-to-date data. It is noteworthy, that a time stamp can not resolve the conflict with certainty. This is because as a matter of practical human usage, if two corresponding data items have been changed over the past days or months, that doesn't necessarily mean that the second change is correct. This is especially true if the second change occurred as the result of synchronization with another peer (such "another peer" may have received its data change long ago). Therefore, in the peer-to-peer situation, we would be unable to determine if a detected conflict is, on the one hand, a true conflict, or on the other hand, an apparent conflict that could be correctly resolved (e.g. per user intent) if we understood the history of the data.
Some of the related prior art techniques for synchronization may be found in the following U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,922 "Method for synchronizing and archiving information between computer systems," which is incorporated herein by reference. In addition, the following pending patent applications offer similarly interesting information and are hereby incorporated by reference: "A Method of Synchronizing Between Three or More Devices" by Toby Paterson and Jerome Lebel, having application Ser. No. 10/853,306 and filed May 24, 2004; "A Method of Synchronizing" by Toby Patterson and Jerome Lebel, having application Ser. No. 10/852,926 and filed May 24, 2004; and "Apparatus And Method For Peer-To-Peer N-Way Synchronization In A Decentralized Environment," having application Ser. No. 11/157,647 and filed Jun. 21, 2005.
In view of the discussion herein as well as the other problems existing in the prior art, certain embodiments of the invention propose a synchronization system that employs datum history information in a process to provide synchronization services either as an API layer in an operating system or as directly employed by software and systems requiring synchronization.


Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to the field of Oncology, and in particular, embodiments directed to a method of ameliorating, treating, or preventing a malignancy in a human subject wherein the steps of the method assist or boost the immune system in eradicating cancerous cells. In certain embodiments, administration of beneficial bacteria to an individual's microbiome that have been modified so as to produce effective amounts of desired compositions, compounds, agents, e.g. tomatidine, p53 protein, etc., is employed to address cancerous conditions. In several embodiments, the administration of such beneficial bacteria and microbes to an individual's microbiome invokes either an active (or a passive) immune response to destroy, weaken or render less invasive certain cancerous cells, and preferably maintains muscle tissue to combat cancer cachexia.

There are over 200 different known cancers that afflict human beings. Cancer causes millions of deaths a year worldwide and rates are also rising as more people live to an older age and urbanization causes more stress. In is anticipated that one in eight people currently alive will eventually die of cancer. Cancer manifests itself in a wide variety of forms, characterized by different degrees of invasiveness and aggressiveness. Malignant tumors are the second leading cause of death in the United States, after heart disease.
Cachexia is a positive risk factor for death, meaning if the patient has cachexia, the chance of death from the underlying condition is increased dramatically. Skeletal muscle atrophy is a nearly universal consequence of cancer. Cachexia is considered the immediate cause of death of a large proportion of cancer patients, ranging from 22% to 40% of the patients. The pathogenesis of cancer cachexia is poorly understood. It is believed that multiple biologic pathways are involved, including proinflammatory cytokines and tumor-specific factors such as proteolysis-inducing factor. Muscle atrophy is believed to occur by a change in the normal balance between protein synthesis and protein degradation. During atrophy, there is a down-regulation of protein synthesis pathways and an activation of protein breakdown pathways. Only limited treatment options exist for patients with clinical cancer cachexia. Current treatment strategies involve attempting to improve an individual's appetite using appetite stimulants and protein supplementation to provide the individual with required nutrients.
The reversal of cancer cachexia and muscle wasting leads to prolonged survival, and with the ability to retain muscle mass and strength, it is believed that various forms of cancer treatment may be more effective, if only due to the fact that the cancer victim may be able to withstand the rigors of the various cancer treatments involved. There is presently, however, an absence of effective medical therapies to prevent or reverse skeletal muscle atrophy, and especially therapies that involve reliance on a modification of a patient's microbiome. Current treatment recommendations to address skeletal muscle atrophy (e.g. physical rehabilitation, nutritional optimization, and treatment of underlying disease) are often ineffective and/or unfeasible and at present, a pharmacologic therapy does not exist. Thus, a treatment for skeletal muscle atrophy associated with cancer represents a very large unmet medical need.
There exists a long felt but unsolved need for a simple, relatively inexpensive, effective treatment of muscle atrophy associated with a host of different types of cancer. The present invention addresses this need in a manner heretofore unappreciated or at least unrecognized by those in the relevant art.
In addition, treatments for various types of cancer are desired that relate to the production of competently folded p53 tumor supporor factor. There has been a long felt but unmet need for a way to inexpensively administer desired amounts of p53 protein to an individual in need thereof. The present invention in several of its aspects addresses this concern, for example, by the expression of p53 by human microbiome bacteria.

Method and system for treating cancer cachexia


A preparation for use in a hair bleaching composition consists of 30 to 65% by weight of a persulfate granulate having granule diameters from 0.1 to 0.6 cm and at least one other granulated substance including 15 to 45% by weight of granulated alkaline reacting alkali metal salts. The other granulated substance also has particle diameters from about 0.1 to 0.6 cm. It can also contain 0.1 to 3% by weight of a chelating agent, 0.1 to 15% by weight of an anionic, cationic or nonionic surfactant and a water-soluble thickener. The two component composition contains an aqueous solution which is 4 to 18% by weight hydrogen peroxide and the preparation containing the granulated persulfate. Prior to application on the hair the hydrogen peroxide solution is mixed with the preparation.

Oxidizing preparations are used for decoloring and bleaching hair. These preparations usually comprise a bleaching powder (powder mixture of inorganic persalts, e.g. sodium or ammonium persulfate, with) on the one hand and an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution on the other hand.
During application, the bleaching powder is stirred with the aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution. In so doing, a cream or paste which is capable of being applied and is not runny is obtained due to the contained thickening ingredients. The formulations must have a pH value between 8 and 11.5, preferably between 9 and 10, to effect a sufficient bleaching action.
Since commonly used hydrogen peroxide solutions are adjusted so as to be strongly acidic for the purpose of stabilization, the bleaching powder contains a large proportion of alkaline reacting, e.g. sodium carbonate or sodium silicate. When mixing bleaching powder and peroxide solution the pH value is adjusted to the desired range on the one hand due to the and ammonia is released from the ammonium salts contained in the formulation on the other hand, which ammonia causes a swelling of the hair and accordingly a strengthening of the bleaching action.
However, these preparations for producing bleaching agents in the form of powder mixtures have grave disadvantages. For example, separation can occur when using components having different densities because the heavy particles can deposit on the lower portion of the container when transported or stored. As a result, the powder removed from the bottom portion does not have the same chemical composition as that removed from the top portion and has a different bleaching effect.
Separation can be avoided to a great extent through the use of powder mixtures with very small grain sizes. However, these fine powders have the disadvantage that they tend to develop dust extremely easily. Dust develops particularly when opening the container, but to an even greater extent when removing the required amount, which is usually accomplished with a measuring spoon, and also when agitating the ready-to-use formulation. The release of fine dust can lead to irritation of the respiratory organs, particularly as a result of the utilized persulfates. Further, the powder mixtures have a large surface as a result of the small size of the particles, which can lead to a higher absorption of moisture when opening and closing the container and to a deactivation of the bleaching action.
To solve this problem it is suggested in DE-OS 20 23 922 to change the components of the powder mixture into granule form with a water-soluble polymer. As described in DE-OS 20 23 922, this method leads to a loss of ammonia when using aqueous solvent for the polymer. To compensate for this loss it is suggested to increase the content of ammonium salts in the powder mixture. Of course, the loss of ammonia during technical production of the described granules is very difficult to keep constant, so that the chemical composition of the granules produced according to this method fluctuates.

Two component composition and method for bleaching hair


A client device is configurable to operate as a proxy for server operations. In particular examples, a back-end server performs transactions with a target server such as a vending server by using the client device as a proxy to allow transactions through the client device. The client device obtains from a back-end server logic information for communicating with the target server. The client device need not be configured with logic information to locate and communicate with any particular target entity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to client/server and server/server operations. In one example, the disclosure describes using proxy operations on client devices.
2. Description of Related Art
Client devices interact with servers to perform a variety of operations. For example, mobile phones include applications that perform operations with billing servers in order to perform transactions. A mobile phone application may be used to add or remove subscriptions to services. Many different operations with billing servers may be involved. A mobile phone application is typically configured with information that allows the mobile phone application to interact with the billing server using a particular protocol.
However, techniques and mechanisms for allowing client device interaction with a server are limited. Consequently, it is desirable to provide additional techniques and mechanisms for performing client server operations.


A set of compaction rams and/or die-plates for a tabletting machine has all of the compaction rams and/or die-plates of the set furnished with a code containing at least the following information: (a) a label for the set of compaction rams and die-plates; (b) an individual label for each compaction ram and/or die-plate within the set; (c) data effective to critically dimension the compaction ram and/or die-plate which contains the code; and (d) data containing service life information for the compaction ram and/or die-plate which contains the code.

Tabletting machines in the form of rotary presses have a die-disk driven about a vertical axis which receives die-plates arranged on a circle in appropriate die-bores. Couples of compaction rams, which are actuated by control cams and pressure rollers if rotating along with the rotor, rotate in synchronism with the disk. Before being introduced into the die-plates, the upper rams are filled with an appropriately proportioned powder by means of a suitable loading device. Subsequently, the material is compressed to obtain a desired thickness (web height) by moving the compaction rams towards each other.
The control of the tabletting machine and its supervision, i.e. the control of its number of revolutions, the regulation of its filling level, the compaction force of the rams, the regulation of web height, and sampling, etc., is accomplished via a process control computer.
Different tablet shapes can be produced by making changes to the set of compaction rams and die-plates, which are known to be complementary. EP 0 620 108 A1 has made known to provide the shank of at least one compaction ram of a set of compaction rams with a recess in which a data carrier is received. The data carrier, for example, may be a so-called chip in which electronically predetermined information is stored, e.g. the label for the type of compaction tool, its previous service life, its residual tool life or also tolerances of the set. The label described may then be read by means of a reading device mounted at the location of the tabletting machine and may be automatically transferred to the process control computer. The process control computer will then take into account such information in selecting the operation program for the tabletting machine.
In the known prior art, it is impossible to identify an individual compaction ram or individual die-plate. In the operation of a tabletting machine, it frequently happens that individual die-plates and/or compaction rams need to be exchanged. The constant quality of the tablets may then be risked unless particular provisions are made.
What was stated for compaction rams also applies to die-plates. It is understood that each position of a die-plate or couple of rams is also identified in relation to its location in the rotor of the tabletting machine. This is commonly done by means of the process control computer. An identification is not made or is unnecessary with regard to the position of the compaction ram and/or die plate.

Set of compaction rams and/or die-plates for a tabletting machine


A system for maintaining or optimizing a mobile phone network, the system includes a plurality of data feed inputs including at least one performance data feed input to receive performance data relating to performance of said mobile phone network over a first time period and at least one configuration data feed input to receive configuration data relating to configuration of said mobile phone network over a second time period; and a radio performance optimization system coupled to said plurality of data feed inputs, said radio performance optimization system including a rules engine to operate on said performance data and on said configuration data in accordance with a set of hierarchical rules and to output one or more tasks for network optimization, a said task including a definition of a potential fault, exception or optimization of said network to be investigated by a service engineer.

Typically network operations have a variety of hardware and software systems for managing their networks. For example, they have systems for billing, planning and configuring the network, configuring neighbor lists, measuring and managing performance, for triggering alarms and raising and managing trouble tickets. The data from all of these systems is usually stored in separate databases (sometimes with separate databases of each type for every region or administrative area) with little or no communication between them. This makes it hard for engineers to manage changes network performance. For example network operators would currently have difficulty associating a sudden rise in dropped calls with a change in the serving sector's antenna configuration that caused it.
Consequently in the course of their daily work, radio engineers usually use a multitude of different tools, each of which is limited to solving a specific problem. For example, an engineer when performing a routine daily investigation into base stations that have a high handover failure rate typically follows multiple manual steps, some of which are paper-based, and uses a variety of different tools. This is inefficient, error prone, and time consuming and does not facilitate the sharing of information and data between different engineers and teams.
There is therefore a need for improved tools for mobile phone network service engineers.