Abstract: A water heater including a water container, a combustion chamber adjacent the container, the combustion chamber having a side wall and at least one flame arrestor to admit air and extraneous fumes into the combustion chamber and confine ignition and combustion of the extraneous fumes within the combustion chamber, and a burner having a multiplicity of burner ports associated with the combustion chamber and arranged to combust fuel to heat water in the container, and an air diverter including a baffle plate with an upper surface and an outer edge portion, the diverter positioned in the combustion chamber and having a lower portion of the upper surface positioned at about the same height as at least a portion of the burner ports, the baffle plate sized to form a gap between the outer edge portion and the side wall such that flames generated by combustion of the fuel tend to attach to at least a portion of the lower portion, and a flange attached to and angled upwardly from the outer edge portion and adapted to

Abstract: A method for measuring fitness for use of a storage battery subject to electric loading including determining a load profile (current profile I(t) or power profile P(t)) as a function of time t, for the storage battery, recording an actual voltage response U(t) of the storage battery to the load profile or calculating a voltage response U(t) of the storage battery to the load profile, and determining a fitness for use value SOH for the storage battery based on the difference between a lowest (highest) voltage value Umin (Umax) during application of the load profile to the storage battery, and based on a voltage limiting value U1, wherein U1 is a voltage value which may not be undershot (overshot) by the voltage U(t) at any time t during which the load profile is applied to the storage battery.

Abstract: An articulated container, collapsible and expandable, to be used for the transport of fruits or similar products, formed by two front walls, two lateral walls, two upper tops and a floor or base floor, characterized in that said front walls present a grooved radius which commences in the penultimate horizontal rib from top to bottom. Thereafter a plurality of parts of truncated triangular sections are extended, similar to those that are present at the bottom or base floor. These being joined intermittently through their exterior facings by rectangular membranes extended transversally with respect to the floor or base floor; likewise, they are provided with hooking and piling parts as well as small latches, which commence at the upper and lower border of said front walls; the lateral walls of the interior surface are raised or expanded perpendicularly to the wall, forming the corners, prismatic bodies in the form of an “L”; the tops are joined with the lateral walls through intermittent membranes.

Abstract: A water heater including a water container; a combustion chamber adjacent the container, the combustion chamber having at least one flame arrestor to admit air and extraneous fumes into the combustion chamber and confine ignition and combustion of the extraneous fumes within the combustion chamber; a burner associated with the combustion chamber and arranged to combust fuel to heat water in the container; an air diverter positioned between the flame arrestor and the burner and adapted to channel at least a portion of combustion air passing through at least a portion of the flame arrestor to a position for mixture with the fuel prior to entering the burner to ensure uniform combustion; and a flange positioned above the air diverter to which the flames attach and thereby reduce combustion temperatures; the combined effect of which is to optimize combustion performance and minimize NOx and CO emissions.

Abstract: A grain-oriented electromagnetic steel sheet having a multiplicity of fine grains having a diameter of about 3 mm or less on the surface of the steel sheet, in a numerical ratio of about 65% or more and of about 98% or less relative to the constituting grains that penetrate the sheet along the direction parallel to its thickness, and a method for producing the same. The fine grains are artificially created and regularly disposed with a random orientation in the steel sheet, and contribute to decreasing the strain susceptibility of the steel. More preferably, a treatment for finely dividing magnetic domains is applied on the surface of the steel sheet. Transformers based upon the steel sheet have excellent magnetic characteristics (iron loss and magnetic flux density) together with strain resistance, and the steel sheet has good practical device characteristics (building factor) after being assembled into a transformer.

Abstract: Applying a sizing agent as a water dispersed sizing agent to a continuous carbon fiber bundle consisting of 20,000 to 150,000 filaments, controlling the packing density in a range of 5,000 to 20,000 D/mm, cutting the carbon fiber bundle in a wet state of 10 to 35 wt % in solution content at the time of cutting, and drying with vibration at a solution content of 15 to 45 wt % before drying.

Abstract: In a sizing rolling method carried out by installing at least 3 sets of 4-roll rolling mills in series, a central angle &thgr;1 of the perfect circle forming section of each rolling roll in a first path is set to less than 15°. The central angle &thgr;3 is set to at least 45° in a third path and the central angle &thgr;2 is set to at least 30° in a second path B. The groove of each rolling roll is arranged such that each escape section is composed of the tangential line of an arc formed by the perfect circle forming section. A roller guide having four guide rollers is installed on the inlet side of the second path and the free surface of a workpiece is held and guided by the guide rollers. An angle &agr; of the V-shaped groove of each guide roller is set similar to the angle (90°+&thgr;1) between straight lines forming the escape section of the adjacent rolling rolls in the first path. With this technology, even if a wire has a diameter of 7.

Abstract: A method of making a grain-oriented electromagnetic steel sheet having a low iron loss and a high magnetic flux density, from a steel slab with 0.03 to 0.095 wt % carbon, about 1.5 to 7.0 wt % Si, about 0.03 to 2.50 wt % manganese, about 0.003 to 0.040 wt % sulfur and/or selenium, about 0.0010 to 0.0070 wt % borbon, about 30 to 120 wtppm nitrogen, about 0.015 wt % or less aluminum, and about 0.010 wt % or less vanadium by subjecting the steel slab to reheating, hot rolling, rapid cooling, cold rolling, primary recrystallization annealing, coating with an annealing separator, final annealing, secondary recrystallization, and coiling.

Abstract: This invention provides an antipuritic comprising an opiate &kgr; receptor agonist as an effective component, a new morphian quaternary ammonium salt derivative and a new morphian-N-oxide derivative which are useful in treating puritus complicated with some diseases.

Abstract: A flame-retardant resin composition comprising (A) 100 parts by weight of a styrenic resin, (B) 1 to 30 parts by weight of a phosphate ester compound and (C) 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of a phosphate ester compound having a specific structure, and amolding product formed of the same impart a high flame retardance to the styrenic resin without using an organic halogen compound, and are also excellent in mechanical properties, impact resistance and moldability.

Abstract: This description refers to a device for analyzing the most important environmentally relevant substances, such as CO, HC and NO, that are present in vehicle exhaust emissions. It is based on the principle of IR gas absorption. This involves producing measuring signals and a reference signal in a measured optical length (stainless steel tube), with the aid of an infrared source and detector. The production of a ratio then gives a reading and a warning signal is produced whenever a certain limit value is exceeded. The OBM system is made up of modular components, such as a sampling device, exhaust gas processing unit, analyzing device and evaluation unit, which are built into the vehicle. The fluctuating conditions present in the vehicle are compensated for by robust construction and correction of temperature drift by means of production of the first derivation and readjustment of signal strength using an electronically regulated amplification control.

Abstract: A Candida albicans oligopeptide transport gene, OPT1, was cloned from a C. albicans genomic library through heterologous expression in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae di-/tripeptide transport mutant PB1X-9B. When transformed with a plasmid harboring OPT1, S. cerevisiae PB1X-9B, which did not express tetra-/pentapeptide transport activity under the conditions used, was conferred with an oligopeptide transport phenotype as indicated by growth on the tetrapeptide Lysyl-Leucyl-Leucyl-Glycine, sensitivivity to toxic tetra- and pentapeptides, and an increase in the initial uptake rate of the radiolabeled tetrapeptide Lysyl-Leucyl-Glycyl-[3H]Leucine. The entire 3.8 kb fragment containing the oligopeptide transport activity was sequenced and an open reading frame of 2349 nucleotides containing a 58 nucleotide intron was identified. The deduced protein product of 783 amino acid residues contained twelve hydrophobic regions suggestive of a membrane transport protein.

Abstract: An aromatic carboxylic acid, aromatic aldehyde, and aromatic alcohol are simultaneously and efficiently prepared by liquid phase oxidizing an aromatic compound represented by formula (I) with a gas containing molecular oxygen, in a presence of a catalyst comprising transition metal compound, tertiary amine and bromide compound:

Abstract: Steel is obtained which comprises by wt %, C: 0.001-0.025%, Si: not more than 0.60%, Mn: 0.10-3.00%, P: 0.005-0.030%, S: not more than 0.01%, Al: not more than 0.10%, Cu: 0.1-1.5%, Ni: 0.1-6.0%, B: 0.0001-0.0050%, and the balance being Fe and inevitable impurities; since the steel contains C and P in small contents, stable amorphous rusts are formed on the surface thereof at an early stage; and steel simultaneously realizes excellent weather resistance, material weldability and toughness particularly in an environment such as a seashore district and the like where salt is present in a large amount.

Abstract: A method is provided for forming a recyclable plastic container component with an integral preform. A preform is placed within a mold recess. The mold is closed to capture the preform, thereby forming a flow passage with a shape corresponding to contours of the container component. Plastic is injected into the flow passage under pressure. The injected plastic bonds to an edge portion of the preform. The molded component is then cooled and removed from the mold.

Abstract: Electromagnetic steel sheet from a high-purity steel slab, composed essentially of Si 2.0 to 8.0 wt %, Mn 0.005 to 3.0 wt % and Al 0.0010 to 0.012 wt % with each of Se, S, N and O each not more than 30 ppm.

Abstract: The invention concerns a method for unstacking sheets stacked in a feeder, comprising a step which consists in bringing a vacuum cup close to the surface of the sheet at the top of the stack; a step which consists in contacting the vacuum cup with the surface of said top sheet and a step in bringing the vacuum cup away after seizing the top sheet. The invention is characterized in that the vacuum cup is applied in an off-center zone of the top sheet, and said vacuum cup is inclined, when it starts to move away, so as to cause the top sheet to be deformed thereby producing a separation prior to complete separation of the top sheet.

Abstract: A toy including at least one endless stretchable loop supporting or defining a figure or representative object, the toy being sized and shaped for removable placement around a toy wheeled vehicle by tension exerted by the loop against selected exterior portions of the toy wheeled vehicle.

Abstract: A cutter assembly for cutting a membrane which seals a transfer spigot on a container, the cutter assembly including a valve including a valve body adapted to engage the transfer spigot, the valve body including a valve closure member, adapted to be moved between open and closed positions to open and close the valve, at least one elongate cutter which terminates in a cutting tip, the cutting tip being adapted to rupture or slit the membranes, actuation means for providing axial movement to the elongate cutter within the valve body, and the actuation means and/or the elongate cutter being adapted to move and cut a membrane independently of the operation of the valve closure member, and when the valve is in the open condition, the at least one elongate cutter can pass the valve closure member to engage the membrane to be cut.

Abstract: The invention relates to negative electrodes for high-energy lithium-ion batteries, which contain Li—Me oxide with Me═Mn, Cr, Ni or Co as active cathode material, and to their production. The electrode composition contains a latex additive based on an acrylic acid derivative copolymer and a polymer binder containing butadiene units. The electrodes are produced by dispersing the carbon black, homogenized with the latex additive, in a solvent and mixing it with the graphite, and by stirring it to form a homogeneous composition, and not incorporating the polymer binder and applying the electrode composition thus obtained to the support substrate until the final stage.